September Round Up

September 2017: Digging for Gold

Last week an exploratory dig was carried out on the main line to determine the position of the main sewer, which since the mid 1800’s has run below the track.  The prospect of hitting back gold (oil) was slim but the possibility of hitting brown gold was not something that we would wish to contemplate.

So the team armed with a century old plan, a tape measure, an excavator and high hopes set off in search of a century old legend.

Sadly no gold was found but we did learn about where the sewer runs and confirmed the feasibility of lowering the track at this point to pass below the bridge, mission accomplished and we should thank the team that risked a potential messy end for their investigative work.

Now we need to wait for conformation from the contractor as to when they can come and re-profile the trackbed allowing us to extend the operational line.  However Kevin and the PWay team are well passed the bridge on their way to Weston, new toys and more mechanisation have arrived as reinforcements. 

The propping of the bridge was carried out after the last train and was done by Shropshire County Council to avoid replacing the bridge deck whilst keeping the weight limit acceptable for traffic over the railway.  A full rebuild of the bridge would take money and would require extra budget and a long timescale, with a pragmatic approach a suitable solution has been found which benefits all parties.

Cattle Creep.

One benefit of the line to Weston is the absence of major civil engineering works, but as with any railway that has not seen traffic for 30 years there is much to inspect and repair.

Luckily so far the only feature that we have found that needs money is the cattle creep just south of the propped bridge.  It’s been a good few years since any cattle have crept under here and the most recent things to have passed under have been fly tippers.  The area has now been cleaned and we have had chance to look at what is there.  It will need new beams and some major repairs before we can run over here.  Total cost will be around £4000 so we could do with some contributions towards this, or even some replacement beams if you happen to have some lying around under your bed.  It’s not very exciting but for suitable sponsorship we could rename the bridge in your honour.

Photographs from the CHR Facebook page

Until next time…