August and the resumption of a normal English summer

One of the variations of the famous "Sod's Law" is that the weather becomes less pleasant during the summer holiday of the English schools, from late July to early September. Summer 2021 certainly started off in that form.

Paradoxicality, we do need wet weather in order to observe how the various drains, pipes, culverts, streams and rivers flow during and after wet weather. But working in the rain is not pleasant; you get damp and dirty quicker; we can not use some of our powered equipment for safety reasons; and the windows of the road vehicles we shelter in for breaks and lunch steam up quickly.

Thursday 5 August 

The team was back to strength with six members attending. The main item was the continued build of the new headwall for culvert 24A up side exit from the haul road at Royal Oak, Gretton. We managed just two more brick courses before the onset of heavy rain at lunchtime meant an early finish. Our expert recycling operatives managed to extract another load of backfill from Gotherington, we thought that last weeks loads were going to be the last from there! This load was good quality size one Cotswold honey colour stone. 

The day's progress on culvert 24A up side haul road exit. Note the water level compared to previous weeks!

The brush cutters were in action as well. We cut the overhanging brambles and branches on the haul road between the gate at Working Lane and the flat turning area by culvert 24C. Also removed the vegetation around the culvert 24A exit on the the up side by the trackbed, this enabled a good view of the channel under the line.

Looking into culvert 24A from the up side. The last part is a 24inch by 18inch brick extension with a badly corroded steel plate over the top. All this will be replaced with a new buried 600mm plastic pipe. A substantial job, to be undertaken during the 'closed' season when no trains are running. But that is also the wet season!

With the rain getting heavier after lunch, we spent the afternoon in the Churchward House mess reading the new Personal Health & Safety Guide. Administration tasks have to fit in somewhere!

Tuesday 10 August

Down to five in the team today, it is still holiday season. As the weather had improved, we spent a full day on the construction of the new headwall for culvert 24A haul road exit . This included the tricky bit over the top of the plastic pipe and the concrete lintels in the block courses. This headwall is now almost complete, just the coping courses to get it to the correct height. 

Using the cantilever principle for the courses above the plastic pipe. The concrete blocks behind sit on a concrete lintel.

 

Roger covering up the work at the end of the day. This stops the mortar drying out too quickly and stops rain washing out the mortar.

Backfill added today came from a closer source, just a few yards away at the top of the haul road opposite the Royal Oak pub.

One benefit of working at the top of the haul road is that the trains are visible. 7820 Dinmore Manor with an up train passes during morning break. Loco crews and passengers appreciate a wave!

Yet more work with the brushcutters removed more undergrowth from the working site; and along side the haul road.

Clearing vegetation from the haul road is not just for visual effects - it is imperative to see where the road ends and the ditches and banks begin.

 

The next builds for the team are the headwalls where culvert 24B goes under the haul road. So we  measured this up for the additional plastic pipe required; fortunately we found some suitable lengths in our stock at Winchcombe yard. 

Hiding in the vegetation is the up side exit headwall of culvert 24B, built in 2017. Our next task is to put a concrete apron between this and the haul road, then build a new headwall alongside the haul road.

 

Tuesday 17 August

Back to a six man team today. Having finally exhausted the supply of infill material from Manor Lane, two of the team went on a hunt to Stanton Yard. Plenty there, and a good mix of soil, small stone and larger stone. Plus some tarmac, which was surplus from the verge repairs on the B4632 bridge at Stanton (bridge 8) - but that had gone very solid and needs a kango hammer to break it up. Three loads of infill transported from Stanton, so by the end of the the day the new pipe for culvert 24A under the haul road was buried. 

Martin demonstrates the usefulness of the tipper truck to place infill over the exit pipe of culvert 24A. Ten seconds to off load what took half and hour to load by hand!

The bricklayers completed the construction of the new headwall for culvert 24A haul road exit with the addition of the coping brick layer.  

Adding a coping layer with solid bull nosed Staffordshire Blue bricks really does finish off a headwall!

The vegetation clearance duo used the brushcutters to clear around culvert 24B up side under the haul road and down to the boundary fence. They also extended the clearance of the haul road further down towards Working Lane. 

Now you see it! With surrounding vegetation cleared we can see the extent of the work required on culvert 24B. Quite a bit of digging out for the concrete aprons - so three Shredded Wheats for breakfast next week!

Tuesday 24 August

For a change, some of the five team members present today did not visit Gretton!

