GCR Bridge Project

[Rover]

This is really interesting, thanks for all the updates.

 

[Flying Phil]

Glad that you are enjoying the thread Rover.
On today's visit
There has been quite a lot done. A new set of concrete segments has gone onto the abutments, the end decking sections are in place, over half of the walkway side plates are installed and the blue bricks are to full height on the original abutments - but it looks as though there will also be blue bricks around the new top concrete sections.
I also had another look around the end of the engine shed. There is approximately 130m for the track to be "skewed" 20m before going across the canal bridge (if double track) - incidentally there is a new fund raising appeal for that and other works......£475,000 is the target according to GCR "Rail Mail"
Still a lot of "Stuff" behind the shed!

 

[Cowley]

Ah that’s good to see some photos of the shed area, thanks as always Phil.
I really want to get up there and see it all coming together.
I’ve walked past that ramshackle shed with 35025 painted on it quite a few times over the years on my way to look at the canal bridge.

 

[Flying Phil]

Thanks Cowley. The 35025 shed was the base for the restoration of MN "Brocklebank Line" when that was based at the GC in the 1990/00s.
The canal bridge looks to be in not bad condition from the canal .....but a closer view shows the problem!

 

[BrunswickGreen]

I see the polly tunnel workshop has vanished from the canal end of the workshop (a bit since I visited), have the occupiers (L.M.S.?) moved offsite or into the main building? Thanks for providing these interesting photos.

 

[Mogulb]

LMS have moved to another part of Loughborough, the old Co-op works site I think.

Thanks to Flyingphil for the updates

 

[AndyY1951]

Thanks for the excellent photos. I just hope there's some metal left once sandblasting starts! It sounds like it is planned to do the refurbishment 'in situ', rather than crane the bridge out, which surprises me. The estimated cost is well over £400,000, so there's a lot of work involved.
Andy

 

[Flying Phil]

The steelwork for the bridge seems to be all in place and the blue bricks on the South abutment are nearly to full height all round. There are more high level bricks to go on the North abutment. The base for the Preci spark car park is being cleared, leveled and prepared.

 

[Cowley]

Looks great Phil. Thanks for the update as always.

 

[Flying Phil]

Thanks Cowley.
There is now a fundraising appeal on the GC website and in the new "Main Line" magazine for the Canal bridge, however work on that is expected in about 9 months time, as it will affect canal traffic.
I do hope that the missing bit of embankment North of the North abutment is filled in before work on the bridge site is finished. I'm sure then a point and track could be laid, up to and over the MML, from the chord line. That would give some excellent photo opportunities with locomotives on the bridge, over MML railtours etc. to keep the publicity/fundraising momentum going for the rest of the "Gap" project.

 

[IanH440]

If a point was inserted just past the A60 bridge, could not suitable agregates be delivered by rail to build up the formation back to what is required - shame the Redland SDT isn't around still...

 

[Flying Phil]

In fact there is a huge mound of earth alongside the existing embankment, that has been excavated from the bridge works - it just needs moving about 50 meters!

 

[Mogulb]

Would have thought it was a no brainer if there is any money available. But it may need planning permission and certainly agreement from the environment agency due to the proximity of the brook as the embankment will have to be closer than the original for some of the way. Certainly the GCRNs TWAO appears to cover this part upto the MML.

 

[AndyY1951]

Can anybody tell me what this structure is, outlined in red, crossing the line of the embankment south of the MML bridge, please?
Andy

 

[Flying Phil]

Hi Andy
I'm not sure but could that be the Severn Trent outflow(?) that has to go under the embankment? It has been written about in some of the earlier project descriptions. There is a ground level view in post #9 with blue railings around.
From the GCR website.......
"Negotiations continue with Severn Trent Water regarding the diversion of the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO). FJD Consulting have produced a feasibility study outlining 8 possible options, each of which considers the technical challenges, physical constraints and life cycle costs. The CSO is a vital piece of infrastructure for the management of storm flows into Hermitage Brook and therefore cannot simply be removed altogether. There is however little space to construct a new CSO and the overall cost is a significant factor. To this end, a simple corrugated steel culvert with reinforced earth is regarded as the preferred and cheapest option. All that remains is for STW to approve the proposal. In summary, by the time ML 169 goes to print, we anticipate work will have started on the construction of the north abutment and Bridging the Gap will be finally underway."

