FLOODLINE NEWS
For insurance reasons only working members of the Railway can be directly involved in repair activity. Any members not currently working volunteers and who wish to assist should contact Dewi Jones in the first instance.
FLOODLINE 39
Monday 24th September 2007
Apology for the gap in Floodlines this was due to loosing a significant amount of information and photos due to a computer problem and being more involved in re-organising the Gala than I expected to be!
As of 12th September the Flood Damage Appeal now stands at a fantastic £500,000. Made up of £70,000 worth of new shares issued and £430,000 cash donations from around the world. Although the SVR has raised significant funds in the past, to receive this amount in three months is quite amazing. We're not out of the woods yet as another £110.000 is still needed to cover our current expected repair bill (but read on).
OLDBURY VIADUCT
SVR road railer and flail working in this area this week.
All piles are now in, concrete cap has been cast, drains nearly complete. Contractors hoping to finish all the catch pits this week. By the end of this week the contractors should be able to regrade the formation leaving it ready for relaying track. Removed signal can be re erected probably using a road railer.
KNOWLESAND TUNNEL
Tree fellers working off ropes both sides of the tunnel this week
Armaloc drainage segments nearly all laid in the cess. We will leave the temporary access ramp from the industrial estate to the trackbed for possible future access if required. Some of the metal fence panels we have in store at KR car park will be moved to erect a fence along this stretch of the line and will include a set of gates for access. S+T location cabinets to reinstate. New cable run 1300yds to be ploughed in from OV to KS Summit. This might mean moving a well wagon and plough from KR to BH by road.
The NYMR gopher machine is extracting a stretch of about 200feet of ballast a day which then is then taken by road rail dumper to KS industrial estate where there is now a LARGE mound! This is to be screened and cleaned from this week ready for it to be returned as clean ballast to lay through the tunnel. Looking at the options of using the machines on two shifts a day to speed up the rate of extraction. Volunteers with some PW experience required mid week turn up at BH PW office 8.00am or later at KS.
STERNS
Survey drawings due today, then a few days and meetings to decide on the known options. Probably another two weeks of costings, programmes, bringing in the equipment and materials. It is likely that piling (either 450mm or 600mm diameter concrete piles, depth at the moment to be decided) will not be complete before January. Work on installing a new culvert should start on 8th October and will take a week to remove the track dig down ten feet then repack, ballast and relay track
LITTLE ROCK
New culvert to be installed without disturbing the track
HAY BRIDGE
Traffic lights and control have allowed contractors to complete the first stage of the stonework repair.
The recovered beam is now ready to be moved back into position before the remaining stonework can be completed
HAMPTON LOADE
A new D21 casting to replace a damaged pulley wheel casting has been sourced from the Gwili Railway. The original was damaged by a machine working on clearing a culvert just north of the station.
Large Slip-felled telegraph poles now clear of the line, track has been reinstated, awaiting ballasting
Track ok for works trains and road railers.
Small slip near Waterworks Crossing. This was a bank slip mostly ash. It has now been dug out filled with rock and tamped. This was done without disturbing the track.
750 lengths of concrete troughing delivered to BH. Will be tripped by contractors to WWX to be laid towards HL next week? This is to be laid from HL bracket to Up Distant signal
Drainage scheme here will be complete in about two weeks
Scheme to continue new pipe through caravan park soon afterwards
Contractors this week/next week will be rebuilding the BH end ramps and relaying the brickwork platform surface on the Down platform
MP 144 ¾
Collapsed culvert to be abandoned. New pits dug for thrust boring to take place. Road railers to take equipment to site and agreement that some will go in via cyclepath which will have to be closed for these moves. Manholes in this area now to be covered by locked steel covers to replace unsecured concrete blocks
HIGHLEY
Lorries have started to move out material. Although slow to start off with the pace should speed up.
The main culvert running just south of the boarded crossing has a kink in it about ¾ of the way through just under the eastern side of the line but 30 feet below track level. A new shaft will be sunk here so that the culvert can be inspected and maintained from here. As the digging machine can only go down 20 feet the ground level has been lowered so that the machine can go deeper. Finally men with shovels will be at the bottom to break into the culvert. This work has to be done before other drainage work can be started
BORLE VIADUCT
Access still to be legally agreed but due soon. Access road to the brook is being prepared. The soil nailing machinery should be on site Thursday or Friday.
EYMORE WOODS
Two collapsed drains here will have to be dug out and replaced ie panels up use road railers, dig down ten foot ,put in pipe, fill back and ballast and relay track, should be done in one week once work starts .May use same machinery to erect Arley Down Distant. Machinery will be used at Folly Point
NORTHWOOD LANE
Currently working out design, then has to go for approval and double checking. Three or four “spider” drilling rigs could be on the hillside at any one time. Starting date beginning of November, work could be complete X, as/NY at the earliest. Meetings with Worcester Highways about logistics of road movement along Northwood Lane. Agreement for new drain under the Lane and under the field to the river. Wyre Forest District Council have commenced a drainage survey of the land above the railway.
ARLEY
Signal wire to Down Starter damaged by contractor flailing.
