East Coast Mainline Blockade for Werrington Junction diveunder

[Donington Road]

5 hours ago, Richard E said:

Taken a look this morning. Not a lot to see really but a couple of update pictures anyway. I parked on Davids Lane and walked across to Hurn Road footbridge and back.

 

The new haul road is now becoming a tarmac roadway that looks fairly permanent. The walkway that was staked out has disappeared as well. I'm not sure if it is new but there is an LED signal on the down joint just past the Bailey Bridge that I didn't think was there before. Whilst I was there the last of the dumper trucks that was used to move the lime was being loaded on to a low loader to be taken away.

 

 

 

And they are piling under Werrington Parkway (A15). The machine here not only drills the hole for the pile (with an auger) but will also inject the concrete. The pipe for this can be seen leading to the concrete pump and cement mixer. There were about 30 preformed rebar units lying around here a week ago, now there are just 10.

 

 

 

Nice photos again Richard.

I am very surprised to see tarmac going down.  I know it is an access road for the (Glinton) junction once the site is finished, but still surprised about the tarmac.

 

In your second photo the cones mark the piling holes already finished.

 

I was watching them piling under the bridge on Friday.
It is quite labour intensive compared to a lot of other things being done on site.
First they drill down about two metres, stop, then two men shovel away the spoil where the chap in the digger then scapes it away and into a dumper.
Then using the digger without the bucket they lift another section of augar about a metre in length and join it onto the section already in the hole.
They then drill down further and repeat the process adding a third section, when all three sections are in the ground an extension tube is added to the third augar so they can dill down about another metre and a half.
Once depth is attained, I estimate about five plus metres (16ft) they start to lift the augar whilst rotating it, as the augar is lifting, concrete (a sloppy mixture), is pumped throught the hollow centre of the augar to back fill the hole at the bottom.
When the third stage of the augar reaches the top of the hole the extension piece is removed, more screwing out, then the third stage augar is removed, then the second stage.  At each stage the men are continually shovelling away spoil.
As the last stage of the augar is brought out the concrete mushrooms out the top of the hole where the men carefully clear away the spoil so as not to get it in the concrete.  The digger then scrapes over the top of the hole removing the last of the spoil and the surplus concrete.
The digger then picks up one of the pre-assembled rebar tubes and puts it into the hole where it sinks under its own weight until only about half a metre protrubes.  At this point a scaffolding pole about three metres long is placed on top of the rebar and the digger bucket pushes down on this to sink the rebar further.  A lazer is attached to the scaffolding pole to specify when the correct depth of the rebar tube is achieved.  Then they move on to the next hole to be drilled.
All this is done in about twenty five minutes.  It does look to be quite a dangerous job.  The hole I guess is about 24 -30 inches, not something you would want to fall into with that sloppy concrete.

 

The main problem Morgan Sindall have had is getting enough supplies of ready mixed concrete.  Piling has been held up at Hurn Road because of this.  While I was there on Friday there was a constant stream of lorries taking concrete to the main dive under, while piling kept coming to a halt at Hurn Road.   I have been told that MS now regret not building a mixing plant on-site.

[jamie92208]

The process that you have just decribed is very similar to the pili g process on the sewall near Dover. This was documented on this site by IIRC David Todd , who did a very similar job for us to what you are doing and for which we are very grateful. I suspect that the problem is the limited overhead clearance.  At Dover they used a piling rig that looked similar to the one that is now near the southern entrance to the dive under. The only difference  in the procedure was that a temporary sectional steel tube lining was inserted as the auger went down.  This was then removed before the concrete set.

[Richard E]

Just seen some photos on Twitter from someone called Rick Barsby. These are interesting as he is obviously on site. I've got permission to use his pictures.

 

This first one is, from the angle of the sun and the cutting, obviously the eastern portal of the dive under.

 

 

This next one is the same place looking the other way with the guide tunnels quite obvious.

 

 

And finally the eastern portal from ground level. I've posted something similar some pages back but the base has now been cast.

 

 

Another view looking down into the portal area.

 

 

And a final view across the portal area.

Edited January 28, 2020 by Richard E

[Richard E]

1 hour ago, Donington Road said:

The digger then picks up one of the pre-assembled rebar tubes and puts it into the hole where it sinks under its own weight until only about half a metre protrudes.  At this point a scaffolding pole about three metres long is placed on top of the rebar and the digger bucket pushes down on this to sink the rebar further.  A laser is attached to the scaffolding pole to specify when the correct depth of the rebar tube is achieved.  Then they move on to the next hole to be drilled.
All this is done in about twenty five minutes.  It does look to be quite a dangerous job.  The hole I guess is about 24 -30 inches, not something you would want to fall into with that sloppy concrete.

 

 

 

I watched them levelling some rebar into one of the holes and then start boring the next. It was quite amusing to hear the cry of 'engineer' go up and then watch a rather slight built young lady come over to set up the laser level for the group of burly workmen.