The term 'Drainage team' is a bit of a misnomer, we get involved with almost anything on the Civil Engineering side. One task is ensuring safe access to bridges and other structures that are to be inspected by the teams of external inspectors. So today we were at Stanton Yard to deal with bridge 10, the minor road up to Stanton village. We also cleared the access into Stanton Yard; the vegetation has grown considerably since last cut over a year ago. This included several branches of a damson tree, the fruit not quite ripe enough to eat. Then we turned our attention to the four wing walls of bridge 10. Finally we cut back the growth on the sloping vehicle tracks which lead from the yard down to the running line.

Looking down on 7820 Dinmore Manor with the first down train of the day from Stanton Road bridge 10.

Cleared high mileage up side wing wall of bridge 10.

As our heavy duty brush cutters were away having their annual service and safety checks, we were using the light weight machines. These are much easier to handle on wing walls, but they do struggle a bit when encountering thicker vegetation such as blackthorn and ash. Consequently the saws and hedge trimmers saw quite a bit of use. We racked the bigger cut branches into a pile, that will be a bonfire later in the year when no trains are running.

Stanton Yard access before clearing.

 

Same view after clearing. Almost accessible by a double deck bus!

Two team members took two tipper loads of infill from Stanton to Royal Oak for the up side haul road exit headwall of culvert 24A. This is now looking almost complete, apart from the infill required at the sides. There is plenty of infill at Stanton, more now visible after the vegetation clearance.
 

Backfill of culvert 24A up side haul road exit at Royal Oak slowly coming up the headwall. Photo by Dave.

Wildlife spot - a lizard who has made Stanton Yard their home. No doubt a knowledgeable blog reader will identify the species. Photo by Roger.

Tuesday 31 August

Due to combination of sickness, holiday and other unavailability, only 3 team members working today. So we continued with the clearance operation to enable the external inspectors due in September to have safe and easy access to the structures. Today we tackled bridge 11 and culvert 11A; this is between Stanton Yard and the north end of Stanway viaduct. Culvert 11A is the one the team spent most of the summer of 2019 rebuilding, hence we hope the external inspectors will not find anything amiss.

First task of the day was to clear the vehicle turning area just north of bridge 11. We can then park the transit truck well clear of the running line. Photo by Roger.

Bridge 11 and Culvert 11A down side. Photo by Roger.

Bridge 11 and culvert 11A up side. Photo by Roger.

So that takes us (meteorologically) to the end of the summer of 2021. Perhaps not quite as wet as some summers after all.

Hot and hotter still in July

The chief blog writer was away for all of July, undertaking a practical study into applied fluid dynamics. Otherwise known as as canal & river cruise! Hence most of this catchup post comes from notes supplied by Dave.

Of course, other team members were also away on holidays, so several days were just a small core team.  

Tuesday 6th July 

Just 4 members of the team working today. The main task was continuing the build of the new headwall where culvert 25B enters the new junction to join culvert 25A on the up side at Working Lane. The other operation was to collect infill from Manor Lane, Gotherington to finally complete the backfill and levelling of the culvert 25A junction inlet headwall. This has used up most of the infill from Manor Lane.

Tuesday 13th July 

Hottest working day of the year so far. Five team members working today. We finished the build of culvert 25B junction inlet headwall at Working Lane. Just now needs backfilling.

Culvert 25B junction inlet headwall complete - mainly Michael's handiwork. Photo by Dave.

 

We retrieved a length of redundant pipe from the up side near culvert 27B at Gretton. This was where we inserted the new toe drain pipe back in May, alongside the neighbours property. We had thought further work might also be necessary here to level the soil where we inserted new pipes; however nature seems to have done the work for us and no further landscaping is now considered necessary. (Not often do we get a helping hand from nature!).

Vegetation starting to hide where we inserted a new toe drain, up side, Gretton. Photo by Dave.

 

We took a look at the section of ditch dug by our colleagues in the Wednesday Clearance team on the down side in Dixton Cutting. This takes water off the field, along the cutting crest and then down into culvert 32A (the flume). The ditch is still clear of vegetation. To ensure all the water running off the lowest part of the field is captured, we will extend the ditch about 15m north. Hard to image very heavy rain on a hot day like today.

The ditch dug by the Clearance team - good work. Come back for more digging please! Photo by Dave.

 

At the south portal of Hunting Butts tunnel we fitted bolts to the heavy metal lid on the manhole cover in the formation (it would be in the 6 foot between the tacks if they were still there). Hopefully, this together with the heavy concrete lids placed on top will deter any visitors from opening the manhole to take a look. At Far Stanley, we placed a line of posts along the slope on the up side where embankment movement was detected earlier in the year. These posts help monitor any further movement. We put in 9 posts, each 900cm from the edge of the track and 500cm apart. The height of the vegetation made it difficult to get them exactly in line. This sunny July following the damp June certainly is ideal conditions for weed growth!

