Washout at Dawlish

[Clive Mortimore]

Driving home tonight listening to Radio Four this evening, there were two comments that stuck in my head.

 

First how important the one rail route is to western part of Devon and to Cornwall, it could cost local commerce up to 20 million pounds a week while the line is closed.

 

Second was the guy from Notwork Rail saying "the tracks were still in place, a few sleepers were missing and a bit of the support had gone."......'king hell, "a bit of the support", what is 30 meters of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s finest sea wall that has buggered off somewhere, and never to be seen again? I think it might be a tad more than "a bit of the support".

 

My thoughts are with those whose homes have been damaged and to those west of the "gap" whose businesses may suffer.

 

Not keeping a second route to Plymouth and Cornwall was a big mistake and hopefully once the repairs to the sea wall and Dawlish are finished the money men will consider a second route.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Clive Mortimore

[Keith George]

I am taking the wife and Grandchildren to the camping coaches at Dawlish Warren for a week in April, I hope it is all sorted by then.

My Grandson is a very keen trainspotter and is excited about having a week in one of the coaches. [so am I ]

 

Keith.

[JeffP]

Once the repairs are finished...IF they ever get finished, all thoughts of a second route will be put away again, and replaced with far more important things like foreign aid to countries with better economies than ours, countries that CAN afford a space programme...

[gwrrob]

Once the repairs are finished...IF they ever get finished, all thoughts of a second route will be put away again, and replaced with far more important things like foreign aid to countries with better economies than ours, countries that CAN afford a space programme...

 

Perhaps with my cynical head on I would say maybe Sir Bob Geldof could organise 'Flood Aid' for this country for a change.

[paulbb]

Although Siberian snooper is right about the problems of reinstating the old SR route to Cornwall via

Okehampton over through Tavistock the costs must be a lot less than building an 'inland version' of the old GWR line.

Clives comments are apposite but sadly a lot of pain and complaining needs to be done before any routes are reinstated

in this country.

Closer to my own home the lovely Midland route though Peak could be reinstated, but although not expensive (£100m one source)

there seems to be no impetus from Network Rail - who seem able to get through schemes (eg the rolling electrification program

though of course we cannot call it that) that the old BR were unable to do.

[10800]

I am taking the wife and Grandchildren to the camping coaches at Dawlish Warren for a week in April, I hope it is all sorted by then.

My Grandson is a very keen trainspotter and is excited about having a week in one of the coaches. [so am I ]

 

Keith.

With more storms to come and no end in sight for the weather pattern (when will the jet stream shift?) I fear you may be a tad optimistic. OTOH you might be treated to a never-ending sequence of 66s and engineering trains.

[Mark]

Apart from the section around the buildings, a large part of the down platform at Dawlish is built on the sea wall and forms a cover over the path below. This area was totally rebuilt after the 1974 storm that caused serious damage as the waves come up from below and lifted the planks scattering them all over the track.

 

A considerable amount of work has been done on other sections of the wall by Network Rail over the last ten years, which involved installing a concrete tongue along the base of some sections of the wall. The usual problem is caused by the sea removing the top sand and then scouring out the relatively soft sandstone underneath with the wall collapsing over the cavity. The path along this section of wall is just above sea level, so there is additional protection and the few pictures I have seen seem to show the path is still there, suggesting the sea literally demolished the wall.

 

Regards

 

Mark Humphrys

Apart from in a few places, the BBC video coverage has been p*ss poor.

Again they turned up too late for the most dramatic video coverage, just as they did at various locations a couple of weeks ago.

Having looked at Channel 4 news, they have clearer video of events and some dramatic footage of the waves crashing over Dawlish and a couple of other SW locations. The Beeb doesn't appear to have any video like that.

 

As to the damage so far..

A couple of those houses have indeed been undermined and can't be far from imminent collapse or partial collapse.

The safety risk in itself may delay repair work to the railway and if emergency repair work to the houses can be carried out in time to prevent collapse, that also may delay NR.

It looks like a complex problem; sea wall to be secured and rebuilt, houses under threat of collapse, railway to be rebuilt.

 

Also, not being mentioned much, is the collapse of a small part of the platform on the seaward side (is that the "down line" at Dawlish?).

That suggests that the sea wall beneath has suffered and is now vulnerable to further sea damage before any repair work can be initiated.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26044323

 

Such is the continuing bad weather, we may see a worst situation developing over the next 48 hours, even before the arrival of the storm forecast to hit by the weekend.

High tide at Dawlish tonight is 22.22

 

Somehow, I can't see it taking only 6 weeks to get the line reopened.

 

 

 

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[Edwin_m]

I wonder if some politician might see an advantage in announcing an immediate study of an inland route.  With the Govt under criticism from Somerset and having a generally pro-rail attitude I think there is some chance that they might see it as a vote-winner and in the national interest, as well as putting some spending towards an area that doesn't benefit much from any of the other rail investments they have announced. 