[Donington Road]

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

The process that you have just decribed is very similar to the pili g process on the sewall near Dover. This was documented on this site by IIRC David Todd , who did a very similar job for us to what you are doing and for which we are very grateful. I suspect that the problem is the limited overhead clearance.  At Dover they used a piling rig that looked similar to the one that is now near the southern entrance to the dive under. The only difference  in the procedure was that a temporary sectional steel tube lining was inserted as the auger went down.  This was then removed before the concrete set.

 

Yes the limited clearance of the underside of the bridge is dictating the size of piling machine, although they are using the same machine outside the confines of the bridge.  I expect the larger piling machines that have been/are being used on the actual dive-under section are not cost effective for such small piling even when there is no head restriction.

[rockershovel]

1 hour ago, Richard E said:

 

I watched them levelling some rebar into one of the holes and then start boring the next. It was quite amusing to hear the cry of 'engineer' go up and then watch a rather slight built young lady come over to set up the laser level for the group of burly workmen.

 

Why so? Do you think women can’t do the job? 

 

When I first worked as a site engineer, in the 1970s, one important aspect of the job was then known as “peg bashing” and consisted of setting out and knocking in hundreds of meters, or even kilometres of pegs or stakes, levelling them and setting profile boards. By way of a change, you sometimes got to knock in hundreds of metres of steel pins and attach tapes denoting paving levels. 

 

It really wasn’t a job suitable for young women, although you did get a sprinkling of the horsey, “jolly hockey sticks” sort who were usually called something like Phoebe or Daphne, swore most foully and drove like lunatics. 

 

Female engineers generally worked for consultants, in those days 

 

Edited January 28, 2020 by rockershovel

[rockershovel]

47 minutes ago, Donington Road said:

 

Yes the limited clearance of the underside of the bridge is dictating the size of piling machine, although they are using the same machine outside the confines of the bridge.  I expect the larger piling machines that have been/are being used on the actual dive-under section are not cost effective for such small piling even when there is no head restriction.

 

Ermm ... not quite. There is no direct relationship (other than the minimum total length of the various components) between the diameter and power of the chuck (which determines the maximum size and depth of pile) and the height of the mast (which determines the length of auger section used). Broadly speaking, any piling rig will use the maximum mast height, consistent with the required depth, which the location permits - it’s the most time-efficient configuration, to drive the bore in a single pass, and lift in the cage in a single lift. 

 

That said, minimum-height rigs are limited in practice by mechanical issues, and the available working area and are not usually capable of the larger sizes.

 

Edited January 28, 2020 by rockershovel

[Donington Road]

4 hours ago, Richard E said:

Just seen some photos on Twitter from someone called Rick Barsby. These are interesting as he is obviously on site. I've got permission to use his pictures.

 

Sure is one deep cutting, impressive.

[Richard E]

10 hours ago, rockershovel said:

 

Why so? Do you think women can’t do the job? 

 

When I first worked as a site engineer, in the 1970s, one important aspect of the job was then known as “peg bashing” and consisted of setting out and knocking in hundreds of meters, or even kilometres of pegs or stakes, levelling them and setting profile boards. By way of a change, you sometimes got to knock in hundreds of metres of steel pins and attach tapes denoting paving levels. 

 

It really wasn’t a job suitable for young women, although you did get a sprinkling of the horsey, “jolly hockey sticks” sort who were usually called something like Phoebe or Daphne, swore most foully and drove like lunatics. 

 

Female engineers generally worked for consultants, in those days 

 

 

No, I admire the women who are in previously male dominated roles such as construction and engineering. I have a good friend who is a very well respected engineer and motorcycle racer, her father was a former British Champion.

 

It is the low numbers, still, that I find surprising and, as such, to see women in these rolers is still unusual. And that is a shame.

[rockershovel]

3 hours ago, Richard E said:

 

No, I admire the women who are in previously male dominated roles such as construction and engineering. I have a good friend who is a very well respected engineer and motorcycle racer, her father was a former British Champion.

 

It is the low numbers, still, that I find surprising and, as such, to see women in these rolers is still unusual. And that is a shame.

 

There is an important thing to understand about women in professional roles of that sort, or any other sort for that matter.

 

There is a crucially important professional development phase for aspiring professionals of any sort, which tends to occur between the ages of about 22 and 27, assuming that graduation occurs at 21 or 22. Miss that, and you are unlikely ever to get the opportunity to repeat it; you are CERTAIN to be overtaken by, and passed over in favour of, subsequent cohorts, ever after. 

 

Women tend to fall into this trap, because they tend to be involved in other life-defining events around this age. I don’t intend to discuss this further; I happen to believe (from hard experience) in the existence of objective reality, which doesn’t seem fashionable in the times we live in, but so it goes. 

