The best-laid plans

Saturday 30 November

Another month has slipped by, the cold is starting to bite old bones now. The gang were pleading for a strenuous job to keep the circulation going this morning and sure enough one was found. This involved quite a bit of going up and down the embankment at Didbrook, dodging the sunshine to avoid getting overheated 😊 The plan for the afternoon was culvert clearance down between Gotherington and Bishops Cleeve, but as with most plans it went for a ball of chalk when we discovered an opportunity for some more embankment clearing.

First up at Didbrook we measured up and pegged out the missing stretch of fenceline on the up side of Culvert 14B. This involved a bit of veg clearing and a lot of walking backwards and forwards.

Culvert 14B up side headwall 😰

Alastair and Roger looking for the original fence post

Stuart clearing along the toe
(Photo: Alastair)

Dave cutting a path down the wing wall
(Photo: Alastair)

Michael avoiding obstacles along the toe
(Photo: Alastair)

What could be a spring in the embankment

End of the fence at the north side of the site

South end, original GWR bridge rail straining post

Alastair hammering pegs in to a mark the line

Michael still fighting the brambles

Roger explaining something to Dave 😊

Phew! that was hard work

Culvert 14B up side, outfall from the embankment

On the way past, we called in at Toddington to look a the south end of the down side cess drain to check the flow past the signal box

Roger opens the lids

Chamber 2, Anybody in!

From Toddington we headed out to Manor Lane at Gotherington to finish the culverts along the straight to Bishops Cleeve. This is where the plan went pear shaped, going along the service road to Bridge 37, we spotted a crack in the surface. This looks like we may need some more earthworks to be commissioned. After some discussions with the powers that be, it was decided that temporary speed restriction (TSR) should be applied past the area until a full investigation can be carried out.

The next stage was to clear the embankment so that the profile could be exposed for the investigating engineers. That meant 3 brushcutters were in operation all afternoon working down the slope. Stuart nipped back to Winchcombe for some mesh fencing and barriers to shut off the service road. The Permanent Way team came down to check the track and installed the TSR signs.

Opportunity for more earthworks

Three men went to mow

Clearing the embankment to see the size of the problem

Roger, Dave and Michael reach the toe

Testing the depth of the void

How many people does it take to fasten some fencing?
(Photo: Alastair)

Warning fencing erected along the edge

Temporary Speed Limit in place

Service road closed to traffic

Monday 2 December

Back to Bridge 37 this morning to do more clearance so that a further assessment can be made. Consulting engineers will visit the site later in the week to start planning the next actions. The disturbance is on the up side well away from the track.

Frosty start, Nigel down by the hedge

Some thick vegetation to make a path through

Roger cuts back along the crest towards Bridge 37

Dave clears the crest to the north
(Photo: Alastair)

Nigel working up the embankment
(Photo: Alastair)

Crest cleared

Stuart cutting the path along the toe
(Photo: Alastair)

Roger working down the embankment
(Photo: Alastair)

Alastair takes the saplings out

Oops! wheel fallen off the flail, that may slow things down

The cold weather brings clear air with uninterrupted views across to Malvern.

Over to Malvern

Up side embankment large area cleared

Over the years debris has been discarded down the slope, it includes bricks and broken copings, one unusual exhibit was recovered this morning.

Decorative brick recovered from the embankment

Before lunch, Alastair and Stuart headed off with Peter to look at the area cleared by the Lineside Clearance team at Gretton. There's a couple of rather large ash roots in the embankment along that stretch.

The Gretton mega-root

Alastair and Peter examining the root

Gretton up side embankment, great work by the Lineside Clearance team

Back at Winchcombe the contractors are installing the gabion baskets in the River Isbourne. It is hoped that the work on the up side will be completed before Christmas. It just needs the rain to hold off so that the site can dry out a bit more.