[Ron Ron Ron]

The BBC did exactly what they did when the east Coast floods and tidal surge were going on before Christmas: stayed at home and talked about something FAR more important to the UK.

 

In the current examples, the last 48 hours storms and those a couple of weeks ago, they always seem to turn up after the event. Even though it was expected to happen.

We then get nothing much more than video of the reporter talking to the camera, often saying something like "...the dramatic scenes you can see just behind me...", when there is nothing of the sort happenning. In most of those cases it happened hours before.

 

Here is a video taken at high tide this morning. It meanders a bit, but comes back to the railway later on.

 

 

 

These videos shows the damaged end of the platform...

 

 

 

Some more....

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P5IOGHWPtM

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYbldqE8LXU

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WY6BJA1LBQ

 

 

 

.

[Rivercider]

With more storms to come and no end in sight for the weather pattern (when will the jet stream shift?) I fear you may be a tad optimistic. OTOH you might be treated to a never-ending sequence of 66s and engineering trains.

It should be possible to operate an hourly service as far as Dawlish Warren with services from Exmouth via Exeter

I think just such an emergency service was set up briefly before the storms closed the line completely

 

cheers

[Captain Kernow]

With more storms to come and no end in sight for the weather pattern (when will the jet stream shift?) I fear you may be a tad optimistic. OTOH you might be treated to a never-ending sequence of 66s and engineering trains.

Regret unlikely to see many engineering trains on this one, Rod, it's more suited to R/R machines and road deliveries via Dawlish station to the main site, which is quite close.

 

I've been out there all day, and since getting home, have had to deal with the outstanding work-related stuff first, of course. It's taken a fair few minutes to get this far in this thread, as well.

 

As Rod and one or two others have said, it's pretty meaningless to start bandying timescales around at the moment, certainly until the next few days of subsequent storms have been and gone. Fortunately, I think the wind is backing to the south-west and west, now, which will be much less damaging than last nights south/south-easterlies (the worst possible wind direction for the sea wall).

 

A clearer picture will emerge in a couple of days, regarding timescales for repair, so we should wait for that. Bear in mind that you can't work in a location like that most high tides, so that's a large chunk of every 24 hour period effectively 'out of bounds'. However, the 4 - 6 weeks would, all other things being equal, be achievable.

 

The original foundations are still extant, so we will build new concrete sub-structures on that, building it up until we've got replacement structural support in place. We are mobilising contractors right now and getting manpower and materials, machines etc. marshalled. The repair being currently planned should see the wall looking in outward appearance as it did, before the breach, albeit with greater 'hidden' structural integrity.

 

I recall the last major breach, which was January 1996, when Sprey Point again got damaged, plus lesser damage in the Rockstone area. The railway was reopened within 2 weeks, IIRC. This one is much, much worse, and is the worst damage I've seen in my 21 years in the SW.

 

There will also be a longer term plan, already in existence prior to this event.

 

Most of you will know my views on diversionary routes - 'pie in the sky'. Major expenditure required on Meldon Viaduct, plus one other viaduct, to enable them to take modern trains at sensible speeds. You'd have to reverse twice between London and Cornwall, the reversal between St Budeaux and Plymouth North Road being particularly time-consuming. I personally think that Bere Alston - Tavistock will happen, but it will be a single track line, that may have to share some of the line of route with a cycleway.

 

The political fall-out from not serving the major towns in South Devon on the main rail link would be too great, so the 'Southern' route loses out in that regard as well.

 

I feel desperately sorry for the family who's house was partially falling into the sea in front of my eyes, earlier this morning. Areas of tarmac of what used to be Sea Lawn Terrace also fell into the void. Fortunately, all present were sensible enough to keep well away from the edge! The press were kept further back, beind a Police line.

 

I've got loads of photos, but frankly, I'm just too knackered to post much else now!

[Captain Kernow]

Apart from the section around the buildings, a large part of the down platform at Dawlish is built on the sea wall and forms a cover over the path below. This area was totally rebuilt after the 1974 storm that caused serious damage as the waves come up from below and lifted the planks scattering them all over the track.

 

A considerable amount of work has been done on other sections of the wall by Network Rail over the last ten years, which involved installing a concrete tongue along the base of some sections of the wall. The usual problem is caused by the sea removing the top sand and then scouring out the relatively soft sandstone underneath with the wall collapsing over the cavity. The path along this section of wall is just above sea level, so there is additional protection and the few pictures I have seen seem to show the path is still there, suggesting the sea literally demolished the wall.

 

Quite right, Mark. In effect, the surface of the Down platform is designed to be lifted off by high seas, to avoid more serious damage to a more permanent structure. As far as I can recall, the wall under the platform remains intact.

 

I meant to mention the concrete foundations along the base of most of the wall, installed between 10 - 12 years ago. The engineers at the time identified those geological locations where the base rock is too soft to withstand the sea, and installed deep concrete foundations in front of the wall. This cost millions, and took several years to complete. This was due to the fact that the hitherto-usual mode of failure was for the sand level to drop and the sea to quickly scour out the soft bedrock and then the infill material behind the masonry outer wall.

