Land Slip - Easenhall Cutting, Brinklow, Oxford Canal

[john6767]

1 hour ago, Martin Nicholas said:

Was this one of the Oxford Canal improvements of the 1800's? Maybe the old line is still there.

Yes it is one on the “modern” straightenings, not much of the old line still there other than the towpath bridge at the north end of the cutting.

16 hours ago, Mike Tee said:

We were hoping to go that way early April - if it’s not open it will mean going through Leicester up the Soar and then Trent & Mersey to Fazeley. Will take about the same time (Debdale to Fazeley) but not looking forward to the Soar in April!

We are intending to do the same in April, although via Birmingham for me is an better alternative active route, or even Camp Hill if you are looking to minimise the lock count 

[Lady M]

With Hillmorton locks being so busy, surely CRT will put as much priority as they can on getting this canal re-opened.

[Mike Tee]

38 minutes ago, john6767 said:

Yes it is one on the “modern” straightenings, not much of the old line still there other than the towpath bridge at the north end of the cutting.

We are intending to do the same in April, although via Birmingham for me is an better alternative active route, or even Camp Hill if you are looking to minimise the lock count 

We went up that way last year - not particularly pleasant, and the locks were in an appalling condition after Knowle Hill.

[David Mack]

3 hours ago, Martin Nicholas said:

Was this one of the Oxford Canal improvements of the 1800's? Maybe the old line is still there.

I covered some of the old line here in a post last year (and scroll down for subsequent contributions).

 

[Stroudwater1]

8 hours ago, Mike Tee said:

We went up that way last year - not particularly pleasant, and the locks were in an appalling condition after Knowle Hill.

Camp Hill and Garrison Locks  seemed OK  late last year ? The way in from Catherine De Barnes isn’t brilliant but a November cruise with leaves turning and children generally in school it was surprisingly pleasant. 

[john.k]

A classic rotational slip in wet soil.........removing material from  the toe could well cause another slip behind the first ........ stabilization such as grouting or  bolting may be required ,along with drainage .

Edited February 10 by john.k

[Captain Pegg]

I travelled through Easenhall last Monday and noted the bulge in the gabion wall. The cutting slopes always show signs of recent movement.

 

As for the stoppage notice it may be an attempt at appearing customer focussed but do CRT really have to consult their lockage statistics to know the north Oxford is a popular canal?

 

From what I can see on the video it’s mostly the fallen tree that’s blocking the channel and material brought down with the root ball that’s across the towpath.

 

It doesn’t look anywhere near as severe as the blockage at Shortwood in the autumn and that took weeks rather than months to reopen the navigation.

[Mike Tee]

Could be they are concerned about further slippage which would be H & S worry! It does not look like an easy place to get any big equipment in plus no winding hole to the south for a long way.

[Captain Pegg]

The slippage is nature’s way of stabilising the slope. It will have occurred primarily because of the level of saturation of the soil possibly coupled with wind action on the trees.

 

A lot of water will have been released from within the slope so further slippage is not a huge risk in itself although removing material from the toe - which is the logical approach if plant arrives by boat  - does carry some risk. Some crest drainage - temporary or permanent - would be a mitigation. A large diameter temporary pipe was installed at Shortwood to carry water coming down from above the tunnel past the site of the slip.

 

It’s only a few hours from Rothen’s yard at Mancetter by boat which is how the immediate remedial works are likely to be approached.

[zenataomm]

On 10/02/2024 at 11:07, MtB said:

Or is it an 'act of God'? Or something else?

... act of Brindley. 🤔

[Machpoint005]

Negligence of Brindley?

.

[john6767]

16 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

... act of Brindley. 🤔

I think I am right in saying, as this is part of the later straightening, Brindley had be dead for 60 years before this section was constructed, so I don’t think he can be blamed!

[MtB]

4 minutes ago, john6767 said:

I think I am right in saying, as this is part of the later straightening, Brindley had be dead for 60 years before this section was constructed, so I don’t think he can be blamed!