Far Stanley embankment - good views toward the Malvern Hills once the growth is cut back. Photo by Dave.

 

Finally, we moved some materials up the haul road from Working Lane bridge to culvert 24A, in preparation for next week's start on building the new headwall on the exit side of the haul road.  

Tuesday 20th July 

Another temperature record today - beats last week by several degrees. In fact it was too hot for bricklaying, so the team decided on an early finish. Before the heat beat us, the five strong team made preparations for the new headwall build at culvert 24A. The necessary brushcutting was followed by clearing around the culvert outlet pipe to fit the collar to connect a new pipe to lead onward to the position of the new headwall. The ditch was widened on one side so that this new pipe could be fitted snugly into the collar rather than at an angle. A second length of pipe is on site to further extend the pipe fully to the position of the new headwall; we will also use a collar from our stock at Winchcombe. So, proper construction start put back one week.

First section of the new pipe for 24A under the haul road. The old sleeper marks the edge of the haul road. Very little water flowing in the culvert today. Photo by Dave.

One of the best spots on the line for lunch - but only available to lineside workers! Sunshade and picnic table are not in our regular set of tools. Photo by Dave.

 

Tuesday 27th July 

Finally we started laying the concrete blocks and bricks for the culvert 24A haul road exit headwall. First of all, we connected the second length of pipe using a collar. This took the outflow as far as the intended position of the head wall and enabled building to commence. Meanwhile, two tipper loads of infill were collected from Manor Lane (that really is the last of the piles from there) and used to support the pipes between the outlet and the new head wall. The number of courses of bricks we could lay was limited by the amount of water at the base; by lunch time we had got to the point where we needed to let the mortar set in these lower courses before more bricks could be laid. So after lunch we returned to Winchcombe to shift the new delivery of cement bags under cover. The weather forecast is this hot dry spell will come to an end in the next day or so.

Extending the 24A haul road pipe to the site of the new headwall. Photo by Dave.

First block and brick courses of the 24A haul road exit headwall. Will be needing quite a bit of backfill here - good job there is plenty at Stanton  Yard. Photo by Dave.

Flaming June (mainly)

 Continuing the catch up of the team's activities over the summer of 2021, we first have June.

Tuesday 1st June

Four team members in today for the hottest working day so far this year. Progressed the building on the new culvert 25A headwall at Working Lane, by the end of the day there were only two brick courses to complete.

Almost complete, the headwall for 25A inlet to the junction pipes. Built using reclaimed imperial size bricks to match the invert.

 

Cutting bricks to fit an creates a lot of dust - Roger models the essential FFP3 mask.

 

High mileage up side wing wall of bridge 25 repointed up to head height and another row of bricks relaid on the end of the wall. 

 

Andrew and Nigel repointing the up side high mileage wing wall of Working Lane bridge, well at least the courses within reach. [Photo by Roger].

Despite the heat, there was no brick laying on culvert 25B ditch headwall, still too much water coming down. There is more flow in this than there is in culvert 25A. We built a temporary dam and pipes in the 25B ditch so it should dry out in time for next week.   

Temporary arrangement to keep the working area on the 25B junction inlet dry.

 

 

Evidence of previous navvies - Dave holds a well rusted spade head found in the undergrowth.

The wet weather in the proceeding week also has contributed to some standing water alongside the haul road up to Royal Oak. Most probably when the haul road was put in it stopped water draining into the ditch by the up side fence line. We have a task on the list to insert some pipes under the haul road at strategic spots.

Today's wildlife spot - a dove sunning herself on the aggregate pile. Great camouflage!

 

Thursday 3rd June

Not so hot and not so sunny. Two members of the team on duty today to progress the internal visual examinations of the smaller culverts. The very small ones are officially classified as cross drains.

35006 P&O passing the truck north of Hayles Abbey

 

Culvert 15A down side (Cotswold side), this is the inlet. A good example of original arch with very slightly tapered bricks.

Similar arch on the down side of culvert 14B. Note the original bricks are not 'true blues', some have a reddish tint to them.

Tuesday 8th June

Five team members present today. Continued with work at Working Lane, Gretton. We finished the brickwork on the new culvert 25A junction inlet headwall. Also added concrete infill for the hollow blocks - this makes for a really strong construction. We started the infill behind the headwall. Some of the material for this came by levelling the ground by the wing wall of the bridge. Other infill was brought by truck from a surplus pile at Manor Lane, Gotherington.

