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.

Flowing again

Thursday 4^th September

Almost all of the team attended on what initially looked like it would be the wettest day we have worked for a long time.

Ian, Martin and Jonathan took on the completion of the clearance of the down side low mileage toe ditch at the River Isbourne bridge (21A). This is the ditch that runs alongside the Winchcombe Industrial estate, with Winchcombe Reclamation being the immediate adjoining premises. They finished the vegetation clearance right up to the B4632 main road. This revealed an old gate from the roadside, however it is immediately above the ditch, so of no use for access with mechanical plant. The group cleared the two sections of ditch that was obstructed with soil; and also removed an obstruction at the end of the (non railway) culvert that runs under the B4632 road. The result of this was that water began to flow down the ditch, although slowly. Apart from the River Isbourne, this was the only flowing water the team encountered today.

The old gate is just visible above where the toe ditch ends. [Photo by Jonathan]

With the exit from the culvert under the road cleared, water begins flowing down the ditch. [Photo by Jonathan]

Ian (l) and Martin showing how shallow the River Isbourne still is. [Photo by Jonathan]

An afternoon task was the cataloguing of our stock of tubes for the manufacture of safety rails and markers. Some of this is bespoke handrail tube, but most of recycled scaffold poles.

The other seven attendees undertook the culvert and cross drain visual inspections and clearance for the day. They travelled north to Little Buckland; where they split into to teams. Dave, Nigel and Peter headed south to deal with cross drains 5D and 6A at Laverton; also clearing the up side toe drain chambers north of bridge 6. 

Nigel on the brushcutter clears around the 6A exit chamber whilst Peter removes a sapling with the loppers. [Photo by Dave] 

The end result - chamber lids exposed and access cleared.

Roger, John, Polly and Andrew headed north to Peasebrook to attend to cross drain 3A. On the way they cleared around the now disused field access on the down side – this to ensure we can safely turn our vehicles here. This reduces the distance travelled in reverse between Little Buckland and Peasebrook. Next item for clearing was the length of the down side toe ditch between cross drain 5B and the northern most foot crossing. Even after the rain over the past few days; there was no water in this ditch.

Adhering to our confined spaces procedure, Roger enters the exit chamber of 3A whilst John holds the gas detection unit.

John tidying around the down side of the northern most foot crossing at Little Buckland. 

All seven then met up at Meadow Lane bridge for lunch – slightly extended to await the passing of a short but heavy shower of rain. After lunch the final structure for clearing and inspecting was the syphon cross drain 6C, which is just north of Stanton Fields bridge (7).

The inspection and clearing team (well 5 out of the 7) finish off and start packing up at 6C. Stanton Fields bridge 7 in background.

Wildlife report: No interesting mammal sightings today. At Little Buckland we noted a buzzard hunting over the adjacent field, so probably there are some small mammals there. The work at Stanton Fields disturbed a family of crows. The most numerous creatures we encountered were arachnids. Every chamber we inspected seemed to have a resident spider or two. 

Apologies to anyone suffering from Arachnophobia. 

Last of the Summer Days

Thursday 28^th August

An almost full attendance on the last Thursday of (metrological) summer. Ten of the team enjoyed the late summer sun in the morning, but with a few rain showers and a chilling breeze, there was certainly an autumnal feeling to the day.

Two groups were in action. The larger group of six headed for Little Buckland. Here Ian and Martin trimmed the access ramp from the road. Meanwhile, Polly, Peter, Nigel and Andrew took the tipper transit (well three did – one walked) a little further north to place some spent ballast and other infill on top of the section of twinwall pipe we laid in the down side toe ditch a little while ago. (Link) 

Twinwall pipe in toe ditch now buried. (This stops sunshine degrading the plastic).

