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Latest News: Archive
April - May 2001
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Latest News: Archive
April - May 2001
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By Paul Mobbs.
Just south of Wicklewood bridge (1679) there was a catch pit which had water flowing out of it and down the trackbed towards Crownthorpe. The outfall was found about 300m further down the track, but clearing it didn't start the water flowing. It appears that sometime in the past (BR days) there was a problem with the pipe and access has been gained by breaking out a length of pipe and making a "cheap" catchpit out of sleepers laid each side of the pipe with a sleeper on top. These are now all blocked solid. One was cleared, and another one needs doing soon, so it's back to wading around in the mud!
The five of us (Ernie Woolley, Peter Eldridge, Ian Nugent, Roland Hummerston and Paul Mobbs) got "cooked" out in the sun on Saturday (12th May) doing fishplates. Managed to get to the footpath crossing just short of the sewage farm bridge. So the five of us did nearly three quarters of a mile of 45 foot lengths.
Seven people spent a productive day cleaning and re-greasing fishplates from where they left off last Saturday to the Cavick Road up distant signal (1m 12chs). The weather was kinder this week as it was overcast but warm - better than blazing sunshine of last week. So that's another mile ticked off, with just over a mile to the mainline junction left.
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Rodding drains near Wicklewood. Photo: Alan Cooper |
A good turnout of volunteers (eight people at one time) meant that not only could we attend to the blocked drainage, but the ballast shoulders could be repaired as well. Good progress was made on the drainage with three more of the old pipe access pits found. Of course, all were buried under at least a foot of spoil and blocked solid with silt and stones. Then all your efforts to find them are rewarded by them automatically filling up with muddy water. We also had to contend with additional blockages caused by two large trees which had decided that the drainage pipe would be the best place for their roots. There is now only about 50 metres where water isn't flowing, which will need further attention.
Peter Eldridge and Paul Mobbs managed to get the water flowing in the last fifty metres of the blocked drainage at Wicklewood. Found a collapsed pipe this time which was full of stones and silt. The whole system will need to be revisited at regular intervals to keep it clear as the stones and silt work their way down the pipes.