Wet and dry

Thursday 9^th October

Eight members of the team attending today – with an equal division into two groups of four. One group had potentially wet work; whilst the other encountered dry conditions at all their work sites.

The wet work group, consisting of Jonathan. Polly, John and Martin, headed south. Late last Thursday we received a report from an adjacent landowner that water was flooding his field on the down (Cotswold) side south of Two Hedges Road. Severn Trent had attended earlier in the day, but found no evidence of a burst in the water main that runs under the field (and also under the railway by the abandoned bridge 41). The landowner also reported that the ‘Bonsai World’ stream was running strongly. This was perplexing, it was before the arrival of storm Amy, and no other watercourse in the area had suddenly increased flows. So our locally based team member went to investigate on Friday morning.

(Friday 3rd October) Debris washing down the Bonsai World stream to the grill on the new pipe under the footpath adjacent to the railway. [Photo by Jonathan]

 

 

 

 

Severn Trent had also returned on Friday morning, this time they did find a burst water main under New Road, the Woodmancote to Southam road. Water was cascading out of the break and finding its way into the ‘Bonsai World’ stream. The road was closed. Further visits, including by our Infrastructure Manager, confirmed that the recently installed pipe that takes the ‘Bonsai World’ stream under the footpath by the railway boundary was not leaking; there was some leakage from the crest ditch that this leads into, and the flooding in the adjacent field came from where this ditch (now a toe ditch at the bottom of an embankment) runs into the inlet of cross drain 40B. The amount of water entering the down side cess was not excessive , and there was no silt or other debris lineside. However, the volume of water was just too much for the toe ditch to cope with. Without heavy plant on site, we could not tackle any work to alleviate the situation until Severn Trent had fixed the burst main. This did not happen until Wednesday (8^th October) – apparently due to problems arranging alternative water supplies to Woodmancote and Southam.

(Friday 3rd October) Severn Trent find the spot where their water main had burst.  [Photo by Jonathan]

The ‘wet’ group managed to clear vegetation from the crest ditch to enable an inspection of the effects of the torrent of water. They also cleared some of the obstructions from the inlet of cross drain 40B and the toe ditch at its junction. We will return with a bigger group to continue with the clearance of the toe ditch. Dealing with the crest ditch is a more complex problem – as often the case, access for plant and bulk materials is difficult. We are evaluating a number of potential methods.

Scouring on the crest ditch caused by the torrent of water.  [Photo by Jonathan]

Temporarily replaced twin wall pipe sections in the crest ditch to reduce further scouring.  [Photo by Jonathan]

Meanwhile the ‘dry’ team, Peter, Nigel, Roger and Andrew, headed north to Toddington. First task was to collect the remaining items from the Drainage team exhibit at the Railway 200 weekend event. These were stored for safety in the First Response office – hence the requirement to have a First Responder with a key.

Then they headed trackside south past Hayles Abbey to commence the main job of the day. This was to clear and inspect culvert 17B, and cross drains 18A, 19A, 19B and 20A. None of those had water flowing through them; so this enabled some internal inspections (following our Confined Space working procedures). 17B had some pooling water in the bore, but the others were bone dry. Looking inside 20A is a very valuable and rare opportunity – none of the current team can recall this happening before. 20A was extended many years ago by butting up sections of GRP twinwall pipe against the old headwalls. We have always wondered how well the butt joints are fairing – now we know. The down (Cotswold) side inlet is not too bad; but the up (Malvern) side outlet will need some attention within a few years.

17B is the largest culvert we have; anything larger is a bridge. The horseshoe bore is tall enough to walk through, but it is rare to be able to do so without wellingtons or waders.

Adjacent to the high mileage end of bridge New Farmers Accommodation Bridge (19) is cross drain 18A. Both sides are chambers with the old style heavy concrete lids.

One of the smallest cross drains on the line is 19A - this is the up side inlet. Only in very wet conditions does water flow through it.

One man went to mow - Roger brushcutting to the fence line at 19A.

Peter clearing around the inlet of 19B. The orange posts are there to warn operators of robot flails. No signs of badger activity here this year.

Inside 20A, showing where the outlet extension GRP twinwall pipe butts against the original headwall and bore. 