All six of the group then combined to start our annual programme of clearance and visual inspections of the culverts and cross drains. The honour of the first candidate this year fell to cross drain 5A. This required very little in the way of clearance; as we had visited this four weeks ago to improve the outflow ditch. Our report from a year ago contained the observations “flowing well” and “water too deep to photograph through the bore”. What a change this year – no water at all, not even any damp spots in the inlet or outlet ditches.

Inlet of 5A showing a tide mark when in wet periods water pools as the bottom of the twinwall pipe is several inches above the base.

Polly (l) and Peter acknowledge the approaching up train at Little Buckland bridge. End of summer - so with advance preparation we have a loco fitted with snow ploughs! (26043, one time D5343, looking splendid after its major overhaul and repaint.)

So then a swift move on to cross drain 5B. This did need more vegetation clearance on the up (outlet) side. Another task here was the backfilling of the up side headwall with more of the spent ballast and spoil we had brought. We determined the safest and quickest method was to shovel the material from the bed of the truck into buckets; then to use a chain gang to pass the buckets over the running line and down the embankment for careful emptying in the voids. We completed this well within the 45 minute gap between the down train passing and the next up train departing Toddington. Filling the gaps behind headwalls and the tops of wing walls reduces the risk to us or other lineside workers of broken ankles or other injures from trapping feet in the gap.

Three men went to mow - left to right Ian on brushcutter, Nigel on hedge trimmer and Peter on rake. 5B up side outlet.

Clearance of the down side inlet of 5B was much less demanding. This was part of the major works undertaken last autumn and winter in conjunction with the adjoining land owner. Vegetation clearance here, and in the toe ditch between 5A and 5B was very straightforward. It was mainly grass with just a few lengths of bramble.

5A to 5B down side toe ditch -one year of growth but mainly grass.

The other group had a much more challenging clearance operation. This was to continue with the exposure of the down side toe ditch that runs back from the River Isbourne to the B4632 road bridge at Winchcombe. The fab four undertaking this were Roger, Dave, John and Jonathan. None of the team can remember when this ditch was last cleared – so not surprisingly the vegetation was dense. Even after this warm dry summer, in places this ditch was damp and in others the mud was quite deep. With out the exceptional dry summer this year, clearing this ditch would have been very difficult. In one spot there is a very deep puddle – possibly this is fed by a spring or from the adjoining industrial estate. We know that this ditch flows very strongly during wet periods and when the River Isbourne is in flood. Consequently we need to ensure that water is flowing out to the river without impediment to alleviate the effects of flooding on the industrial estate. Jonathan spent quite some time ensuring the length of twinwall pipe that takes the outlet of the ditch through the gabions beside the river was clear. During the afternoon, our fencing and clearance contractor visited, to assess how much of the down side embankment is accessible with his robot flail. What the robot can not handle will have to be dealt with by our colleagues in the Lineside Clearance team.

Looking towards the pipe under the river gabions. [Photo by Dave]

The 'coalface' - now about 30 yards away from the B4632 road. [Photo by Dave]

John rakes cut material from the floor of the ditch. [Photo by Dave]

A ring of sunlight highlights one of the team clearing the ditch. [Photo by Dave]

 

Wildlife report: The group at Little Buckland collectively spotted a trio of mammals – rabbit, hare and weasel. Or maybe the later was a stoat – it is difficult to tell these apart particularity when only glimpsed. Stoats are larger, they also have a longer tail with a black tip. Overhead a pair of buzzards were heard then seen – whilst robins and a wren were spotted in the boundary hedges. Loads of blackberries in the hedges, some now very large in size and delicious; plus a few sloes (not so delicious!) On the down side embankment near cross drain 5B is an apple tree, probably a Bramley. Some of the team took some of the fruit home with them. The Isbourne contingent spotted a sparrowhawk swooping over the embankment – no doubt taking advantage of the cleared section to spot prey.

Blackberries in the lineside hedge at Little Buckland.

Does this count as wildlife? A rat mounted on the lamp iron of the McRat 26043 - passing over the Isbourne bridge approaching Winchcombe.