 

The deep concrete foundations have quite literally saved the wall on several occasions since they were installed and have, therefore, paid for themselves several times over. The mode of failure this time appears to have been different. There is no doubt in my mind, speaking personally and not as an engineer, that the deep foundations saved a much, much larger section of the wall from being seriously damaged this time, too.

[Catkins]

Not having been affected by the recent storms, I can not begin to comprehend what the people of Somerset, Devon, the Welsh Coast and the Irish East Coast have suffered, I hope they get some swift relief.

 

Back on topic,

I would think that in the next six months the line at Dawlish WILL be rebuilt.

The NR Civil Engineers and the County Council Civil Engineers will be planning strengthened sea defences.

And people outside of the area or industry will still propagate a second (or alternative) route into Devon.

[BlackRat]

It could have been a lot worse!

 

Main thing is bricks, mortar, track, walls and bridges can all be rebuilt and repaired, unlike humans.

 

We seem to have a bit of a blitz mentality down ere now, we are getting used to it!

 

Now we just have to get on with it.

[Captain Kernow]

I would think that in the next six months the line at Dawlish WILL be rebuilt.

The NR Civil Engineers and the County Council Civil Engineers will be planning strengthened sea defences.

And people outside of the area or industry will still propagate a second (or alternative) route into Devon.

Indeed. It will definitely be a joined-up approach, and discussions with the appropriate agencies and organisations have already commenced.

[Oldddudders]

Just a word of thanks to CK for bothering, when his range of tasks has just gone exponential. We are lucky to have such insight from within NR at such an early stage.

[ess1uk]

ISTR NR is a not-for-profit company. No worries on that score for a year or two, at least!

It's actually a not for dividend company

Parts do make a profit such as telecoms and station retail and that profit is put back into the company and not shareholders.

[Ron Ron Ron]

Thanks to the Captain for posting here, after what must have been an exhausting day.

 

Some useful information about the sacrificial nature of the platform surface too.  It's good news to read that the supporting wall is intact.

 

The NR guy in one of the videos above (was it Patrick Hallgate ??) said there had been 3 or 4 breaches on this stretch of line. Any more info about this CK?

 

 

.

[HornbyA3Fan]

With this happening now to our railways of the sea damaging the tracks on the coasts of the UK. What would it be like when (in my opinion) the highly pointless HS2 route gets built, and the amount of neglect the current railways will get by the constant upgrading of the HS2 years after the completion of the route. I mean if HS2 is for people to get to places quicker, then why not they leave earlier or use a car to the places which rails can't reach. 

 

It is better to reconnect old communities of closed routes and rebuilding them in the UK than building HS2. These current railways are needed more than ever. 

[Captain Kernow]

The other breaches - from what I understand, having walked the Dawlish Warren to Dawlish section this afternoon, are more minor, and concern the parapet wall between the railway and the walkway, the walkway itself, and ballast washouts. That is assuming I have understood the reports from the tunnels and Smugglers - Teignmouth section correctly and that there aren't any major problems there.

[55F]

That there were no trains in the vicinity at the time is a blessing. I assume the line had been closed. Forgive a pretty basic question then but what triggers the closure of the line to traffic, is it a forecast of high tides; strong winds, heavy rainfall or a combination of these elements?

[ess1uk]

Regret unlikely to see many engineering trains on this one, Rod, it's more suited to R/R machines and road deliveries via Dawlish station to the main site, which is quite close.

 

I've been out there all day, and since getting home, have had to deal with the outstanding work-related stuff first, of course.

 

I've got loads of photos, but frankly, I'm just too knackered to post much else now!

Just seen you on the tv news

[JohnR]

Most of you will know my views on diversionary routes - 'pie in the sky'. Major expenditure required on Meldon Viaduct, plus one other viaduct, to enable them to take modern trains at sensible speeds. You'd have to reverse twice between London and Cornwall, the reversal between St Budeaux and Plymouth North Road being particularly time-consuming. I personally think that Bere Alston - Tavistock will happen, but it will be a single track line, that may have to share some of the line of route with a cycleway.

 

The political fall-out from not serving the major towns in South Devon on the main rail link would be too great, so the 'Southern' route loses out in that regard as well.

 

Thanks for posting this Captain, especially when you must have a thousand and one other things to be thinking of at this time.

 

However, I think this time the diversionary routes will have a political dimension. There seems to be a lot of pressure to have a route on which some service - especially freight and the sleeper - can reach Plymouth. Yes, it wouldnt serve the major towns in south devon - but then the requirement is to connect Plymouth and Cornwall to the rest of the world.

[mow]

Mark mentioned the 1974 storm, when was it? I thought there had been damage in September? 

[hornbyandbf3fan]

Watching the news, what's annoying me is how they keep saying that the line is Cornwalls 'main rail route.' It's Cornwalls only line!!