More treasure found at Stanton

Monday 5 August 

More excavation on the down side today ready for concreting the area where the cess outfalls into the culvert channel. Improving the situation here was one of the key drivers for the project, the inlet configuration with the 600 mm pipe blocking the cess outfall had been causing problems with the water getting in behind the wing wall. 

The block and brick work for the south wall extension out to the redesigned inlet is taking shape, this is where we start getting under each others feet as the jobs are all in the same space. 

Roger building the south wall while Nigel excavates the cess outfall
(Photo: Alastair) 

Still a fair bit of spoil to remove
(Photo: Alastair) 

Taking advantage of no trains running today, the Combine harvester trundled back over the track.  

Off to harvest another field no doubt
(Photo: Alastair) 

Dave was busy recycling the spoil from the downside into the landscaping on the up side. 

Dave landscaping the up side
(Photo: Alastair) 

Nigel nears the end of the dig
(Photo: Alastair) 

Some of the concrete backfill for the south wall extension was dropped in. 

Roger backfilling the south wall extension
(Photo: Alastair) 

There's still a lot of wall to build on the down side around the base of the gabion baskets and along the fence-line side of the cess outfall. 

Dave bringing more bricks down ready for the next build
(Photo: Alastair) 

Last job on the up side will be the scour protection at the end of the channel, but there's a bit of tidying up required where the cess outfall and channel meet.  

Dave and Nigel manufacturing shuttering on the up side
(Photo: Alastair) 

The former was taken out of the brick arch, last job here will be to put a concrete skin over the top to match the rest of the culvert arch. 

Brick arch standing unsupported
(Photo: Alastair) 

Progress out towards the fence on the down side...  

Down side channel out to the inlet pipe
(Photo: Alastair) 

Down side cess outfall ready for concreting
(Photo: Alastair) 

Lastly we have the treasure that Dave found in the clay, perhaps we should be keeping it under wraps until it has been assessed and valued. It looks to be a solid gold antique snuff box. Singleton & Cole were registered in Birmingham on  on 7 May 1897 as manufacturers, importers and dealers in tobacco. They were taken over in 1966, but the Singleton brand still survives. 

(Photo: Alastair) 

(Photo: Alastair) 

Extensive research shows that these boxes can make as much as £0.99 (plus £3.50 P&P) on a well known on-line auction site. Perhaps it's value would increase a bit if it could provide the provenance to link it back to the navvy who dropped it when the earthworks were done in 1903 😉 

Time for the acid test at Stanton

Saturday 3 August 

Little did we realise when we set off for Stanton this morning that our work would have undergone full user testing in our absence. From the inception of the project we knew that harvest traffic would be using the bridge around the end of July, hence the push to get the up side finished and the track passable in time. The surprise we got this morning was in the shape of a combine harvester sitting the field on the down side of the track. That could only mean one thing, harvest traffic had been using the bridge. A quick inspection showed that the structure had held up well, this is despite the fact that the concrete backfill on the up side hasn't had the requisite 28 day curing period to reach its 30 Newton strength.  

The focus today was on finishing the brickwork on the up side and starting it on the down side. The footings for the down side north wall were concreted as well. 

The wheat harvest has started 

Roger sizing up the block laying on the down side 

Temporary pipe installed to contain the flow 

First row of blocks laid 

On the up side, Michael finished off the headers on the north wall. 

Last brick on the wall
(Photo: Alastair) 

Roger filling the gap between the old and the new on the down side
(Photo: Alastair) 

Late morning saw the arrival of the farmer with his grain trailer, did it fit through the bridge? only just. There was about 50 mm between the top of the exhaust and the bridge deck. 

A bit of a squeeze 

Transferring grain from the combine to the trailer 

After doing the first row of blocks, Roger went over to the up side to finish off fitting the taper bricks in the arch. 

Former pulled forward for the last time 

After laying the tapers dry to test the fit, the mortar goes in
(Photo: Alastair) 

Inner ring completed 

Outer ring going in 

On the down side the excavation and shuttering had been completed for concreting the footing for the north wall extension. 