 

 

I was about to suggest the same, he had nothing to do with building the dodgy cutting! 

 

 

[zenataomm]

16 minutes ago, john6767 said:

I think I am right in saying, as this is part of the later straightening, Brindley had be dead for 60 years before this section was constructed, so I don’t think he can be blamed!

 

12 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

 

I was about to suggest the same, he had nothing to do with building the dodgy cutting! 

 

 

Oh yes he can, the fact he was dead merely indicates he's the best person to blame.  He can't argue it!

[Ronaldo47]

I think it was mentioned above that the slip has moved further since the video was made and now blocks the tow path. 

 

In Italy, when it was found that the ground conditions were too longterm unstable for a cuttting for a new road, they built a  cut & cover tunnel instead, constructing the tunnel walls in the cutting and then backfilling the earth. 

[ditchcrawler]

58 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

 

I was about to suggest the same, he had nothing to do with building the dodgy cutting! 

 

 

If he hadn't built it so wiggly in the first place they wouldn't needed to straighten it 

[David Mack]

Telford did tend to design his cuttings with rather too steep sides. There have been a few slippages over the years on his Shroppie Main Line.

[MtB]

6 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

If he hadn't built it so wiggly in the first place they wouldn't needed to straighten it 

 

 

Someone put a hill in the way, so he had to build it wiggly. 

 

I'm guessing it was you....

 

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

17 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Telford did tend to design his cuttings with rather too steep sides. There have been a few slippages over the years on his Shroppie Main Line.

 Was it the Shebdon embankment that caused most trouble? Taking decades to settle??

I think it’s Rolt’s book on Telford that gives an explanation/description of building embankments and choosing the different grades/types of stone/chippings/hard core. 
Early days, learning through experience. 

[Ronaldo47]

I think it's sometimes not so much a question of taking decades to settle, but more of the fact that some types of quarried material, especially clays, might well be strong enough to support a slope when first used. However, changes in their chemical  composition when exposed to the atmosphere and atmospheric weathering, make them progressively weaker, resulting in slumping.  

Edited February 12 by Ronaldo47
typos

[ditchcrawler]

As they use to say on Gardner's world "There must be something in the soil" Birmingham to London train delays after landslide - BBC News

[john.k]

Water .

[jonesthenuke]

On 11/02/2024 at 16:45, Captain Pegg said:

The slippage is nature’s way of stabilising the slope. It will have occurred primarily because of the level of saturation of the soil possibly coupled with wind action on the trees.

I  wonder about the effect of the trees in these cuttings, now allowed to grow very large. On one hand the roots will provide some stabilisation of the bank, on the other, a tree uprooted due to wind causes significant bank damage, perhaps exacerbating the state of the ground which is saturated and ready to slip.

 

So, what would the designer of the cutting have expected in terms of allowing unrestricted tree growth? Is there any evidence that the cuttings were kept clear of large trees in the past? 

[Stroudwater1]

Dead  roots from trees that have died or been chopped is another factor . Theres a good amount of that going on over the years, going back to mass loss of Elm trees. There must be much soil movement as the roots rot down? 
 

Just near us is a railway embankment that is quite steep. There were trees growing on it but were all cut down 25 years ago or so. For some years Network Rail contractors have done some work on it annually mostly adding aggregate and one year added a long length of piling a third of the way down. That seems to have helped? 
 

I suspect the key is regular maintenance and inspection 

[tree monkey]

I'm sure there will be someone along soon who has a better grasp of the engineering issues but trees can help reduce erosion and can help hold some embankments together but it does depend on the actual underlying substrate, if that's unstable trees won't offer much long term help, most tree roots are within the top 50cm or so of the soil.

On unstable sites trees eventually become a massive lever and if the soils ability to hold becomes compromised the tree will fail, commonly this failure is brought about by excessive rain or high wind/storm conditions