First Footing

With both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day this winter falling on Thursdays; to avoid loosing two working days, by a majority democratic decision, the team decided on a Friday workday for one week. Maybe this was a desire to work off some the excesses of Christmas!

Thursday 1^st January

However, for one of our team, Friday is a paid work day. So, in his role as vehicle and plant maintenance, Jonathan attended on New Year’s Day. With all the vehicles in the yard, this was an ideal opportunity to give them all a good external wash and for some an internal clean.

The white Ranger gets a foam snow wash. Overnight there was some real snow. [Photo by Jonathan]

Four clean vehicles - a rare sight! [Photo by Jonathan]

Friday 2^nd January

So to break the ice on 2026 (literarily!) seven of the team put in a full day, with help for two others who had other commitments in the afternoon.

We tried our best to keep the three vehicles we used clean – participially be not going tack side and cleaning boots before climbing board. However, the muddy puddles in Winchcombe yard and on on the roads can not be avoided.

All the team headed for Toddington to park in the station car park. Usually we started with a tea/coffee break to warm up – and consume some festive edibles. Then down to work.

Nigel and Peter cleared the vegetation on the top of the down (Cotswold) side cutting on the low mileage of Stowe Road Bridge. This was to enable a survey to determine where to cut a new drainage ditch. This is to catch the field and road run off; routing this to new French drain (or maybe a pipe) to take the water to the down side cess well away from the bridge. Currently in very wet periods, water cascades under the side arch of the bridge, washing down large amounts of silt. A lot of this ends up on the cess, exactly where locos are coupled or uncoupled and in the cess drains. And sometime the water flows across Stowe Road and flooding into Station Cottages.

Dave, Martin, John and Phil set to work clearing the entrance on the up (Malvern) side cutting crest and then continued along the crest fence line all the way to Stanway Viaduct. There is a crest drain pipe for half of this length; with some new(ish) chambers towards the viaduct. Nigel joined the Stanway bound group, clearing around the cess chambers on both sides of the line.  

The 'new' crest drain pipe was flowing slowly so showing why crest drains are so important in keeping cutting sides dry and stable. [Photo by Dave]

The north end of Toddington North cutting where it falls away to the embankment leading to Stanway viaduct is a very photogenic spot. Even with just a stationary line of goods wagons on the siding. One of the 'new' crest drain chambers in the foreground. [Photo by Dave]

The Stanway vegetation cutting group are just visible in the distance. The frost on the sleepers in the shadow of the bridge lasted all day. 

Meanwhile Dee and Andrew began excavating the deposited silt from around the first down side cess chamber by the bridge pier. A tricky job here as there are four S&T cables which run either over the top of the chamber or actually through it. Peter and Phil later joined; enabling the removal of the metal mesh chamber lid and thus use of a grab to remove the accumulated silt from the chamber. Also the lid removed, we were able to finalise a plan for the improvements. This will be to raise the chamber by one brick course, either side of the cable, then to install a GRP chamber ring and blue mesh lid to raise the height of the chamber. Also the plan is to construct a small retaining wall behind the chamber – both of these measures should reduce the amount of silt entering the cess drain. And make for a less muddy path under the bridge to the end of the platform for the train crews.

The cess chamber cleared of silt and the inverted U channels over the top of the S&T cables.

Checking for size and height of the planned rebuilt.

Metal grid lid removed.

Phil, Peter, Dee and John on the chain gang using the grab to remove silt from the chamber and to dispose where it will not flow back in.

Whilst we were there, we removed a long redundant fence post adjacent to the bridge pier. It obviously dates from the time when a fence extended across the track bed under the bridge when operations were only to the south of Toddington. Whoever installed that post intended it to last – no amount of digging or hammering would shift it. So when Ian arrived (see below), he was promptly dispatched to fetch a chain saw to cut the post off. There is a similar post on the up side of the line – we shall remove another day!

John, Dee and Peter attempt excavation of the fence post. Note the deployed red flags, however, no stock movements took place. 

The sawn off fence post stump - well ensconced in a lump of solid concrete.

Temporary covers in place.

Wildlife report: On his way into Winchcombe, Ian cam across an injured tawny owl sitting in the middle of the road. He stopped to investigate, and as the bird was too injured to resist, he put it in the bot of his car. At Winchcombe we found a cardboard box and some paper towels to make a more comfortable bed/nest; and then set about finding a suitable rescue centre to take the casualty to. This turned out to be almost back to Worcester – so a bit of a journey, hence Ian’s later arrival at Toddington. We did save him an iced bun (Ian that is, not the owl).

The injured tawny owl.

Other more mundane observations at Winchcombe were our resident robin in the wooden shed and a very low flying male pheasant who came to investigate the owl. Observations from the top of the cutting sides at Toddington included grey wagtails, Red Kites and buzzards. No sign of any mammals, not surprisingly since the daytime maximum temperature was only 3C (or 37.4 °F on the heritages scale).