Bridges And Structures Update 2024 (Late Summer)

3rd September, at Four Fields, there is a 24” drain running diagonally from the down to the up side and in recent years, tree growth has inhibited the flow of water through the drain. Today, Bernard cleared much debris from the outflow and the inlet will require attention on another day.
We then moved back to the cutting and gave further attention to the Cross Stream, where the local Farmer had massively improved the situation for ourselves, by removing a large tree that restricted the flow of water at the inlet. Furthermore, he had even installed a new concrete pipe in his field, which gives us something positive to work to! We then made our way back to Bradnop Tunnel and on the way carried out various small scale maintenance tasks- made easier by the new or refurbished chambers !
 
9th September was a rare day as there was so much man power available it was able to split into two teams. Team 1 focused on light maintenance of the chambers and drainage on the Ipstones side of the tunnel.
In particular we were aware of a partial blockage of the Upside 12” drain as it turns through 90 degrees and enters the tunnel’s central brick culvert. We were prepared to excavate the bend (which we believed could be damaged). We did however give it one last purge with the drain rods - fortune shone on our group and Bernard managed to extract a large chunk of wood, plus several part bricks/ stones. Having removed the obstruction, the water level in the drain improved markedly.
  
Team 2 worked down at London road bridge, Consall - all thanks to help from some of the P-way staff , namely: Alan Brandrick, Paul, Rob and Andy.
The task was to remove two Sycamore trees which were growing much too close to the Downside, north facing Wingwall and was a precursor to our contractor refurbishing the stonework throughout, later this month. You can see from the images it was productive day. 

A great way to see these improvements in first person is by volunteering. With no prior experience we can have you with the team in a matter of days helping to maintain our wonderful and unique railway. Simply enquire at [email protected] or visit the websites volunteering site. If you are a computer phobic then feel free to call in on a operating day and someone will put you in touch with the right person to start your volunteering career.