EYMORE CUTTING
Tree fellers working off ropes next week
NORTHWOOD
Access agreed over neighbours property. Tree felling will start later this week, Spider (because it can “walk” up hillsides) drilling rig will arrive in time to start work on Mon 8th October. This has had to be brought from Scotland as no other available nearer! The debris brought out will then have to be moved by road railer to the Elan Valley Aqueduct car park for disposal by lorry.
VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENT
To plant selected low shrubs and as part of the reinstatement of embankments. These will only be planted at the lower slopes and will not grow to obscure the views from the trains. It is hoped to get a small team together and start shortly and go through until March (the end of the planting season). If you are interested you will be taught by a professional on how the work should be done, please let me or Nick Ralls know.
WORCESTER ROAD BRIDGE
Meetings with Worcestershire Highways are in hand to arrange road diversionary routes etc. About mid December scaffolding will be erected under and around the arch. This will take place over several nights. The road will be totally closed on these nights. The roadway will remain open all other times for one way road traffic (not two way with traffic lights) road diversionary routes will then be in place. As early as possible in January about three panels of track will be removed by P Way Dept, ballast will be removed and work on repairing the arch and side walls can start. This along with reballasting and tracklaying should be complete in time for us to reopen the BY-KR line for February half term holiday. Work will continue on repointing the bridge until possibly April when the scaffolding will be pulled down. BY Pway have already started to remove the smaller trees and vegetation on the trackside in this area.
Dewi Jones
Traffic Manager
FLOODLINE 38
Monday 10th September 2007
OLDBURY VIADUCT
The drilling machine here digs out a 450mm diameter hole and 10 meters deep. This is then filled with concrete and repeated to build a 'wall' of pillars. Drillers have been at it for six days and hope to finish tomorrow. This has gone better than expected possibly due to the softness of the land. This work, which was scheduled to take three weeks to complete, will now be completed eight days in advance of schedule. The concrete cap, which was to go on on w/c 24th September, will now go on by the end of this week. Contractors will then be employed on further drainage in the OV–KS area.
A panel was relaid alongside KS industrial estate over the weekend to narrow the gap for when the Gopher ballast cleaner from NYMR is delivered on Friday and moved over the w/e 15/16 Sept from BH to KS Tunnel. Temporary track will be laid to get the machine along the trackbed. The plan is that it starts work on Monday 17th Sept from Knowlesands Summit working back towards Bridgnorth. Two 8 Ton road rail dumper trucks with then ferry the contaminated ballast (or is it sand with some ballast in it?) to the industrial estate where it will be separated, clean ballast can then be reloaded into the dumpers for relaying.
Absailers will also remove some trees and loose rock on the northern approaches to KS Tunnel
STERNS
Inclinometers on the cottage land and in the trackbed are showing that the land is still moving. There is a meeting tomorrow to establish with some urgency a repair method for this area. The large culvert just to the north of the cottage was being jet washed today. Unfortunately there is not much hope of clearing it but we’ll see. The cameras have shown that it may have partially collapsed. As it is about 20 feet below track consideration is being given to installing new culverts about 10 foot below the track which will require a couple of panels out for this job.
LITTLE ROCK CUTTING
Method of moving water from the uphill (not our land) to below the track (not our land) established with neighbours and work will start when we can access the site.
HAMPTON LOADE
Large Slip Contractors should finish work here with machines in use to replace the missing track on Thursday.The 2 telegraph which were removed to facilitate the repairs (or were they washed away?) will not be replaced.
Small slip near the WWX will be attended to as the machines retreat from the Large Slip to WWX
S+T Concrete troughing will be delivered from the manufacturers at Telford to Bridgnorth and taken by smaller road vehicles to WWX and HL to build this run.
With today’s update it is still hoped that the above work can be done in time to reopen BH-HL sometime in November.
HAMPTON LOADE TO HIGHLEY
Culvert headwalls are being repaired, in some cased demolished then repaired. Charlie Davies’ crossing work now complete (trenching, french drains, culvert repairs, cleaning etc).
Culvert at 144 ¾ water flowing under track but not in the culvert. Its probably collapsed and when there is enough water in the stream it comes up in the four foot (from 15 feet below track!). The solution here is probably to abandon the culvert and thrust bore a new culvert.
HIGHLEY
Monday 17th September, start of the big dig. Road traffic control in operation on lane for lorries to access the site. Water tank now at BH MPD for evaluation.
BORLE VIADUCT
Contractors will start here on Monday 17th Sept to repair or stitch the trailing walls of the brook hopefully before any more rain raises the level again.
EYMORE CUTTING
All the ballast has been removed from underneath the track from Victoria Bridge to the high bridge. The track is now resting about two foot lower than it should be and all the contaminated ballast that was underneath it has been removed by road railer to near the foot crossing in Eymore Woods.This spoil along with thousand tons or so removed from the Victoria Bridge repair will have to await the repair to Northwood and relaying of Eymore Cutting before trains can be brought here to recover it.