As usual when clearing vegetation, the group also tackled mileposts and cess chambers. Additionally in a couple of places where the vacant track bed is wide and flat enough, we clear spaces to enable the road vehicles to be parked the required safe distance from the nearest running rail. Another odd job for today was the clearing of the gully covers under Old Farmers Accommodation Bridge (20). A unmetalled farm track passes under the line here so the result low point collects mud and silt.

Gulley under Old Farmers Accommodation Bridge (20). [Photo by Peter]

 

Autumn colours just beginning to appear - 2807 with an afternoon down train crosses Old Farmers Accommodation Bridge (20).

Finally, back at Winchcombe before our end of day cup of tea, we replaced the mess room whiteboard with the all line OS map on it; one of the items we had on display at the Railway 200 event.

Martin (l) and John become acquainted with our dumper prior to attending training in two week time.

Wildlife report: Despite not working by the River Isbourne today, two of our sightings were water birds. First was a heron on the roof of one of the houses adjacent to Winchcombe station; then we spotted a cormorant flying overhead at Didbrook. A little further south there was a very large flock of pheasants in one of the adjoining fields. We regularly see Robins when clearing ditches; but today one came very close at the outside benches by the footbridge at Winchcombe Station. Obviously plenty of crumbs there. Mammals spotted included muntjac and roe deer and a hare.

Baker's Dozen

Thursday 2nd October

Two new volunteers joined the team today, making the total team size 13 (hence the Baker’s Dozen). Welcome Phil & Dee. Also we were joined by the Railway’s Civil Engineering Director, Peter Brown. Peter hopes to join all the Civil Engineering teams for a day each month; thus we could say the total team size is now 13¼. One challenge of a large team size is finding sufficient space in road vehicles to get everyone and our tools & materials to the work sites. An additional Ford Ranger will shortly be added to the vehicle fleet. The purchase of this is as a result of a very generous donation from one of the team. It will certainly be a very useful asset.

The ten of us attending all headed for Chicken Curve. Ian, Stuart and Peter (D) took the high road along the vacant trackbed. They cleared cross drains 20B and 20C, plus the complex network of ditches that take the cess drainage from the Defford cutting. Not surprisingly following the hot and dry summer, none of the ditches and streams were flowing. But the vegetation had grown tall; fortunately this was mainly grass. One of the benefits of regular clearing is to stop bramble and other scrub and small saplings becoming established. Once access was cleared, Andrew completed the internal visual inspections of these two cross drains.

20B outlet - not a drop of water!

The other seven took the low road (Beckets Lane) to access the foot of the down (Cotswold) side of the embankment from the main B4632 road. Martin and Polly commenced the task of locating more of the manholes on the piped toe drain. Finding the first of these was a challenge, it was hidden by many years of bramble and brush growth alongside the boundary fence. Dee, Peter (B) and Andrew equipped with a long tape measure and the plans of the Chicken Curve rebuild marked out the likely locations of all four manholes. After a bit of raking of the undergrowth all were found. Surprisingly we we able to open all the metal lids – none had rusted solid! Also surprisingly, there was only a small quantity of silt in each chamber, easily removed with a grab.

A small quantity of silt removed from the second manhole.

Standing water below the pipe level but little silt in the next manhole

Meanwhile, Jonathan donned a set of disposable overalls and then after following our confined spaces working procedure climbed down the first manhole near the road. Using a short shovel, he managed to dig out several inches of silt and decaying old roots. Phil hauled all this out in a bucket on a rope.

Jonathan preparing to enter the first manhole.

Unusually we returned to the Churchward House mess at Winchcombe for lunch – one advantage of a close work site. After lunch we all returned to the toe drain. The prime task was to use our set of drain rods to clear a constriction in the upstream section of pipe from the first manhole. Despite repeated attempts by many of the team pushing on the rods, this constriction proved obstinate. Most likely this is a big bundle of roots – best tackled by bringing in a contractor with jet vac equipment. Finally with a can of blue marker spray we marked the location of all the manholes – so we can find them a lot easier next time we come to inspect and clear them.

Phil, Polly, Peter (B) and Martin during the attempt to rod the pipe upstream from the first manhole.

Cleared and marked manhole - easier to spot next time.

47105 passes with a down afternoon train.

