Worcester & Birmingham, ufn btwn Gas st & Granville St

[springy]

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/2301/between-bridge-88-granville-street-and-worcester-bar-birmingham-worcester-and-birmingham-canal

 

 

leaking aqueduct

 

springy

[Dave_P]

The pumping boat is on its way. Should start emptying overnight. I might go treasure hunting on the South side of the basin tomorrow. I've dropped a few things in there. Most of the boats on the south side have moved to the north, where it's a tad congested now. The others are braving the mud!

[junior]

The pumping boat is on its way. Should start emptying overnight. I might go treasure hunting on the South side of the basin tomorrow. I've dropped a few things in there. Most of the boats on the south side have moved to the north, where it's a tad congested now. The others are braving the mud!

Can you take some photos tomorrow Dave? I imagine it to be quite a surreal and strange sight.

[Dave_P]

I will yes.

[Dorlan]

Just watched a live report on the leak on the local BBC news. Water is leaking into a disused railway tunnel. There is a concern that it may affect the Cross-City Line, resulting in its closure until the leak is fixed.

One set of stop gates has been closed but it looked as if they were having problems closing another set. When asked what was going to happen the reply was that once the pumps have arrived, they will lower the water level and then do a fish rescue before emptying the rest of the water.

Edited February 18, 2015 by Dorlan

[Dave_P]

Still seem to be having difficulties sealing the worcester bar. Might be a long night for the workers.

[Dave_P]

Edit

Edited February 19, 2015 by Dave_P

[Dave_P]

 

This was first thing this morning. They haven't got very far.

Edited February 19, 2015 by Dave_P

[RLWP]

Just watched a live report on the leak on the local BBC news. Water is leaking into a disused railway tunnel.

 

That's interesting - I wonder where that went?

 

Richard

 

MORE: MIdland Railway Central goods shed: http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/centralgoods.htm

 

Edited February 19, 2015 by RLWP

[Dave_P]

Could take weeks to fix according to this http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-31521072

Can anyone explain this quote?

 

But boater John Mappley, who is moored outside The Cube said it was an "inconvenience".

"We came up the Grand Union Canal and were going to continue to Dudley tomorrow but now we can't. We will go up the Worcester and Birmingham Canal instead. It's an inconvenience but we're not complaining."

 

If they're going from the GU to Dudley, why would this stoppage affect them?

[pearley]

If the leak is into the disused railway tunnel does that mean that Network Rail pick up the bill and not CRT on the basis that the canal was there first?

[Mike Tee]

There is a concern that it may affect the Cross-City Line, resulting in its closure until the leak is fixed.

 

That could ensure a rapidly fixed leak!

[springy]

Latest from BBC

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-31531216

 

springy

[trackman]

As indicated by RWLP I'm pretty sure it will be leaking into the old tunnel that led down to the old Central Goods Depot from the line into New Street station from Gloucester.

Could be interesting for those in the lower floors of the Mailbox! That was built on the site of the old GPO sorting office which in turn was built in the hole left after the railway vacated the site years ago. The tunnel used to lead down to there.

[David Mack]

Some years ago contractors were boring a tunnel under the W&B a little way south of Gas Street, where the adjacent line from Worcester is starting to drop down towards the tunnel into New Street. The canal started leaking into the works, and there were real fears of a breach. The press reported at the time that with 50 odd miles of Birmingham Level potentially emptying onto the railway, if there had been a catastrophic failure, by the time BW had got planks in either side, the amount of water lost would have flooded New Street Station to at least platform level.

 

It didn't happen then, and hopefully won't happen this time.

[Dave_P]

They've been pumping since at least 7.00 am this morning and the level is down barely 6".

Edited February 19, 2015 by Dave_P

[steven wilkinson]

'We're going to need a bigger pump' - that was from Jaws wasn't it?

[Mrs Trackman]

They've been pumping since at least 7.00 am this morning and the level is down barely 6".

 

 

 

 

 

We went to look at mid day expecting to see mud and all looked completely normal until we got to the pump at the bar. Then we could see the canal was down a little. The pump did look small.

[RLWP]

And the area they are pumping is huge!

 

Richard

[Dave_P]

You might have to wait awhile for those photos, Junior.

[junior]

You might have to wait awhile for those photos, Junior.

So it seems. How noisy is the pump? Must be all of 10m away from your boat? I guess this is going to cause quite a bit of upheaval for you guys.

[Dave_P]

So it seems. How noisy is the pump? Must be all of 10m away from your boat? I guess this is going to cause quite a bit of upheaval for you guys.

 

It's one of those whisper quiet ones, so no problem.

 

I can give you an update on the comedy which is the CRT response:

 

As I said earlier this afternoon, they managed to get the level down about 6" with their small pump. This was fighting against the water which was creeping back in. Then one of the moorers here pointed out their concerns that the floating pontoon which is attached to the worcester bar would drop with the water level until it reached the bottom of the supports, when it would probably tear itself off the wall.

 

The CRT guys looked into this and realised that this was a genuine possibility, and the fact that there's mains electricity running along that pontoon doesnt help much. CRTs top guy seemed to think that there was mains water running through there too, which obviously isn't the case to anyone who benefits from the use of their eyes.

 

Anyway, the pump was still struggling away, making little headway on reducing the depth, so no imminent danger of the pontoon self-destructing. Questions were asked of the CRT engineers as to whether a dam could be put in to reduce the amount of cut to be drained and to protect the basin. This would also allow the moorer's boats to go back.

 

CRT said it wasn't possible to build a dam because the canal there is 8' deep and it's too wide to build a dam there anyway. It was then demonstrated that the canal is only 4' deep, using the tried and tested 'dip a pole in it' method. CRT started to waver and considered a dam. Meanwhile they were still insisting that their pump would succeed and that another pump was coming.

 

Then a change of heart. A dam is coming! Land based mobile pumps arrived at salvage turn and holliday wharf along with lots of pipe. The pumping boat was turned off and really rather quickly, the canal filled back up again! So we were back to square one. Never mind though eh, earlier this evening it looked like a dam would be constructed tomorrow and draining would start in earnest. And the gas street basin boats could return to their morning.

 

I'd hoped that would be the end of the story for tonight, but I just walked past the little pumping boat at 10.30pm and it's back on pumping again (remember, the canal had filled back up again). I don't know why it's back on but I can only assume that the dam-building is now not happening and the pumps down at salvage turn and holliday wharf are on too.

 

It's raining outside and cosy in my boat so I'm not going to go and check until morning. If they are still intending to drain the cut all the way to the worcester bar, it will be interesting to see how they deal with the pontoon.

 

Stay tuned for the next exciting installment!...

[Dave_P]

morning update.

 

The little pumping boat turned off again at around midnight. Then the cut re-filled again. Then it came back on at about 4.30am and now the cut is down about 4-5".

 

There's a lot of activity going on at Salvage turn, about 20 or so people working down there and the pumps are looking primed. It does look like they're going to build a dam down there after all.

[john6767]

Would the proposal be to put in the dam between the Premier Inn and the basin then? Whereabouts on the W&B is the other end blocked off, Granville St bridge?

[Alan de Enfield]

There does seem to be an expectation amongst some, that C&RT know how to 'manage' water