We're back to Stanton

Saturday 31 August 

Good progress today on the down side, luckily the heavy shower that blew through hit us at lunchtime meaning that productivity wasn't impacted. (Only a project manager thinks like that. Ed.) Roger took on the headwall on the downside cess while Michael concentrated on the outside wall. The rest of the team were left with backfilling the down side inner wall with the rejected gabion stone. 

Michael and Dave adding concrete backfill to the end of the south wall
(Photo: Alastair) 

Roger starting to raise the headwall
(Photo: Alastair) 

Michael building the corner up 

The pile of rejected gabion stone is our source for for fill material. The stone proved to be too small for the gabions. Loading, unloading and spreading is labour intensive as it has to be picked by hand. 

First 3 barrow loads of stone ready 

Dave and Alastair load more bricks 

Going down
(Photo: Alastair) 

Dave got the job of spreading the stone in the void behind the wall 

Another load arrives
(Photo: Alastair) 

Inner wall void almost filled 

Roger soldiering on 

The end of summer is on the way and the weather is on the turn to remind us that the official birds nesting season ends today. This means that we can start on the annual culvert clearance as soon as we finish at Stanton.  

The second front of the day blows through 

By the end of the day we'd made some visible change...  

Down side from the bridge, Dave casts a long shadow 

Down side cess headwall 

Michael points up the outer wall 

Change of scenery

Thursday 29 August

Bit of a change for today, the team went on an outing to Tyseley Locomotive Works to collect bricks. We had bought some imperial bullnosed header bricks that were surplus to their requirements. This was a joint venture along with a group from Construction & Maintenance who were collecting some hatched edge blocks. 

Bullnosed brick pile found 

The hunt for the hatched edges 

Michael and Nigel with the trolley 

Bricks sorted to weed out the rejects 

There was a mixture of patterns, ⅔ were the standard profile while the rest seem to be more a streamlined (Gresley A4) shape. As they are destined for culvert headwalls the shape isn't quite so important. 

The contrasting patterns as seen loaded 

Back at Winchcombe we unloaded onto pallets as they probably won't be used until next year. 

Streamliners on the left, a few double bullnosed in the middle
and the standard profile on the right 

The hatched edgings for C&M 

Quite a relaxing day for us, except for the 3 hours driving. Back to normal on Saturday. 

Return to Culvert 44A

Monday 26 August 

Only 2 volunteers took advantage of the double pay and day off in lieu for working Bank Holiday Monday. For Dave it was his chance to revisit Culvert 44A, last visited on 31st January this year when the temperature ranged between -5 and +2 degrees C. Today was slightly different as it managed to struggle up to 20 degrees by the time we left. 

The weather forecast this morning mentioned that it may be the hottest August Bank Holiday on record, well they forgot to tell Winchcombe as the day started off with fog. 

Winchcombe, autumn is on the way 😒

Cheltenham was no better, finding Culvert 44A was the first challenge. 

Culvert 44A down side in the distance 

Culvert 44A up side at the bottom of the field 

While on site we had a check around the tunnel and the cess drains heading south. The tunnel has been adorned with a burnt out shopping trolley. We had a complaint last month to say that people can't walk along the old trackbed, it can't be that overgrown if they managed to get a trolley along there.   

Hunting Butts Tunnel south portal 

The concrete slabs on top of the GRP anti-vandal lids have been removed once again, we didn't replace them this time there didn't seem much point. 

GRP anti-vandal lid still intact 

The purpose of the mission today was to clear the vegetation from the ends of Culvert 44A as it's another structure on the detailed examination list for September.  

Dave cuts the path into Culvert 44A down side 

Culvert 44A down side headwall exposed 

Culvert 44A internal view 

After a lengthy chat to a local resident, we was a little surprised to find strange people with noisy equipment out and about on a Bank Holiday, we ventured over to the up side, with access via the field now the crop has been harvested. 

Culvert 44A, Fog lifting fast 

Culvert 44A up side headwall 

Culvert 44A up side headwall visible 

Can you have too much of the bright lights of Cheltenham, evidently so, as we headed back to to Stanton at the first opportunity. 

Stanton - back on home turf in time for the DMU passing 

This afternoon's work was finishing off clearing the down side of Culvert 11B. 

Culvert 11B northbound ditch 

Culvert 11B south catchment 

11B south end cleared 

Culvert 11B is unusual in that it has 2 inlet ditches and they run into separate pipes that meet under the embankment. Phase 3 of the Stanton work is to eradicate this anomaly and install a chamber at the toe of the embankment. 

11B south inlet 

11B north inlet 

By the time we had finished cutting the vegetation back, it was around 28 degrees so we decided to head for base to find some shade and a well deserved 🍦🤭  

Dave clearing up some boulders uncovered by the brushcutter 

27 degrees on a bank holiday weekend!

Saturday 24 August 

Just had a look back, it's a month since we had the hottest day and now we get another one at bank holiday weekend, now that is unheard of. 

Just the 3 in today and we roared off to Stanton to get things rolling before it got too hot. Roger was keen to get the base course of bricks in for the headwall on the down cess pipe. Alastair was mixing the mortar in small batches as it had accelerant added to compensate for the ground water seeping out under the cess pipe. Stuart went to do some more gardening. 

Down side cess headwall footings ready 

Roger measuring up for a weep hole in the headwall
(Photo: Alastair) 

Measuring the base course from the next one up 

The down side isn't quite a lawn yet, but the weeds are hiding a load of trip hazards, hence the need for a trim. 

Down side north of Bridge 11 

First a bit of routine maintenance
(Photo: Alastiar) 

Down side at break time 

The inside wall on the outfall round the gabions was next for brickwork. The final batch of headers were laid first, then Roger moved on to join the outside wall to the culvert wall over the inlet pipe. 

Inside wall round the gabions 

Culvert 11A inlet pipe and outside walls 

The flail developed a fault, it needs a new air filter, the engine performance has tailed off as the filter is clogged with dust. With no flail, instead of  going to Culvert 11B to finish off there, the upside cess ditch get cleared by brush cutter. 

A start is made on the up side cess 

Up side cess ditch cleared 

Up side cess headwall visible again 

The intricate work of getting both walls to meet up over the top of the pipe consumed most of the rest of the day. 

Roger placing some freshly cut blocks
(Photo: Alastair)  

Which way up does this go 😜
(Photo: Alastair) 

That's about it for today, here's the end of day round-up...  

Down side cess base course in 

Cess outfall. inner wall headers completed 

Start made on the outer wall round the inlet pipe 

One last minute job before we left was removing the shuttering and bypass pipe from the up side culvert outfall scour step. 

Culvert 11A up side
scour protection step 

The weep holes in the down side inner wall to let water escape from the north wing wall are still running, there's even some limescale building up. 

Culvert 11A down side weep holes