Good Progress at Eardington

The relatively good weather has allowed the PW team to push on with the laying of track northwards and is currently about 4 days ahead of schedule. The opportunity has been taken to slew the track slightly where it passes under bridge No.30 to improve clearances. The bridge was built for double track width and the new alignment places the line more centrally through it. Steel sleepers have been used here to reduce the amount of material that needed to be dug off the old track bed. The other pictures in this update show the “Terram” geotextile material being laid out before a covering of ballast is applied. This prevents silt contamination of the formation from underneath but allows water to drain through. The sleepers and rail are then laid on top of this in preparation for top ballasting using the SVR’s “Dogfish” hopper wagons. Some 1000 tonnes of 40mm Clee Hill granite stone has been ordered for this job so the yard at Eardington Station has seen a lot of activity recently. Once the track relaying reaches the northern railhead and the line is complete again, there is still much work to do. Tamping of the track will be required along with a considerable amount of welding to create the continuous length intended. Temporary fish plates and the retention of the 15mph speed restriction will allow it’s use for traffic until the welding has been completed in the weeks after the February half term.

Chris Bond (Infrastructure Manager)