NORTHWOOD
Final engineering solution being drawn up. Police and Wyre Forest District Council aware of heavy and additional road movements along Northwood Lane. Traffic control arranged. Trees to be felled (not by volunteers), machines to be brought in cement mixers, pumps, water bowsers, drills and manpower is being arranged. It is hoped that this could start mid October.Soil-nailing will only take place on SVR land and should take about three months. Then the track can be taken off the slip, the track bed dug down about 5 foot, consolidated, before the rails can be relaid sometime in January. (Only then can engineering trains cross.
After today’s engineering planning meeting it is hoped that shortly what was a weekly meeting and is now a fortnightly meeting will become monthly. This is an indication that we are moving from what was a planning period into a predominantly action period. It has been somewhat a frustrating period but hopefully more orange and yellow machines will be making further headway into the repairs
Dewi Jones
Traffic Manager
Bridge 12 Bewdley, before work startedon vegetation clearance compare with photo below taken 8th September.
Maybe you could help to make this difference?
Hampton Load Large Slip taken 9th September. The base ballast layer is now down with about 15 feet under the orange machine to do (probably done it today).
The embankment side covered in soil ready for grass seeding
From L to R; topsoil, plastic netting then rock with light graytrack ballast having been delivered by dumper from WWX.
A close up with the silver (not real silver) nail holding the netting in place whilst it is covered with soil.
FLOODLINE 37
Friday 7th September 2007
A request from our consulting engineer for some vegetation clearance to enable further work to be carried out. The area to be cleared of saplings and bushes is between the 15 MPH signs at Sterns on the up-hill side of the line. This will enable the geologists to get onto this site to put in bore bore holes.
If this work can be done this weekend by SVR staff then this will help speed up the work and save on costs. Unfortunately inclinometers indicate further movement of the embankment and surrounding area.
Hampton Loade
Notice from Shropshire County Council that the road between Upper Hampton Farm (that’s the farm where you can turn left to go to Waterworks Crossing) and the end of the road at the ferry will be closed during the hours shown below from 1st October for six weeks to repair the road surface damaged on the 19th June. If you remember some or the road surface was washed away into the River Severn.
Also be aware that the road height below the rail bridge at HL is now higher than before with the debris that was washed down. Unfortunately the lorry driver delivering meat pies to the Unicorn did not take this into account recently and lost the top bit of his lorry!
Mondays to Fridays 9.30am until 3.00pm
(except 22-26 October)
Monday to Friday
22 to 26 October 8.00am until 6.00pm
Saturdays 8.00am until 6.00pm
Sunday no work being undertaken
MAIN LINE STEAM
It has now been confirmed that with considerable assistance from Network Rail and Vintage Trains Ltd that on Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd September steam hauled trains will run in conjunction with the SVR Autumn Gala.
Birmingham Snow Hill d 10.15 Rood Ashton Hall
Kidderminster a 11.00
Bewdley d 12.30 Kinlet Hall (Sat) Pitchford Hall (Sun)
Birmingham Snow Hill a 2.00
Birmingham Snow Hill d 16.15 Kinlet Hall (Sat) Pitchford Hall (Sun)
Kidderminster a 17.00
Bewdley d 18.30 Rood Aston Hall
Birmingham Snow Hill a 20.00
Public Fares:
One way Birmingham to Kidderminster: Adult/Senior Citizens £10.00, Child 5-15 £5.00
(No other concession fares)
One way Bewdley to Birmingham: as above but passengers must also be in possession of a SVR Day Rover ticket
SVR Working Members:
One way Birmingham to Kidderminster or One way Bewdley to Birmingham £5.00 (You will also be required to produce your WM Pass on the train)
Bookings will be taken from 9.00am on Tuesday 11th September at the SVR Bewdley Office Tel 01299 403816 (9.00am until 4.30pm)
Please be aware that the above arrangements could still subject to slight operating changes.
The final timetable and diagrams for the Autumn Steam Gala can now be worked out.
Wednesday 19th September
Engine 4771 “Green Arrow” is due to be delivered by road to Kidderminster.
Dewi Jones
Traffic Manager
Thursday 6th September 2007
Auction to boost railway press report from the Kidderminster Shuttle
FLOODLINE 36
Monday 3rd September 2007
A new road ramp has been built from the Knowlesands Industrial Estate onto the track formation.
The drilling rig was delivered today and has started the piling around Oldbury Viaduct. This should take two weeks with another week to put on a concrete cap. It is hoped that arrangements can be made to move the gopher machine from NYMR to Bridgnorth next week so that it can be moved by rail to Oldbury Viaduct then on temporary track past Knowlesands Industrial Estate so that it can start clearing the contaminated ballast from there to Knowlesands Summit. If both operations can be completed within three weeks then the track can be laid permanently. Another week to ballast and tamp. Then there will be a new drain to construct alongside the Industrial Estate, the BH Home signal to erect, lay a new S+T cable from Crossing Cottage to Oldbury Viaduct, trenched and laid in concrete troughing. It is therefore likely that it will be sometime in November before passenger trains can reach Hampton Loade.
Hampton Loade
The earthworks to the large slip alongside the caravan park are now complete. This week will see the the base ballast for the track laid and compacted and then hopefully a P Way gang will replace the four missing panels the following week.
