Squeeze Avoided

Thursday 7^th August

It was a good thing that only seven of the team attended today. If all the team turn up for work we need a minimum of three vehicles to convey us and our tools to the work sites. Today, only two vehicles were available; S&T and C&M were using the other two. Roger, Jonathan, Dave, Nigel, Ian, Martin and Peter were the magnificent seven; the blue tail-lift Transit and the Isuzu their stallions!

First stop was Two Hedges Road, or more precisely the down side high mileage vehicle track and footpath alongside the former Bonsai World site. The task here was to reinstate the fence alongside the site – removed to allow the new stream inlet pipe to be fitted. The new inlet apron with integral bars looks very smart. This type of collector could in several other locations to stop debris entering the drains.

Many hands help make fencing jobs easier. [Photo by Dave]

The reinstated fence by the gate leading from the vehicle track/footpath into the adjoining field. [Photo by Dave]

 

After coffee the team moved to the ditch behind Willow Drive mobile home site at Woodmancote. This was to finish vegetation clearance of the toe ditch on the low mileage side of culvert 38A; and to cut an access gap down the embankment near to Station Road bridge. We cleared the debris from the other week and dug out the high spots in the ditch. Water is flowing more freely now, further digging may be required if the winter storms do not wash more of the silt out. We also uncovered a third salt glazed pipe which could be an original field drain at the high mileage end of the toe drain. We cleared as much silt out of the pipes as possible. There is a lots of detritus still there as we had no room to put it in vehicles to take back to Winchcombe. A strange find uncovered was what appears to be a "heritage cement fibre pipe" lying in the undergrowth.

Third SGP pipe feeding the ditch near Station Road. [Photo by Roger]

After the rain over the past week, there is flowing water in the toe ditch. [Photo by Dave]

We returned to Winchcombe for late lunch and then some of us went on the train to Broadway to undertake a visual survey of the culverts and cross drains that we will be clearing and visual inspecting next month. The remainder of the team headed for the Rive Isbourne bridge to meet with Peter and John (S) from the Bridges team to discuss further clearance of the wing walls there.

Down side low mileage wing wall of the River Isbourne bridge; moss on the mortar to be removed. [Photo by Jonathan]

Finally, over afternoon tea, we discussed the exhibit that Ian is coordinating for the Railway 200 event at the end of September.

Wildlife report: Again the highlight sighting was from the River Isbourne, but this time in the river. Three brown trout swimming upstream. Also a large number of dragon flies. And lots of Himalayan Balsam,  which is a non-native invasive plant. However total eradication is very labour intensive.