Exam time

It is very unusual to find over half of the drainage team in the mess room of Churchward House mid-morning on a working day. So what were we up to? A clue is the title of this post!

Thursday 26^th October

Six of the team were in attendance. A damp start but eventually turning into a warm and sunny day. Good atmospheric conditions for photographing the two steam locos in action - just pity Foremark Hall shut off before passing us!

Dave, Nigel, Martin and Ian headed straight to Little Buckland to start clearance of cross drains 5A and 5B; and the down side embankment toe ditch that runs between them.

Stuart and Andrew first headed to Stanton B4632 main road bridge 8 and culvert 7A to investigate the flooding that had occurred the previous Friday following storm Babet. Everything was back to normal, but there was evidence of standing water on both the down cess and the up vacant trackbed. The down cess drain was flowing slowly northwards (as it was a few weeks ago); the up cess drain had no noticeable flow. The outlet of the syphon culvert 7A showed evidence of the standing water having been 2 to 3inches deeper. At that depth some might just exit in the very overgrown and silted up outlet ditch in the adjoining property. There was no evidence that water had overflowed the top of the 7A outlet chamber. So we suspect that water is seeping back under the syphon pipe getting into the down side cess.

They also explored the field on the down side high mileage side of bridge 8. Found the cause of the water that was running down the cutting side during the storm. The field slopes to the corner near the down side road approach. The stream that flows through culvert 7A is in a ditch end then enters a plastic pipe , which is partially blocked with branches and other vegetation. This pipe is approx 24" diameter; it is an extension to the brick bore that runs under the road approach. Obviously this was installed at some point during road alterations. There is probably a angle between the original bore and this plastic extension. Note this is all outside of railway land, but ownership and responsibility around bridge 8 is complex!

Then on to join the rest of the team at Little Buckland. Besides clearance and inspections of cross drains 5A and 5B, we started clearing the down side toe ditch alongside Archer Farm. In previous years, heavy storms have led to some standing water here. Fortunately even after storm Babet most of the toe ditch was just damp - just a few spots with shallow pools of water.

Stirling work with brush cutters, hedge trimmers, loppers and shovels enabled clearance of most of the down side toe ditch between 5A and 5B; and a start on the section south of 5B towards the foot crossing. Once the ditch is clear of vegetation we can decide if it needs any excavating.

Down side toe ditch between 5B and 5C - where our clearance work today finished.

Dave, Nigel and Andrew then moved on to culvert 5C. This is adjacent to the another foot crossing on this section. There were some large branches to remove from the outlet, and an old large vehicle tyre from the inlet side by the footpath fence. (How did it get there?) Very noticeable is the wetter spring, summer and autumn this year has lead to more vegetation growth, and deeper water to contend with during the inspections.

The outlet of 5C (down or Malvern side) was extended during the works for the reopening to Broadway. The original headwall is fronted by a concrete deck resting on stone filled gabions.

Our wildlife spotters noted roe deer and a sparrowhawk; whilst we were all aware of that plenty of insects, including wasps and ladybirds, were still active.

Sunday 29^th October

Not a work day (apart from one team member who also volunteers as a First Responder) but our team day out. Obviously attending the Autumn Showcase / Mixed Traffic Gala. Five of the team enjoyed a round trip on various trains. The highlight was seeing 2807 back in steam. A sham that it’s turn on the freight train was tender first.

2807 emerges! Departing Toddington with the 09:11 to Cheltenham; it's first solo passenger train after completion of overhaul.

To round off the day, seven of the team congregated for a late Sunday meal at the Pheasant at Toddington.

Thursday 2^nd November

As expected, Storm Ciarán disrupted our plans for work. However the day started well, all six of the team attending enjoyed good journeys to Winchcombe.

Dave, Nigel and Andrew first headed to Meadow Lane, Laverton (bridge 6). They undertook the clearance and visual inspection of cross drain 5D; thus completing the inspections and clearance of all structures classified as culverts and cross drains north of Toddington.

Surprisingly, despite the wet weather there was no flow through 5D, just water standing on the concrete bases either side. The outlet of this is a french drain into the adjoining field.

The well dressed brush cutter operative. Nigel demonstrating a new safety helmet fitted with a solid perspex visor which prevents splashing of the face when cutting near water. This also shows the access cleared down to5D on the up side.

Whilst at Meadow Lane, they undertook some preventative clearance of the grills of the GCC road drains under the bridge - these were flowing well with water running off the fields and then down the road.

Meanwhile Roger, Martin and Jonathan had gone to Working Lane to make a start on clearing culvert 25A (the one under the bridge) and the ditch by the up side fence which takes some of the outlet of cross drain 25B. They also attempted to start cutting back the boundary hedge on the haul road using hedge trimmers. That was not very successful - as a lot of the vegetation is above head height. When the three from Laverton arrived, they started clearance of the outlet (up side) of culvert 24C. This included removing obstructions from the exit grill under the boundary fence.

Looking inside the chamber at the junction of the outlets of 25A and 25B. Both running very fast.

The rain associated with the storm which had held off until past 10 o'clock steady got heavier. So at 11.30 we called a halt to work - brush cutting on wet slippery slopes becoming too dangerous. Hence a return to Winchcombe, and then a spot decision to take lunch on the 11.56 train to Broadway. This did give us an opportunity to see where water was standing on the northern section of the line. One positive was that there was no ponding on the outlet of cross drain 11B at Stanton; so the diversion we put in this summer is doing its job. Also our wildlife spotted noted a roe deer in the field on the up side at Broadway (where the planning application for new houses has gone in). Almost all other wildlife was being sensible by not venturing out in such wet and windy conditions! Apart from the deer, the we did note a hairy caterpillar at Laverton.

Thursday 9^th November

The plan for today was to complete the items at Working Lane that were abandoned last week. In our favour was the weather, slightly less damp, and the team size of seven.

However, first of all, five of the team had to undertake Personal Track Safety (PTS) certification or re-certification. Hence the congregation in the Churchward House mess room. Many thanks to Paul Fuller, PW HoD, for organising the session. And for ensuring that all five passed the exam with flying colours.

Prior to the PTS session, Andrew and Jonathan spent a productive hour sorting out some of our equipment in the old wooden shed at Winchcombe Yard. Less frequently used pieces of kit are now on the top shelf.

Roger and Martin were the two not requiring PTS - so they headed to Working Lane to continue clearing the ditch on the up side of the embankment which is the outlet of 25B down to the junction with 25A. This was well overgrown - hedge trimmers were required for the high stuff first, then the brush cutters for the lower vegetation.

The start of the 110 yards of the ditch between 25A and 25B. [Photo by Roger]

Once the PTS five arrived at Working Lane, they cleared the down side of 24C, the down side and final upside outlet of 24B and the up side of 25B and 25C. These final two have inlets on the down side which are outside of the railway boundary - so we can not access for clearing.

24B haul road inlet headwall.

24C final exit to under adjacent property; this grill needs regular clearance during the winter.

One of our smaller headwalls, 25C exit. Usually the water level allows more to be seen! [Photo by Dave]

So we were able to complete the visual inspections of 24B, 24C and 25A which we started the previous week but not abandoned due to rain. At least this week the rain was just short (but heavy) showers. As now work days have no trains running or cafe open – the end of day cuppa was back in the Churchward House mess.

Once again our wildlife reporter had a slow day. However, many examples of various fungi were noted at Working Lane near the haul road; and a lone low flying red kite was also spotted.