Monday 3rd September
Mr Pat McFadden MP for Wolverhampton South East and Minister of State in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform visited the Severn Centre at Highley this morning to discuss with railway managers and the community the impact on the area resulting from the damage. He then visited the railway at Highley Station and then rode on the footplate of 45110 from BY to KR.
Wednesday 5th Sept
SVR Flood Damage Appeal Pub Quiz
At the Black Boy, Cartway, Bridgnorth at 8.30pm.
Make up a team of four £10 usual raffle food auction prizes etc
Sat 8th Sept
Driver D Price Guard T Shepperd
Vegetation clearance train departs BY 10.30am
Sun 9th Sept
Driver D Price Guard VACANCY – please contact Dewi
Vegetation clearance train leaves BY 10.30am
Sat 15th Sept
Driver D Price Guard S Buck vegetation clearance
Sun 16th Sept
Driver VACANCY Guard VACANCY – contact Dewi Jones
Laying concrete troughing for new signal cable at Northwood
Want a job? Just turn up
P Way Dept need about two additional staff a day for the next two weeks (shovelling jobs to work alongside road railers). Please contact Steve Poole 0121 774 8636, he will then allocate staff to dates.
BH MPD ask the Duty shed Master for a job - any Saturday or Sunday
BH Station maintenance Sat and Sun ask station staff for a job
Hampton Loade help the station maintenance gang on Sundays
Fence painting, Signalbox painting, Wood shed construction
Arley help the station maintenance gang on Sundays
Photos taken Sun 2nd September
Machine stands above a repaired washout above the culvert directly north of the road bridge at Hampton Loade, the culvert headwall is in the bottom right.
Hampton Loade large slip is now complete as far as the earthworks are concerned. The height is about two feet below track height which is being filled with ballast
Sterns Cottage
The brickwork of the cottage can be seen on the far right. The stream is about 20 feet below track height. On the night of 19/20 June the culvert blocked and dammed the stream until it overflowed the track. The BH P Way gang have cleared a quantity of trees and vegetation to open up the site. Fancy helping them - Sundays meet at BH.
While work gangs tend to the running line, stations still require maintenance. Bridgnorth P2 fencing is being repainted here but if you think they don't need any more help come on down and find out. Note the roof of the waiting room is being attended to as well.
Similar work is being carried at Hampton Loade. Obviously both stations could do with more help to spruce them up in time for the reopening. Will you have done your bit?
Dewi Jones
Traffic Manager
Recent press reports:
Minister visits flood-hit railway Express and Star
£10,000 boost for floods railway Shropshire Star
FLOODLINE 35
Wednesday 29th August 2007
Report from engineering planning meeting
BH By Pass Bridge
Tension cracks have not deteriorated
Passenger trains to run to BH to MP 149 1/2 (ie another 200 yds) from this coming weekend
Oldbury Viaduct
Drilling rig to be on site from this Friday or next Monday to start piling the embankment. This will take 2-3 weeks.
Knowlesands
New drain to be installed alongside industrial estate on completion of piling. Gopher ballast removal machine due to be delivered from NYMR next week. 2 SVR operators been to Yorkshire for training with NYMR member of staff on SVR next week for continuing guidance. Industrial estate are purchasing a new screen and will be used to clean SVR ballast brought down from Eardington Summit.
Hay Bridge
Road closure on Tuesday 16th October to crane back bridge girder (road crane will be employed if railway line not open for SVR breakdown crane).
Sterns Cottage
Inclinometers in the four foot have not moved for the last two weeks but those the river side of the cottage are still recording movement. Camera in the large culvert today. Land above colvers still slipping into the hollow around the headwall, will need addressing. Vast amount of information gathered about the land in this area so geologist are in a good position to know what’s underground.
Little Rock Cutting
Drainage onto our formation will be sorted in next 2 weeks with additional drains under the track. One track panel to be lifted for this work.
Hampton Loade slip
Small slip near WW Xing to be attended after larger slip by removing one panel,dig out formation, relay with rock.
Large slip – contractors should finish embankment work this week, then have been asked to lay teram sheet and base ballast. Could be able to relay track within one week. Pipe laying across caravan park to Severn as soon as solicitors have an agreement in place.
HL to HY
Cameras working this week in this section especially at MP 144 3/4 where if the result is not favourable will have to be replace by a new thrust bored culvert pipe. This although expensive is less than digging it out the embankment to a depth of 20 feet or so. Investigations being made on how to get the thrust bore machine to site either by steam crane (at HY) or road railer. One panel of track will have to be lifted here.
Highley
Culvert north of HY, headwall leaning will have to be rebuilt
Engineering solution awaiting double checking (holidays got in the way) should be ok’d this week.
Railway engineers will then sign off the plan and contractors can come in to start on the main slip in mid September. The amount removed is likely to disturb the surrounding land and the removal of the water tank, cattle dock, token apparatus and other items are being considered. Some of these items are too close to the slip to safely remain in position whilst the extraction of the spoil takes place.
