As previously stated in the video in #516, around 1:30.
-
Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Nuneham Viaduct shut - Didcot- Oxford
- Thread starter deltic
- Start date
- Status
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
DelW
Established Member
- Joined
- 15 Jan 2015
- Messages
- 3,911
There are low-headroom (and low-tech) options for installing piles, but they tend to be slower and therefore more expensive than conventional rigs. I once had to use one to install piles for a bridge abutment, as apparently no-one had noticed until we started on site that it was located directly below a National Grid HV line.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Shocking.
In the last video linked there was a compound full of what looked like tubular piles.
I don't understand the headroom questions - bang the piles in either side and then have beams across to support the bridge.
jfowkes
Member
- Joined
- 20 Jul 2017
- Messages
- 906
I think I misunderstood a particular sentence in that last NR video. He said:
I interpreted this as piling under the bridge, but yeah it probably just means that the barge is under the bridge.
Is that a big pile of leftover electrification piles that they are planning to bury in the river?
Maybe I'm missing something, but that doesn't look like it will fit under the bridge
59CosG95
Established Member
No - those piles are too large for OLE work.
They don't look like the standard OLE design ones either.
I don't think you want to interpret 'under the bridge' all that literally.
The track has already been taken away
I suspect that the track has already been removed...
Clearly visible in several twitter videos that it was removed almost immediately.
Pilot working to and from the point of obstruction is being suggested for Oxford - Radley and Didcot - Culham.
I was imagining trains reaching to both sides of the river and 'sherpas' with mules carrying memsaab, his mother-in-law lady muck and maid through the waters
mr_moo
Member
Not neccesarily. OLE piles come in various sizes to support the ground conditions. I know of ones up to 1m diameter, although most are smaller of course.
The piles visible in the video are CHS ones - "Circular Hollow Section", a standard type of pile used in an array of differing applications, OLE foundations just being one if them. They are fairly easy to procure and install so are the obvious choice when you are in a hurry. Usually vibrated and/or hammered down into the ground. Sometimes the centre is left as-is, sometimes it's excavated and rebar and concrete poured in, to make it much stronger. For this appliction they will almost certainly be infilled with concrete.
They also come in sections which is helpful for construction. You can bring them in a length suitable for the plant and access you have, then drive that in, weld a new section on top, then carry on driving down, weld, drive, repeat as required for however deep you want to go.
fishwomp
Member
That would get a bit wet for the Didcot - Culham side..
Stewart2887
Member
- Joined
- 29 Apr 2013
- Messages
- 105
How? Bridge is north of Culham. Not many passengers though, only the few for UKAEA/JET Culham Lab
fishwomp
Member
So it is - I thought it was the other bridge south of Culham, my bad!
In that case - a shuttle bus between Radley and Culham would fill that gap nicely.
Radley and Culham both serve several hundred passengers a day. Culham has regular commuter traffic in the mornings as well as incoming passengers for the labs. Appleford is much quieter but it has a limited service and catchment.
Really - won’t they want to hoik them out again after the bridge has been fixed?
considering what is holding up the other end of the span, and presuming nothing heavy will be going over it surely a few hollow ones will be up to the job?
Or are you talking about piling for the new embankment?
mr_moo
Member
I was thinking about the permanent piles for the new abutment - sorry, that was a bit unclear.
You have a point re the temporary piles - they may not be infilled. It would depend on the ground conditions etc.
The temporary piles in the river itself will presumably need to have something inside otherwise they risk being dislodged by a strong current?
class ep-09
Member
- Joined
- 5 Sep 2013
- Messages
- 529
It’d have to be Niagara Falls grade current to dislodge 25m pile of this kind ( that’s what was told ).
Snow1964
Established Member
The time of year helps, river flooding mid April and May would be very rare.
River flooding tends to be late Autumn - Winter or if get long thunderstorms in summer.
I am assuming thar this temporary fix may well be needed for longer than 6 months.
There was talk of a temporary fix early on, but that doesn't seem to be the current plan.
The current plan seems to be to put temporary piles in the river to hold up the bridge deck during works, then dig out the abutment and re-build it on new piles.
The current plan seems to be to put temporary piles in the river to hold up the bridge deck during works, then dig out the abutment and re-build it on new piles.
Propping the southern deck will only be needed in the short term till they get the abutment and embankment demolition completed and new piled foundations, abutment for the surrounding embankment area built and then the railway restored. At which point the temporary prop structure can be removed after train are running over the summer.
Snow1964
Established Member
I have misunderstood then, I thought aim was to get a temporary support so pier could be demolished, piled rebuilt, and bridge jacked onto the new pier by 9th June. After which the temporary supports will be removed whilst line is open.
Maybe I've misunderstood. I thought intention was temporary prop structure to be open by 9th June so they can properly fix the issues with the embankment. I may very well be wrong.
- Status