 

[AndyY1951]

Thanks, that makes sense. As it seems to disappear where the embankment was, I guess it was in a culvert under the embankment originally, it's still covered over, and the proposal is to renew the culvert in steel.

 

[Flying Phil]

Would have thought it was a no brainer if there is any money available. But it may need planning permission and certainly agreement from the environment agency due to the proximity of the brook as the embankment will have to be closer than the original for some of the way. Certainly the GCRNs TWAO appears to cover this part upto the MML.

I'm not sure whether agreements will be needed, as I think some of the spoil tip must have come from the original embankment as they cleared it back to create the work area for the new North abutment. Given the original bridge was two tracks wide, the new single track bridge is not too far from the old track/embankment line and, from Google maps, the brook is curving away slightly before going under the chord line embankment......But it would be nice to get that bit filed in soon and it would make the North abutment look connected! As this earlier photograph shows the spoil mound on the left came from the original embankment - so they would be just restoring it to its original location......

 

[AndyY1951]

I wonder if the new embankment will just be a 'mound of spoil', or will they be going for a more high-tech modern solution?

 

[Mogulb]

Flying Phil. On the face of it you are correct, but I’m not sure how far the new track will be towards the brook in comparison to how it used to be. The environment agency have a general rule that they require an 8 metre clear strip along waterways for access, meaning the tow of the embankment cannot impinge into this strip. There was also mention of using soil nailing on a section of the reinstated of the embankment , this would allow for a steeper slope.
I never seen any drawings for this section showing the new alignment compared with the old , assuming they exist it would nice to see them in the public domain.

 

[Flying Phil]

Here is a different view of the new bridge, from the BR Loughborough Station.
And from the other side the South abutment brickwork is just about finished and they are tidying up the area. The North abutment brickwork is half done on the top section.

 

[fflint]

Hi Phil, thanks again for your reports on this topic and the MMl as well. Can I ask a question about the canal, where does it run from/to and is it in use?

 

[AndyY1951]

The canal is most certainly in use, part of the through route from Nottingham down to the Grand Union.
Google for 'canal map' to find out more.
There are actually very few canals which are either not fully in in use as part of the interconnected network, or are still needing serious restoration work to rebuild them - all the easy (and some not so easy) restorations have been done over the last four or five decades.

 

[Flying Phil]

Today the scaffolding for the South abutment has all been taken down and a lorry is removing the last parts. The Preci - Spark car park has still to be surfaced.

The brickwork on the North abutment is finished and the scaffolding will be removed very soon - but have they now finished work for Christmas?

 

[Peter Kelford]

Just heard from the GCR people that they will start laying the northern embankment in the new year, around the end of January or beginning of February, though I think it may be optimistic.

 

[Peter Kelford]

Bridging the Gap website shows us this render of the rail overbridge for the canal.

 

[AndyY1951]

Just heard from the GCR people that they will start laying the northern embankment in the new year, around the end of January or beginning of February, though I think it may be optimistic.

That's good news. It must imply that either planning permission already exists, or that it isn't needed.

 

[Peter Kelford]

According to planning permission regulations, a 'light earthwork' (i.e. mound of dirt) doesn't exactly need permission, though I may be wrong.

 

[Flying Phil]

I have been trying to find a picture of the embankment before any work was done on site ie after the original MML bridge was removed, to see if the work needed will be to return to virtually "As before" condition. I don't think any "soil nailing" will be needed here though, as the brook is diverging from the original embankment. I think the " soil nailing" would be around the Preci Spark building where the brook is closer and they want the embankment to still carry double track from the canal bridge.

 

[AndyY1951]

'Soil nailing' is certainly a technique used to stabilise an existing embankment, used recently on the GWSR and SVR, for example. Is it a method also used when an embankment is to be rebuilt from the ground up, as at Preci-Spark, or are other modern methods used to create a structure with a smaller 'footprint' than a simple mound of earth?

Andy

 

[John Webb]

There are other techniques, such as compacting, as the embankment is built up in layers to ensure it remains stable. Soil-nailing is usually employed on an existing embankment or cutting to overcome deficiencies in the original build when material properties were less well-known. It wasn't appreciated for many years that the weight of the embankment itself could cause problems on certain soils by causing them to compact under the embankment and hence cause subsidence. This effect in recent decades has been employed to provide more stable ground for building etc., a technique known as 'preloading'; you simply dump a mass of soil and leave it for a while on top of where you eventually wish to build. Cuts out noisy and expensive machinery except when placing and removing the soil.