At the base of the extraction 19 parallel drain will be put in each being 450mm in diameter and at 2.5m centres. A new drain for the water column will also drain into the new system.
Borle Viaduct
The trailing walls in the brook have slipped further and is of great concern as the brook now is continuing to erode the banks and if not addressed could erode the bases if the viaduct pillars. Method statement on its way to the relevant bodies as the contractors will have to work in the river. This should start mid October. As winter could see the river level rise this is work is now seen as requiring to be done with some urgency.
Eymore Cutting
As track and ballast relaying work was dependant of Northwood (see below) being fixed and to save time some ballast removal in this area is now in progress. Options of relaying this 1/2 mile will be looked at a special meeting next week to see if we can relay this section by other means rather than wait for until December (the suggestion of using a helicopter was not discussed in depth!)
Folly Point
Still trying to sort out access agreements and legal issues.
Removal of trees on the hillside above the railway up to 30 feet away is being planned. The soil nailer can then access and start work. The aim is then to dig away some of the spoil on the uphill side of the line, lay out further gabion baskets so that we can when the hillside is stabilised, monitor the slip and if need be extract any further slippages. Timescale has slipped due to sorting out non railway issues, meetings with councils, lawyers, neighbours, solicitors, drainage and dangerous structure engineers building contractors, Environmental agency etc. Work hoped to start Mid October for 12-14 weeks.
Saturday 1st Sept
BY PW gang 1 line walk BY to KR
BY PW gang 2 assist disposing scrap from Stourport P W area
BY PW gang 3 Eymore Woods culvert clearance work
Sunday 2nd Sept
Ballast packing KR side of tunnel,motor trolley to leave BY at about 8.55am
Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th September
From Dai Price
Hello
Got a veg clearance and burning session between Bewdley North Up Home signal and Bridge 12. Aim is to improve sighting on the signal and open up the views from signal towards Bridge 12. If possible also clear all the veg away from the Tenbury part of the formation and tidy up the wire run area. A weekend blitz should complete the job.If you have already replied - fine
Regards Dai
Guard required for the above trains – let Dewi jones know if you can make it.
Saturday 15th September
Vegetation Clearance train
Again Dai Price will lead the team, again volunteer guard required.
Junior Club will join this train, looked after by their supervisors. The JC could do with more SVR adult supervisors so that we can allow more juniors to be recruited.Ask Dox Wilcox or others in the JC to see how you can help ie help the JC so that we can recruit more youngsters. Currently the amount of youngsters allowed to join the JC is limited by the amount of adult supervisors we have. Just think of it the more adult supervisors the SVR has the more youngsters will be allowed to join the JC – and you don'thave to do any work - just supervise!!
Sunday 16th September
Vegetation clearance train to Northwood Halt and staff required to lay concrete cable troughing in final resting place, lining and burying.
Wanted
If you've got any old green paint, BY PW gang need it to start painting culvert markers.
GWR No 7714
Due to move to Swanage Railway soon to help out with a shortage of motive power. Nice to be in a position to help this railway which has assisted us with the loan of one of the Cl 20s. Will be away sometime during September and October and should return to Kidderminster to assist with Santa's.
Dewi Jones, Traffic Manager
Photos - all taken on 23rd August on a walk from HL to CPH
The damage to a headwall of one of the culverts. Although the water is now free flowing there isstill a lot of work to clear trees, debris and rocks before brickies can repair and repoint to make safe.
A retaining wall above a culvert where the wall has given way behind the pressure of the bank above. The wall willrequire demolishing, the bankbehind dug out before the wall can be rebuilt.
Embankment slip at MP 144 3/4. This will require digging out and replacing with rock.
The drainage ditch here has always been of concern with the slipping field to the left. The infilling of a drain with rock allows it to drain more freely and give some stabilisation to the field and trackbed.
Rock has also been placed in the embankment where it had been washed away. Picture the scene, June 19th you are walking alongthe cyclepath at 9.30pm and enough water is coming over the rails to washout the formation taking it over the path in front of you and into the field!
FLOODLINE 34
Friday 24th August 2007
Sunday 26th August
BY P Way with motorised trolley will be leaving BY at 9.10am to carry out dipped rail joint packing.
Saturday 1st September
Provisional date for further clearance of scrap from Bewdley P W area
Friday 3rd September
Planned date to have all contractor earthworks and drainage work at Hampton Loade completed.
P W Dept to reinstate 4 panels using reclaimed materials
Saturday 15th September
SVR working member required to be in charge of vegetation clearance train with SVR Junior Club participating. Contact Dewi if you can help. Cl 08 driver and guard required
Note from Bewdley P Way Dept – this is real Health and Safety.
Ref working in water courses, siphon etc of which we are doing more than usual at the moment, you should be aware that there is the possibility of contracting an infection from water containing rat’s urine. The condition is called leptospirosis or Weil’s Disease, if you do feel unwell after working in water contact your GP without delay, it is treatable with antibiotics if treated promptly, but bad if ignored, so don't dismissanything as flu or tummy trouble but see you GP. Tell him/her about the possibility of Weil’s Disease.