Wildlife report: For most of the morning we had a buzzard circling overhead. No doubt the long grass on the embankment sides at Chicken Curve provides good hunting for small rodents. A pair of magpies also appear to have taken up residence on the up side of the line. Whilst in the orchard on the down side we noted quite a few LBJs (little brown jobs); probably finches, but just too far away for a full identification. Plus the obligatory friendly robin, keen to take advantage any of our diggings.

Railway 200 weekend

Along with most of the Railway’s departments, we had an exhibit at Toddington for the Railway 200 celebration weekend on 27^th and 28^th September. Ian master-minded our display, set it up and manned it on the Saturday. Whilst Peter (D) was in charge on Sunday. Thanks to those two for the extra hours over the weekend, plus also thanks to the First Response team for providing temporary storage for some items at Toddington before and after the weekend.

Ian waiting for the first visitors to our Railway 200 exhibit at Toddington. [Photo by Ian]

Rediscovered

Thursday 25^th September

Only half a dozen of the team attending today for various reasons. So an even split into two teams of three.

Roger, Dave and Peter set forth for Toddington. Their first task was to clear an area of brush and bramble between the signal box steps and the boundary fence. We suspected that there was a cess chamber under this, sure enough there was. It is an original from the construction of the railway, so had very thick and heavy lids. Removing these took some effort; once removed they revealed that this chamber is just for a right angle corner in the cess to toe pipe. So our hunt for connections from the adjoining field and the former drainage of the down platform two building and Railway cottages continues.

Original cess to toe chamber with heavy GWR lids by the signal box at Toddington. [Photo by Dave]

Inside this chamber - a very slow flow of water. [Photo by Dave]

Next for this group was the removal of the remains of a telegraph pole stat at culvert 16C, Didbrook. This required some digging; then the use of our angle grinder. As this is a mains powered tool, it required the generator. As we had not used the generator for a while, we discovered that the battery was flat. Fortunately the generator has a hand start as a backup.

Telegraph pole stay remains - best removed before being caught by a brush cuter or a flail. [Photo by Roger]

Gone! [Photo by Dave]

The final task was the clearance of bridge 17A south of Hayles Abbey Halt. Even though this carries the railway over a stream, it is large enough to be classified as a bridge rather than a culvert. Hence it is the Bridges team that carry out the annual visual inspection of it – they undertook that in August.

Peter raking cut vegetation on the down side inlet of bridge 17A. [Photo by Dave]

Neat and tidy - the long headwall on the outlet (up or Malvern side) of bridge 17A.

As the clearing of 17A tool a lot longer then anticipated and the weather was by now quite warm and sunny; the two brush cutter operatives in the group decided to call it a day. The next structure to clear is almost as big, culvert 17B – so best tackled in the morning with a fresh team.

A train picture not a drain picture! Low autumn sunshine provides wonderful lighting as 7903 Foremarke Hall heads to Winchcombe over bridge 17A (down side marker post on extreme right).

Meanwhile the other group of three, Jonathan, Ian and Andrew, we making another rediscovery – but of a much more recent structure. They were working on the down (Cotswold) side of Chicken curve, at the foot of the embankment alongside the footpath which runs from the B4632 main road. The objective was to find inlet for the box culvert which runs under the road. In amongst several years growth of bramble and brush were some quite large dead branches. These had to be removed manually before brush cutting the area. Eventually a circular concrete chamber with metal lid emerged from the undergrowth and overburden by the fence line. Amazingly the group managed to get the rather rusty lid open. This revealed plastic twinwall pipes coming in and out; and around 8 inches of silt and root debris in the bottom of the chamber. Clearing this out (following our confined spaces working procedures) will be on the job list for next week. We suspect this chamber dates from 2010/2011, constructed as part Chicken Curve slip rebuild. The group then explored along the footpath attempting to locate the next chamber. The thick vegetation prevented this; but they did find a very small oblong chamber under the fence to the adjoining property – it was heavily silted. Further exploration will be undertaken after some more clearance along the boundary fence line. Behind the scenes we are also trying to located any plans from the rebuild; they might shed some light on the path of this pipe run.

Ian (foreground) and Jonathan clearing the corner between B4632 and the Chicken Curve footpath.

Metal lid discovered.

Circular concrete chamber now visible. And less overhanging vegetation on the footpath.