First row of bricks on the south wall and shuttering in for the north wall 

Michael doing gymnastics over the pipe while
Stuart compacts clay into the hole from where the sleeper was removed
(Photo: Alastair) 

After lunch the concreting started in earnest. 

Michael filling the top corner 

Alastair on the mixer 

Roger ferrying the ballast 

The afternoon grain haulage was with a slightly smaller tractor and trailer, unusually for harvest, the farmer was driving the combine and then taking the grain away himself. 

A bit better fit under the bridge 

Michael levels the concrete 

Progress on the down side today 

Sometimes we have to stop and think... 

Design conference for the next stage
(Photo: Alastair) 

End of the day... 

Up side channel brickwork finished 

Up side brick arch, brickwork finished 

Down side taking shape 

Weather today was warm and overcast, we missed the showers. 

Still at Stanton

Thursday 1 August

Back at Culvert 11A, it wasn't just bricks and concreting today, in an attempt to keep ahead of the bricklayers there was a bit more excavation. Plus a visit to Stanley Pontlarge to see what the heavy rain on Tuesday had done and then some finishing off jobs.

Michael spent the day laying the top headers on up side north wall, he had set himself a challenge to get over the 100 mark (a new PB (in athletic terms, nothing to do with lead 😊)). Like all good suspense novels we'll leave the result until the end. Alastair had another hard day on the mixer with mortar and concrete mixes. Stuart and Andrew concreted the footings for the south wall on the down side after a detour to Culvert 28A, the Andrew dug more footings for the headwall on the down side cess extension pipe.

Up side north wall - Michael gets the first 6 bricks down
(Photo: Alastair) 

At the end of the yellow stick by 11 am.
Still a long way to go 

The record was looking doubtful by lunchtime 

The bottom end of the footings on the down side were concreted on Thursday, just the top end to do today. 

It doesn't look much but it will take several mixes 

Down side south wall extension footings 

While the mixer was going, another couple of mixes were dropped in to backfill the south wall that was raised. 

Concrete backfill done 

Andrew delivers more mortar for Michael 

Down side from the bridge 

Alastair unloaded the ballast we brought up from Winchcombe ready for the next slab of concrete. 

Alastair not feeding the mixer 

The ditch on Culvert 11B eventually got cleared, the end chamber for the 11B-11A carrier drain will go in here next to the tree stump. 

Culvert 11B up side ditch 

Andrew got stuck into excavating the footings for the new headwall on the downside cess extension. 

Andrew down in the hedge line 

The ground water that isn't making excavation easy
(Photo: Alastair) 

Andrew trying to keep in the dry
(Photo: Alastair) 

Down side cess Extension footings excavated 

Some of the left over small gabion stone was used to backfill the gap between the down side north wall and the wing wall, this should allow the seepage to run out. 

Stuart tipping gabion stone in
(Photo: Alastair) 

Artistically positioning the gabion stone 😟
(Photo: Alastair) 

The filled void 

By late afternoon Michael had got onto doing the pointing up. 

Record attempt in progress - Do not disturb 

By the end of the day the progress was visible, just. The down side shuttering will come out on Saturday for the other side to be concreted. 

Down side from above 

Down side - the deep ditch on the cess has gone 

Now for the big reveal: how did Michael manage with the headers? 125 bricks were laid out ready, only 15 remain to go in. 110 in one day is officially a new PB. Next challenge is to attempt to beat the world record of 872 bricks in 1 hour 😀

Up side north wall, just a small gap at the far end to complete 

Culvert 28A survived the downpour remarkably well, with just a shallow covering of sandy silt on the chamber lid. There is clear evidence of water flowing from upstream of the chamber though. A dig is on the cards to investigate. 

Culvert 28A - silt trail from just upstream of the chamber 

Culvert 28A downstream Chamber 

Weather watch today, cloudy with bright intervals, the Cotswolds at their best. 

Looking over to Lidcombe Hill