Hampton Loade Slip (report of 23rd August)
New drains installed under track bed, new chambers installed riverside of embankment,new land drain will be installed next week on the uphill cess. Rock infill is now about four foot below sleeper height and it is hoped that by Friday 31st August that the contractors will have filled and tamped the formation reaching sleeper height. With a top layer of ballast the track can then soon be replaced.
A lot of lineside clearance has taken place north and south of HL. Anyone interested in tidying up after the machine and burning off the debris should contact Alan Trend at BH MPD, usually on a Sunday when the gang goes out hedging and ditching.
HL Station, the booking hall has seen some work. Started off replacing a skirting board, then found dry rot in floor boards then found lime plaster on wall disintegrating, repairs now in hand, but help with painting required on wet days! Platforms white lined someone else required to finish off the job. Signalbox repaint someone to scrape, sand, primer, undercoat and gloss bottom half of signalbox and access steps. Someone with carpentry skills to replace the bottom step (rotted away). Project in hand is a corrugated iron hut to be used as a woodstore, someone to wirebrush metal frame and paint. Staff may turn up at HL Sats or Suns and you'll befound a job,this Sunday report to Andy about 10.00am. If you want to get involved in some of the above jobs then contact Steve Dockerty on 01384 78024.
Next engineering planning meeting will be on Wed 29th Sept when I'll beable hopefully to report on the plans for Oldbury Viaduct, Sterns Cottage, Fishermans Xing Highley and Northwood Lane.
The above sites have had to wait until the legal issues such as new watercourses, drains, access to private land, fencing etc have been sorted out. We hope that some if not all will be agreed by mid september and work can start on all the above sites.
At KR C+W The DMU coach in the paint shop has moved ready for a body lift and vacuum cylinder repair next week. CK coach 16232 (maroon tatty one) has been moved into the paint shop.
Dewi Jones
Traffic Manager
Photos taken on Thu 23rd August 2007
The repairs to HL slip looking north, the orange machine is building a widened embankment to the right of the trackbed.
The road rail dumper loaded at Waterworks Crossing delivers and tips its load at the railhead.
The orange machine then picks up the rocks and loads the rubber tyred dumper
Which then goes and unloads on site
For the orange machine to level and then returns for the next load - each sequence takes about 20 minutes
FLOODLINE 33
Tuesday 21st August 2007
Saturday 18th August Report
Vegetation clearance at Bridge 12 unfortunately rain stopped play mid afternoon
The culvert immediately south of NX has been cleared of all the debris except for one log about 20 feet long and four foot in diameter!
Sunday 19th August Report
Vegetation clearance at NH. The team unloaded and laid out 180 concrete cable troughings. The idea is then to have contractors to bury them, the new cable can then be laid and the troughing lids put on
S+T Dept were working at HL slip disconnecting and recovering cables.
Cl 20 No 8188 brought train of stone to BY. This was unloaded as hardcore for the base of the new station stores building (see below)
Cl 73101 out on driver training
Thursday 23rd August
Class 50 50049 returning to the SVR at about 11.30am
Saturday 26th August
Cl 50 049 provisionally diagrammed for Table C service train
Saturday and Sunday 26th and 27th August
Staff wanted at Bewdley to help shovel hardcore into the base of what will be the new station stores shed.
Sat 8th and Sun 9th September
Vegetation clearance between Bridge 12 (half a mile north of Bewdley) and BN Up Home Signal
As these are “Days out with Thomas” its unlikely that the engineer's train will return to Bewdley during the day. Train depart BY at 10.30am back around 4.30pm
The scrap recovery which took place a couple of weeks ago at the Stourport P W area filled a roll on-roll off skip and yielded £2,394. Plans for further work at this site will be announced.
SVR P Way staff are to go to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway to be instructed on the use of its Track Gopher machine before it is delivered to SVR. It will be initially used on the removal of contaminated ballast removal south of Knowlesands Tunnel.
NYMR Gopher
Max undercut 800mm below rail top
Max side trench depth 1040mm from rail top
trench width 300mm
Trenching speed 75m/h
Undercut speed up to 60m/h
Dewi Jones
Traffic Manager
Cl 73 101 at the tail end of a train due to depart from Bewdley on Sunday 19th August.
Gang unloading concrete cable troughing near Northwood Halt in preparation for it to be permanently laid.
I think someone in the coach is beckoning us to some home made burgers with stilton cheese mmmm
FLOODLINE 32
Friday 17th August 2007
Saturday 18th August
Bewdley P Way Gang
Gang 1 Line walk BY-KR
Gang 2 Line walk BY-NH
Gang 3 Line walk VB-FP
Report to Bewdley P Way hut by 9.00am
Afternoon possible removing and burning of masses of branches washed against head wall of culvert just south of NX
##Cl 08 and engineers train BY d 10.30am to Bridge 12 (alongside Northwood lane) and Tenbury Wall, vegetation clearance. Report to Bewdley Station by 10.00am
Sunday 19th August
Cl 20 and spoil train KR to BY to unload hardcore for new BY station stores building. Staff required to help shovel out hardcore from wagons. Meet at BY station ready to start at 9.35am
##Cl 08 and engineers train BY d 10.30am to NH vegetation clearance and unloading concrete cable troughing. Report to Bewdley Station by 10.00am
## these jobs are open to non SVR members. You will be given day membership which will give you insurance cover. Please bring suitable clothing, footwear, headwear and gloves. A safety briefing will be given and jobs allocated within your abilities
Repairs to brickwork and stonework.