The silt and root debris inside the rediscovered circular chamber. [Photo by Jonathan]

After lunch, the group collected all the items for the Drainage exhibit at the Railway 200 celebration weekend. These were then transported to Toddington, this required two vehicles because of the size of some of the items. Setting up of the exhibit will be the first job for the department members putting in overtime to man the stand over the weekend.

Wildlife report: Nothing of great interest to report this week. However we noted that there are several Himalayan balsam plants near the top of the up side embankment over the River Isbourne.

Himalayan balsam well away from the edge of the River Isbourne.

Hanging on

With the vernal equinox occurring next Monday, metrologists and astronomers will both agree that summer is over and we are in autumn. This week we had a couple of signs that summer was just about hanging on; we spotted some swallows that had not yet migrated south and the temperature made wearing a jacket too warm for work. However, with little sunshine and a couple of light drizzle showers it certainly felt more autumnal that summery.

Thursday 18^th September

Nine of the team in attendance, so an even split with three in each of three vehicles to start with.

Nigel, Dave and Peter travelled to Stanton to undertake the clearance of culvert 11C which is just north of Stanway viaduct. This was the task which we postponed from last week. Both the inlet and outlet ditches were completely dry enabling a thorough removal of bankside vegetation.

Bone dry - inlet ditch of 11C.

Roger, Jonathan and Andrew also headed to Stanton. Their first task was to complete the removal of silt from crest ditches on the down side between bridges 10 and 11. Also they inspected several cess chambers in an attempt to devise a plan to repair the damaged chamber by bridge 10. We might have to purchase some more of the heavy concrete chamber rings – alternatively we may be able to move some from other chambers and replace those with GRP rings. That does require the use of concrete to GRP adapters, which we have not used before.

Silt removed from a crest chamber at Stanton.

After coffee break these six then teamed up to complete the clearance and inspection of 11C; and the down side slip markers there. In years gone by the embankment here suffered some slips; and was the home to a family of badgers. Probably these two items are related. Fortunately now, no sign of badger activity or further slipping.

Andrew inspecting the inlet bore of 11C - last year such an operation would have resulted in very wet feet. [Photo by Jonathan]

The remaining three, Martin, John, Stuart, proceeded to Toddington. They started with the clearance of cross drain 14A; which runs under the yard and the narrow gauge line before exiting somewhere in the adjoining field. So only an inlet to clear, but this where we have encountered contaminated water in the past. Hence, extra PPE is required when working here. They then moved down to culvert 14B clearing the down side before the rest of the team arrived.

14A inlet hides in the toe ditch on the down side at Toddington.

Roger and Andrew took a diversion to investigate the cess drains at the south end of the platforms at Toddington. The platform extensions here are going to have some impact on these chambers.

Inside the cess chamber near Toddington Signal Box. Just a trickle flowing in and then out to the right towards the ditch that eventually runs to 14A. 

A brief, but fortunately light, rain shower meant our lunch was taken inside the vehicles. After lunch, the combined groups continued heading south clearing cross drains, culverts and around cess chambers. The structures completed were culverts 14B, 15A, 16C; cross drains 16A, 16B and the road gulleys under bridge 16 (Didbrook No2) bridge. Plus a start was made on clearing at bridge 17A – one of the large structures reclassified from a culvert a few years ago. Four of these (15A, 16A, 16B and 16C) had no water flowing through – something none of the team had seen before. Being able to stand in the ditches not only enables better clearing of the banks, it also enables inspection photographs to be taken looking into the bores.

Unsurprisingly water was flowing through 14B, however it was shallow enough to enable a close up of the inside of the bore. 

All the edge slabs on the 15A inlet were still upright - just a shallow pool of water in the bore.

Cleared roadside gully under Didbrook No2 bridge. [Photo by Jonathan]

Dave clears by the hedge line to locate where we repaired the overflow pipe from 16A down side. No sign of leaks. Lot of rose hips here.

16C completely dry.

Wildlife report: Beside the aforementioned swallows (at Stanton); the team spotted quite a variety of bird species. Three raptors (red kite, buzzard, kestrel), woodpecker, great tit, wren, a small flock of finches and a large flock of crows at Didbrook. On the ground we noted two unidentified species of caterpillars and several species of slugs. Amongst the vegetation that we were clearing were wild hops and mint; whilst along the vacant trackbed at Didbrook we noted quite a number of deadly nightshade plants.

Hops at Didbrook.