 

The same is true of contract and agency workers, of any sort. Civil engineering, IMHO, treats its agency workers particularly badly in that respect. This is particularly reprehensible in that a high proportion of agency workers are simply transients, earning a few shillings whilst temporarily unemployed, but so it goes.

 

There’s also the unfortunate fact that civil engineering demands very high levels of commitment from its staff and workforce, and its payments in respect of the costs incurred are notably inadequate. I’ve sometimes felt that the industry would only be really happy if its workforce lived in shanties of discarded packaging beside the easement, in the manner of Brunel’s navvies. 

 

Women, for better or worse, DO receive preferential treatment and tend to end up with consultants, a far better job than working for contractors in most respects. Good luck to ‘em; who wouldn’t, if that’s the situation you find yourself in; but there are good and sufficient reasons why female site engineers tend to be a rara Avis in terra

 

 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2020 by rockershovel

[The Stationmaster]

11 hours ago, Donington Road said:

 

Sure is one deep cutting, impressive.

What I find even more impressive is the rate of progress although having seen this method used in Belgium when the high speed line from the French border was under construction it is a quick method of making 'cuttings' of this sort to approach dive-unders.

[rockershovel]

1 hour ago, The Stationmaster said:

What I find even more impressive is the rate of progress although having seen this method used in Belgium when the high speed line from the French border was under construction it is a quick method of making 'cuttings' of this sort to approach dive-unders.

 

The principal consideration is the cost of interrupting traffic, and the permissible footprint of the temporary works. Railway cuttings are really quite small, as such things go; compare the huge earthworks on the M5 in Devon, for example. It simply wouldn’t have been feasible to construct a flyover, with the sort of associated chaos which has prevailed on the A14 for so long. 

 

[PenrithBeacon]

Are the piles going to be clad or left as they are?

Cheers

[rockershovel]

In passing, the piles are contiguous piling, ie successive piles just touching. This gives the maximum advance for the minimum number of piles. If Ground conditions require, they can be drilled overlapping with successive piles unreinforced - this is called secant piling because successive piles have a common chord. 

[Richard E]

Just overheard in the pub “and, of course, that flyover is a bodge. And they are doing the same at Werrington but taking 3 years”.

[rockershovel]

59 minutes ago, Richard E said:

Just overheard in the pub “and, of course, that flyover is a bodge. And they are doing the same at Werrington but taking 3 years”.

 

“.. a man in the pub told me...”, basically an earlier version of “.. I read it on the Internet...”

[Richard E]

10 hours ago, rockershovel said:

 

“.. a man in the pub told me...”, basically an earlier version of “.. I read it on the Internet...”

 

Actually it was someone I know through my motorsport connections. He and his mate were coming out with a load of rubbish about other things on the railway as well. I wasn't going to interrupt to put them right.

[rockershovel]

It’s amazing, the stuff you hear in the paddock...

 

Edited January 30, 2020 by rockershovel

[Richard E]

4 minutes ago, rockershovel said:

It’s amazing, the stuff you hear in the paddock...

 

 

Wrong discipline ...

[rockershovel]

3 minutes ago, Richard E said:

 

Wrong discipline ...

 

Depends .. I usually find grasstrack is in a class of its own, riders have too long between races

 

Edited January 30, 2020 by rockershovel

[Donington Road]

I arrived to do a video of the piling only to find they were clearing up, having just finished the last piling under Hurn Road bridge.

 

 

New cabinet being wired up between the old Lincoln Road and A15 bridges on the Joint.

 

Another very large crane arriving at the eastern side.

 

Concrete trucks queuing up to discharge their loads at the eastern dive-under.

[rockershovel]

The short augers for the minimum headroom rig can be clearly seen in the above picture. 

[Crun]

On ‎28‎/‎01‎/‎2020 at 19:30, Richard E said:

Just seen some photos on Twitter from someone called Rick Barsby. These are interesting as he is obviously on site. I've got permission to use his pictures.

 

This first one is, from the angle of the sun and the cutting, obviously the eastern portal of the dive under.

 

 

This next one is the same place looking the other way with the guide tunnels quite obvious.

 

 

And finally the eastern portal from ground level. I've posted something similar some pages back but the base has now been cast.

 

 

Another view looking down into the portal area.

 

 

And a final view across the portal area.

 

Very interesting 'insider' photographs. Any more that arrive on Twitter always welcome in this thread. Many thanks!

[Donington Road]

General view of the recently tidied up main site location.
There is now a fully tarmaced ring road around the site.
In the foreground the exit of the Bretton culvert has now been joined up with the new drain beyond
the land bridge and the large metal pipes are no longer having water pumped through.
The smaller pipes from Marholm Brook are still discharging into the newly formed lake near the land bridge (second photo)
Quite what the small island is for, remains to be seen, perhaps for the local crocodiles to sun themselves.

 

 

 

[PenrithBeacon]

The more I look at this thread the more I admire the civil engineering going into the project.

Edited February 2, 2020 by PenrithBeacon