I would like to set up a team based at Bewdley to carry out repointing and repairs to brick and stone structures between Bewdley and Arley. These are mainly headwalls of culverts which were either not in brilliant shape or were damaged as a result of the recent storms. Bridge wing walls, capping stones, drains and inspection chambers are also on the hit list. I’m looking for anyone who has some experience although labourers will be handy. I have had offers from builders to help with the recovery work but anyone with these type of skills will be, as far as the railway is concerned, better utilised on the jobs mentioned. I quite understand that if you have been brickying all week it may not be what turns you on on the weekend!
Dewi Jones
Traffic Manager
Photo looking towards Bridgnorth shows repairs completed to the cutting side near Eardington Summit where a washout happened on 19th June. Although the track here was under a couple of feet of sand and mud, the ballast willstill have to be dug out, cleaned and reused before trains can pass. The new part of the embankment is made up of rock covered in soil which will shortly be seeded.
FLOODLINE No 31
Wednesday 15th August 2007
Reconstruction of the Severn Valley Railway
We are all interested in the repairs and in witnessing the work going on. What we have to remember is that large sections of the railway is a construction site and as such under the jurisdiction of our contractors, George Law Engineering. There have been a number of instances over the last few weeks where the public have been found wandering on the railway. It is dangerous to walk the railway and jeopardise the safety of yourself and others in doing so.
Entry on to the railway between Bewdley and Bridgnorth is restricted to staff and volunteers who are directly involved in work parties. Please see Dewi Jones' Floodline to keep up to date with the work in progress.
Thank you for your co-operation in this matter.
Nick Ralls
General Manager
Saturday 18 th August
Class 08 Driver D Price is appealing for staff to join him on vegetation clearance train Bewdley depart 10.00am. Worksite Bridge 12 and signal sighting clearance work.
GUARD REQUIRED (offers to Dewi Jones)
Sunday 19 th August
Class 08 Driver S. Matthews, Guard I Hollis will take an engineers train from BY at 10.30am to Northwood Halt. Staff required for vegetation clearance and unloading of S+T concrete cable troughing as part of laying the replacement NX to VB cable. Mess coach in use with bacon butties and sausage rolls available.
In the case of the Saturday and Sunday engineering trains one day membership is available to non SVR members. A Safety briefing will be given appertaining to the work and capabilities of staff. Please ensure that you bring suitable work clothes, footwear, gloves and headwear and meet at Bewdley at 10.00am.
Arley Station Gang
Will be working on station projects but will also send a team north with a pw trolley to collect logs from the lineside and recover them for station use. Any SVR working member welcomed, just turn up.
ARLEY
The station gang meet Sundays at 10.30ish.Any other SVR working members are welcome to come along and help on various jobs. Note AY station kiosk is open as usual on Saturdays and Sundays 11am until 4.00pm and the Station Fund Shop usually opens same times.
BEWDLEY
New corrugated shed for Wagon department stores erected.
New bucket for SVR No 2 Road Railer delivered to be used in time to empty ash wagons in Stourport P W area and empty “Mount Ashmore”.
50,000 updated Flood Damage Appeal leaflets have been produced. This is basically the current leaflet with some updated information as a result of the further damage received in July. These leaflets will be sent to SVR stations but for those volunteers who distributed leaflets far and wide the new ones are available for collection from the Bewdley Office. The first edition leaflets should be replaced and discarded.
Dewi Jones
Traffic Manager
One of the helicopter shots taken in late June showing various road and rail vehicles. The Elan Valley Aqueduct is the white structure on the right. The two small machines next to it were employed on running stone to the shore up the River Severn's bank. The lorry has just come down Northwood Lane and is about to unload rock. Two road railers on the track each with 20 tons of spoil unload into the road dumper which then tips it near where the lorry is for collection. The road rail dumper at the top of the picture is being used to ferry drain camera equipment between here and Bewdley.
The tightness of the site illustrates the logistical problem of moving materials in and out of Folly Point and Victoria Bridge. Other bits visible are workmen's vans, portaloo, diesel bowsers and Herras fencing panels.
All this operation came to a halt when Northwood Lane was closed by the "new" slip in July and the road/rail operation moved to Trimpley Waterworks.
FLOODLINE No 30
Monday 13th August 2007
Report from today’s engineering planning meeting
OLDBURY VIADUCT
Method statements from contractors in. Phase One of the repair will allow the track to be opened with other stabilising work covered by Phase Two once the line is reopened. Phase One includes gaining road access through Knowlesands Industrial Estate to bring in drilling and concrete equipment. This will then be used to drill and pile on the embankment taking 3 weeks. A concrete cap on the piles will take another 2 weeks
KNOWLESANDS INDUSTRIAL ESTATE
A new concrete open drainage ditch will be laid alongside the Ind Est. This will take place after the OV piling is complete. The ditch comes in prefabricated sections and will allow us to monitor water flow and collect any debris.