Choosing shady spots, Nigel repointing the wing wall and Roger finishing off the headwall for culvert 25A.

 

Job almost done - culvert 25A headwall, just needs some more infilling.

The lack of rain in the past week finally enabled us to start the construction of the new headwall on the inlet to the junction pipes from culvert 25B. Even so we needed to fix the temporary pipes and bale out the working area before starting. 

Out in the hot sun, Michael gets the first row of blocks for culvert 25B inlet headwall into place.

 

At least from 25B you can see the trains - just! 7903 Foremarke Hall passes tender first to Cheltenham.

Also completed was the repointing of all the easily reachable parts of bridge 25 up side high mileage wing wall. The higher courses will require suitable 'working at heights' platforms (not ladders!).

Sitting down on the job!Andrew undertakes ground level wing wall pointing. [Photo by Roger]

 

Working spots in the shade of the bridge and embankment were in demand!

Tuesday 15th June

Six team members in today to progress the work at Working Lane.

We put some more backfill against the culvert 25A new headwall - it is going to take a lot more.

Infill collected from Gotherington is offloaded through the fence to the new 25A junction inlet headwall.

 

We repointed most of the walls and invert of the original brick channel of culvert 25A under Working Lane bridge, after clearing the invert of silt and debris.

 

Andrew and Martin repointing the brick invert of culvert 25A under Working Lane bridge. Probably the coolest spot for working today! [Photo by Roger]

We completed the rebuild of the up side high mileage wing wall - using a recovered coping stone from the Winchcombe yard supply; so a slightly different size. 

Roger measuring up prior to fitting the last of the replacement coping stones on the up side high mileage wing wall of bridge 25.

 

Out in the sun, we progressed the new culvert 25B headwall on the junction pipe to the top level of the pipe. Hot working in the sun - so the choice spot was under the bridge working in the invert! Usually that requires wellies or waders.

Today's progress on the culvert 25B junction inlet headwall. Now well above water level.

Thursday 24th June

Five team members present today, continuing with the work at Working Lane, Gretton.

We progressed the build of the new headwall for culvert 25B entering the junction pipes on the up side.

Michael continues brick laying on culvert 25B junction inlet headwall. Note how the width of the wall is exactly 4 bricks - we have a precision designer!

 

We continued backfilling the new culvert 25A headwall using more material from Manor Lane, Gotherington. Amazing just how much backfill these headwalls require! Also we mixed some concrete to form a smooth base between the end of the old brick invert and the new wall below the plastic pipe.

Culvert 25A new headwall backfill almost complete.

A frog's eye view from within the brick invert of culvert 25A - with the concrete infill under the plastic pipe just showing.

 

Whilst loading infill at Manor Lane, Gotherington, the first up (northbound) train of the day behind 7903 Foremarke Hall passes.

We erected first (lowest) post for fence on the high mileage up side wing wall. The others will require some working at height safety measures to proceed.

Nigel fixing the lowest replacement wing wall fence post, up side, high mileage. Note the repointing and rebuilt copings.

 

Pointing of the 25A brick invert channel under the bridge was completed. Diagonally across the bridge, so down side low mileage, we started - and almost completed - the replacement of broken/damaged bricks on the wing wall. A job that has been on our task list for quite a while.

Down side low mileage wing wall, lower courses replaced with recovered imperial engineering bricks. Upper courses to be dealt with next time.

 

Additionally two of the team visited Hunting Butts south portal and replaced the metal cover on the manhole in the six foot. Will return later with a battery drill to fix down properly with some bolts.

Tuesday 29th June 

Six members of the team working today, once again at Working Lane.

We completed the spalling and pointing repairs to down side low mileage wing wall of bridge 25. At least the area that can be reached from the ground. We also removed some ivy and other greenery growing on the up side wing walls - but left the buddleia which is out of reach. 

Bridge 25 down side low mileage wing wall - almost as good a new.

 

Yet more backfill added to behind the new headwall of culvert 25A - probably another load or two will finish that and clear the pile from Manor Lane. (I think we thought that last week too!).

That must be the last of the infill for culvert 25A junction inlet headwall. It looks level enough!

 

We progressed the build of the culvert 25B junction inlet headwall - all concrete blocks in place and just two rows of bricks and copings to go. 

Culvert 25B junction inlet headwall, concrete blocks at final level. Just two more row of bricks to go. These are new metric blues, as this is well clear of existing structures.

 And so we ended a productive month.  Working Lane is an agreeable place to be in the summer!