Draining the swamp

Monday 13 January 

Not all goodbye's are sad, this morning's was no exception as the old container left Stanton for the breakers yard. The main thrust for today was getting some water drained off the crest on the down side at Hunting Butts. The crest drainage needs to be refurbished before the new anti-vandal fencing is erected and the ground needs to be a bit dryer to get the excavator in to clear the ditches. On the way to Cheltenham the gang dropped in at Gotherington to measure up on the land slip, not good news it's still on the move. 

Goodbye rusty container 😊

Down at Gotherington levels on the slip show that it is still on the move. 

Roger and Nigel setting up
(Photo: Dave) 

Slip fracture
(Photo: Dave)

Level from the rail head
(Photo: Dave) 

Slip face
(Photo: Dave) 

Roger and Nigel taking levels
(Photo: Dave) 

Toe drain manhole metal cover disappeared 

Next stop was Hunting Butts to try and get some water from the crest before more rain arrived, plus do some CCTV and make a couple of chambers safe with new covers 

Dave, Roger and Nigel digging a grip down the slope 

Generator and tools transported up to site 

Hunting Butts down side crest
(Photo: Dave) 

Chamber 2, flail damaged lids and top ring
(Photo: Dave) 

Grille lids fitted and mangled ring removed 

Getting into the boggy area 

Access gate, no pipe has been found under the entrance track 

Rodding eye has been bashed about a bit
(Photo: Dave) 

We found a blue plastic pipe running at an angle down the slope, could this be a drain form the crest? not quite, it ran half way up the slope 😕 

Rodding the blue pipe 

The CCTV showed that the pipe was dead end 

The gang looking for the pipe end, it was covered with brash... 

It's in here somewhere 

End of the plastic pipe 

CCTV on the crest drain pipe 

The pipe is in poor condition close to the chamber, but get's better further along. 

The crest ditch area had dried out a bit when we left 

Water draining down to the cess 

The gang on the way back to the truck 

Thursday 16 January 

It turned out to be a a day of two halves today, the morning was bright but then the rain and wind came driving across. We managed to do some surveys and checks on work in progress before beating a retreat from the elements. 

First stop Winchcombe cutting to have a look at the up side slip area. Some temporary drainage is being installed to divert water from the crest. 

Winchcombe Cutting, the tree heads towards the horizontal 

The slip toe is creeping over the chamber in the cess 

Contractors excavating to install temporary pipework 

Michael inspecting the new pipes 

Pipes will be passed into the cess chambers 

Winchcombe Cutting up side slip area 

The flooding from the adjoining fields over the down side crest has been causing us some concern. There is a crest drain along from the tunnel that routes a couple of streams down to the cess, or so we thought. As usual, another mystery was uncovered, the 24" crest drain runs on towards the Greet Road bridge, to a destination unknown as yet. 

Presumed end chamber on the down side crest
one of the lids has cracked, they aren't reinforced 

Andrew and Dieh clearing around the last chamber 

Removing the broken lid proved a challenge,
it was heavy and determined to fall into the hole 

24" crest pipe heading from the tunnel direction 

24" pipe and contents heading towards the bridge 

225mm pipe in from the field and 6" pie down to the cess drains
crossing the chamber 

24" pipe heading towards the bridge 

Cess drain is running a 9" pipe 

Andrew and Dieh replace the cess lids 

24" pipe running a few inches below the surface 

Micheal uncovering the 24" pipe 

Second field stream entering the crest drain 

End of the crest drain up near the tunnel portal 

The gang erecting safety fence around the end chamber 

The destination of the 24" crest drain isn't clear, it could possibly run into the stream that runs down the back of Winchcombe yard. 

Stream entry chamber opposite the station entrance 

Inside the stream chamber, no 24" pipe 

The River Isbourne erosion control works have been suspended for a while, the river has become too unpredictable with constant rain.  

River levels this week 

Progress on the down side of the River Isbourne 

The slip at Bridge 37 at Gotherington is still moving, a check of the levels today show a drop in the last 3 days. 

Gotherington Bridge 37 up side slip face 

Andrew near the slip face for perspective  

Slip toe 

Another crack and ponding water on the slope 

Slip face crumbling 

Crack at the south end 

Slip area, view from the toe 

The manhole on the toe drain has almost disappeared, just the edge of the concrete cover is visible. The toe has drifted by around 200 mm in 3 days. 

Concrete manhole ring, just visible 

Toe drain is vertical as the move moves 

Last stop was to have a look at the drainage pits on the viaduct. By this time the wind was such that it was difficult to stand. The concrete covers have been cast and they are starting to be placed on the pits that have been cleared. 

Stanway Viaduct, drainage pit excavations 

Cast slab ready to be placed on the pit 

Slab fixed in place