South of KNOWLESANDS TUNNEL
The plan here is to use a rail mounted machine to dig out the contaminated ballast from Eardington Summit through the tunnel then move it by road railer or dumper truck to Knowlesands Industrial Estate. Here the ballast will be cleaned on a machine in the quarry. It will then be taken back and used to ballast the track. A road/rail tamper will then pack, level and align.
Earthworks and embankment repairs should be completed today and hydro seeding will then take place. This is a method of spraying from something similar to a hosepipe a combination of fertiliser and grass seeds. The idea is that it grows quickly – mmmm maybe it needs some rain!
STERNS
Tension crack alongside railway just south of cottage. Bore hole samples taken from the four foot last Thursday and Friday now awaiting results. The drillers said that they went down 5 meters in soft earth. Along with two previous reports a clear picture of the area should be available by the end of this week. If the slip does not get worse the best option is lift the track dig out the contaminated ballast to
1m depth, reballast with fresh stone and relay the track. Culvert and drains repairs planned.
HAMPTON LOADE SLIP
Drainage route from above the railway,through track formation,through caravan site to the Severn agreed with neighbour. New drain on SVR land installed. Work here should be completed in about two weeks. Installation of new 650m S+T cable as original had stretched by the slip and therefore not reliable. Cable to be delivered by road to Waterworks Crossing for laying by machine some in concrete troughing run
HIGHLEY
SVR meeting with Chief Executive of Bridgnorth District Council last week to discuss in conjunction with legal issues, rights of access, new drainage schemes.
Large culvert under the railway (diameter 750mm) just south of the boarded crossing has been thoroughly jetted and cleaned. Its in good order. Thankfully the jetting has avoided thrust boring a new pipe which would have cost £60,000. The second part of the pipe (diameter 300mm!) from the foot of the embankment into the Severn will need replacing. This may have collapsed or is leaking. As this part of the drain is of a smaller diameter than that under the track we will take the opportunity to replace it with a 750mm pipe. Work on this should start early September if legal issues can be agreed shortly.
Slope stabilisation specialist contractor to check SVR engineering solution for HY. Should report back within 2 weeks. If everything ok then a start at HY can be made mid to late September and will take 12 to 14 weeks. The repair cost of HY slip to get back to ballast level is £250,000.
FISHERMANS XING
Work plan and land access agreed and formalised.
The plan to tackle this slip has changed. Negotiations for lorry access to the accommodation crossing south of Stanley Cutting are in hand. Work to start late this month. The idea is to use road railers to remove and bring in new rock from this accommodation crossing to the slip. If its found that this takes too much time then the track between the crossing and the slip will be lifted for lorries to access the slip directly. S+T Cable to be pulled back to accommodation crossing and reused when slip and track repaired.
Awaiting reply from Environmental Agency regarding whether the spoil washed into the field below the track can remain or has to be removed.
BORLE VIADUCT
Method statement from contractors in. Access agreement ok’d in principle
Work starts on repairing trailing walls in Borle Brook early September
VB and FP
No change to previous status
NORTHWOOD “New” SLIP
Officers from Wyre Forest District Council are inspecting drainage from chalets in this area.
Drillers have completed one set of borings at the top of the slip. Will be starting this week on boring between the railway and the lane. Negotiations with neighbours for access, repairs and drainage in hand
Clarification
BH-HL best estimate of reopening for passenger service mid to end of October (this is now dependant on Sterns repairs)
BY-AY best estimate end of November (although it could be 2008 before passenger trains run through)
Summary of funding and costs
Advantage W Midlands £500,000
European RDF £750,000
Insurance £750,000
Flood Appeal £325,000 (tonight)
This leaves us £207,000 short of the current estimated costs. This could of course rise if more damage is caused in the meantime. The loss of profits while we rebuild the railway are covered by our Business Interruption Policy and which allows us to pay all our staffs’ salaries and other expenses associated with running the railway.
Saturday 11th August 495 passengers
Sunday 12th August 542 passengers
Saturday 18th August
Staff required to move a wagon with S+T concrete troughing KR to BY and form up engineering train for Sunday
Sunday 19th August
Staff for engineering train BY d 10.30am, Cl 08 Driver and Guard required names to Dewi Jones asap
Vegetation Clearance at Northwood Halt and unloading of 180 S+T concrete troughings - this will save us a contractor’s bill of £1000. This will be in preparation for the contractor to bury them for the replacement cable run north of NX. (200 yds of the old cable uprooted yesterday in preparation).
SPECIAL DIESEL EVENT IS BACK ON (with alterations!)
Friday 12th October. KR to BY. All diesel service
Saturday 13th October. KR to BY. Steam and Diesel service
Further details TBA
Dewi Jones
Traffic Manager
Two photos taken on Saturday11th Aug of clearance of the Stourport P W Area of scrap metal.
Press reports as the Appeal reaches £300k from BBC, Shropshire Star, Express and Star and Kidderminster Shuttle.