Jump to content

Railway bridge repairs under way to link Gloucestershire canals


Alan de Enfield

Featured Posts

 

 

1AE8232F-9251-4745-BC21-E9B2A35B3FB5.jpeg.26a772d879e42fe06ce9a81917cd34b7.jpeg

The Ocean has been pretty much drained- electrofishing x3 but still some large tench remained. some guys were rescuing some

 

596472AE-04F4-4749-A414-64AE91734617.jpeg.4f8929902c4761cdd04b56f414627896.jpeg

 

A85068C9-0E05-4274-9CC8-A7C1804C003F.jpeg.1c03e46539feb6f6b91f3b56504f67b3.jpeg


Dam by the Ocean swingbridge.

 7135EC64-9CE1-42EB-A012-17A6A4C5233A.jpeg.209cd5a0afd9afb9ea0f65263cbdcbc6.jpeg


There is a slow flow down the canal restored from here to the other side of Stroud. Large pipes pumping slightly more water than it should as the narrowboat moored at Stonehouse is currently grounded. I imagine getting the flow exactly right isn’t easy and tge level seems stable. 

 

B36D3422-302F-4DDB-9792-71B48AF8AAC0.jpeg.b152393b3675f0f7ba3e33bc62aab5ad.jpeg

 

the bridge structure has been cast on site, very heavy. The intention was to insert and sort on the May BH but further surveys showed more support was needed 

 

Since the ocean was drained 2 weeks ago diggers have created a causeway each side to work from.  You can just see the one on the other side. Sadly due to H&S  it’s some distance from the workings for viewing , understandably.
 

D5F81090-E9FC-4AB6-895E-FEC0E1C0495B.jpeg.f6601a12923d7468cf0bdc9a5635537a.jpeg

 

this is where things are last night. Huge crane, it’s going to be a busy Christmas 

 

 

60BDA401-4092-453F-A299-46C09A555B45.jpeg.a161f053039bffccfe49b8cf5813b276.jpeg 

 

Merry Christmas all of you 

Edited by Stroudwater1
  • Greenie 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Stroudwater1 said:

I’m glad that the concrete castings are finished months ago. They are enormous from the towpath- this was taken when they had finished in May. 
 

41143C74-1362-4AC8-81A4-CE14CF263E31.jpeg.6b7e5c51cc244641ecedab076b1fadb6.jpeg
 

 

the old view from the Armco path towards St Cyr’s church 

 

0392F7F5-B6FB-45F9-A1C1-78B3EC63AA62.jpeg.0c14816e9b8633661393205d6a18ec3b.jpeg

 

They were finished a while ago because they were originally programmed to be installed earlier this year but unexpected ground conditions delayed the works until now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Heartland said:

This is an interesting development

If I recall the first bridge over the canal was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Bristol & Gloucester Broad Gauge Railway and was of timber construction.

That’s my understanding too, as well as the next viaduct at Beards Mill 200 yards down Bristol way. Wood laminate originally for both. 
 

They have been working incredibly hard,  as has this fellow there for most of today catching small fish. 9D82DF8C-9C02-47C2-AF01-69FF10A874DE.png.65518f0c761604f98fa4ab9cbe7b5da3.png


the black line walkway is where the railway will run again 

 

00B1C542-613F-47E3-AEA2-51C3C4A7DA2B.jpeg.e9138db6095966ea970830ce9655032b.jpeg

 

significant earthworks are in the field now. The large crane appears yet to have lifted anything . They are working round the clock I believe 

 

C9586CEE-903D-4981-A1AE-4D7A5AE5B67C.jpeg.f5d765dcb4e2e4c2a92d8a2106c8c5a5.jpeg

  • Greenie 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Stroudwater1 said:

That’s my understanding too, as well as the next viaduct at Beards Mill 200 yards down Bristol way. Wood laminate originally for both. 
 

They have been working incredibly hard,  as has this fellow there for most of today catching small fish. 9D82DF8C-9C02-47C2-AF01-69FF10A874DE.png.65518f0c761604f98fa4ab9cbe7b5da3.png


the black line walkway is where the railway will run again 

 

00B1C542-613F-47E3-AEA2-51C3C4A7DA2B.jpeg.e9138db6095966ea970830ce9655032b.jpeg

 

significant earthworks are in the field now. The large crane appears yet to have lifted anything . They are working round the clock I believe 

 

C9586CEE-903D-4981-A1AE-4D7A5AE5B67C.jpeg.f5d765dcb4e2e4c2a92d8a2106c8c5a5.jpeg


I think that is a cable bridge rather than a walkway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could well be right, it looks like there were uprights which I took to be handrails on it- the uprights are painted orange so perhaps warning markings? I assumed it was to avoid walking down and up across the working for all the clipboard wielded ones. (Important as they are no doubt)  
 

 it’s around 125 yards away from the viewpoint on the very busy swingbridge. 
 

It’s just off J13 of the M5 if anyone wishes to join the viewing folk🤣
 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I expect the black cables are all the ones that you need to run a modern railway such as Signals & Telegraph, GSM (R) etc.  The orange upright  bits are supporting the operational cables and holding up the whole lot is a catenary wire from one side of the hole to the other.

 

Probably easier to support all the cables and work round them than to remove them (most likely  back to an existing joint in each cable, so potentially a long way ) then  refit and retest at the end of the job.

N

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, BEngo said:

I expect the black cables are all the ones that you need to run a modern railway such as Signals & Telegraph, GSM (R) etc.  The orange upright  bits are supporting the operational cables and holding up the whole lot is a catenary wire from one side of the hole to the other.

 

Probably easier to support all the cables and work round them than to remove them (most likely  back to an existing joint in each cable, so potentially a long way ) then  refit and retest at the end of the job.

N

Some of the cables may also be general purpose fibre optics for other customers. Running cables for public telegraph and telephones has been done almost since railways were invented. Similar to the money CaRT makes from having fibre optics buried under many tow paths. Another reason to try and keep them intact. Hope the crane driver is paying attention swinging those big lumps of concrete around!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Some of the cables may also be general purpose fibre optics for other customers. Running cables for public telegraph and telephones has been done almost since railways were invented. Similar to the money CaRT makes from having fibre optics buried under many tow paths. Another reason to try and keep them intact. Hope the crane driver is paying attention swinging those big lumps of concrete around!

 

I suspect the principal reason they are left in situ is because they remain in use for their normal purpose of transmitting signalling power and data plus other functions during the works. The railway is operational a short distance to the north at Standish Junction and in any case when a line is blocked there is still a need to maintain a signal at danger at either end.

 

I suspect that records are kept by a combination of electronic and paper based means depending upon the activity and the individual. Most everyday processes can be done electronically using hand held devices.

 

1 hour ago, BEngo said:

I expect the black cables are all the ones that you need to run a modern railway such as Signals & Telegraph, GSM (R) etc.  The orange upright  bits are supporting the operational cables and holding up the whole lot is a catenary wire from one side of the hole to the other.

 

Probably easier to support all the cables and work round them than to remove them (most likely  back to an existing joint in each cable, so potentially a long way ) then  refit and retest at the end of the job.

N

 

The M in GSM-R stands for mobile, it's a wireless system. Plenty of fixed installations still required though, such as FTN.

 

ETA - I guess it's possible the GSM-R base stations have fixed links between them, the wireless bit being the communication with the train.

 

Edited by Captain Pegg
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.