Season of Plenty

Thursday 11^th September

Certainly autumn now, the season of plenty. Another day when the weather turned out better than forecast; the showers held off until lunchtime and then were not that heavy or thundery. A strong breeze kept the temperature down, but still warm enough for physical work outside. A team of eight in attendance, initially splitting into a group of two and a group of six.

The pair were Jonathan and Polly, their first task was the removal of old fencing wire from the very end of the low mileage down side toe ditch which leads into the River Isbourne. To avoid a long walk along the ditch, and the climb down from the railway; they accessed the ditch using the old gate from the B4632 roadside. They took the recovered debris back to the metal skip in Winchcombe Yard; then collected bricklaying tools plus some sand, cement and water to head to Stanton.

The gate by the roadside with the pipe under the road just visible bottom left. [Photo by Jonathan]

Cleared ditch flowing slowly down to the Isbourne.[Photo by Jonathan]

Meanwhile the group of six travelled to Stanton Yard; and then splitting further. Roger and Martin accessed the line at Stanton Field bridge (7); then proceeded to clear vegetation from around the cess chambers on both sides of the line north to Laverton foot crossing. They also cleared around the mileposts, including 7¼, which is just north of the foot crossing. This one is set well back from the vacant trackbed where the up line was; so encroaching vegetation can soon obstruct it.

Milepost 7¼ no longer hiding in the undergrowth. [Photo by Roger]

Looking north from culvert 7A towards Stanton Fields bridge (7); cleared cess chamber on left. Note how the vegetation has grown on the up side bank on the left. The whole length between bridges 8 and 7 was flailed back in April. 

Nigel, Martin, Andrew and Ian tackled the vegetation clearance at syphon culvert 7A. There was only a dribble of water flowing through this, and the outlet of this was dry. This enabled the removal of the silt covering the base; and some of that in the outlet ditch back to the boundary fence. Usually there is standing water over 2 feet deep here. Once Polly and Jonathan arrived with the bricklaying tools and materials; they set to work filling the cracks around the outlet bore and in the wing and headwalls of the outlet.

Crack around the outlet bore of 7A, previous repair stopped at the normal waterline. With no water in the outlet ditch; Polly was able to re-point right round the bore.

Whilst Andrew completed the visual inspection of 7A; Nigel, Dave, Martin, Roger and Ian continued with vegetation clearance. They completed all the cess chambers between bridge 7 and bridge 10; the access paths to both sides of Stanton Aqueduct, the down side slip marker posts under the aqueduct, around the mileposts and the small chambers on the down side cutting crest high mileage of bridge 10.

A cess chamber in need of attention; probably hit by a vehicle loading or unloading ballast at Stanton. We will have to raise the height of this to make it more visible.

The first rain shower arrived conveniently at lunch time; so no use of deckchairs today. Fortunately with three vehicles, there was a reasonable amount of space for all eight of us to eat in the dry. After lunch, the combined team headed down the line towards Stanway, clearing the cess chambers and then culvert 11A and cross drain 11B. This enabled visual inspections of these two structures; the small stream which flows through 11A was just a trickle; the cess drains were dry, so too was 11B.

Roger cutting an access down to the main entry of culvert 11A.

Another rain shower temporarily halted work; so we decided to leave clearing and inspecting culvert 11C until next week. Of course, as soon as we packed up and headed back to Winchcombe, the sun came out!

Smiles from some of the team (Ian on right) as it is the end of todays work so head back to the trucks and off to Winchcombe for a cup of tea in the cafe.

Wildlife report: An early sighting at Stanton were some red admiral butterflies, with a few cabbage whites seen later. As befits autumn, the season of plenty, the abundance of fruit was very obvious. All the pear trees at Stanton were heavy with fruit; some still rock hard as they are perry pears, but others are eaters and were just ripening. Juicy but very dry was the taste verdict of one team member. Still plenty of blackberries on the brambles, but now past their best. The remaining berries are smaller and not so sweet. Also well past their peak are the damsons, most had fallen off the trees and were lying on the ground. In contrast, although now ripe the majority of sloes were still on the trees. In the brush we noted several wild roses with plenty of hips, plus a few asparagus plants which had fully grown into tall ferns. Just a few flowers remain; including cornflowers and a few daisies.

Red admiral.

A laden Stanton pear tree.