East West rail, Bletchley to oxford line

[Nearholmer]

17 minutes ago, VarsityJim said:

What will happen to the old bridge? Demolition? Hope not!

Its not far off demolishing itself spontaneously, so I reckon it will have to go.

[VarsityJim]

1 hour ago, lmsforever said:

It became a film studio dontknow  if it is still functioning

That’s right and the new WONKA film is under way there now

[Ryde-on-time]

The new bridge for Salden Lane near Mursley is now open so last weekend from it I took a couple of photos of the more characterful old bridge which will soon be demolished I imagine?

 

 

[Edwin_m]

The white thing underneath looks like some kind of protection for the formation, suggesting destruction imminent.  

[Nearholmer]

Be interesting to know how old the old bridge is. It’s clearly reinforced concrete, and looking at the ornate ness of it, I’d guess maybe a fairly early use of that material, so maybe pre-WW1.

[Davexoc]

4 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Be interesting to know how old the old bridge is. It’s clearly reinforced concrete, and looking at the ornate ness of it, I’d guess maybe a fairly early use of that material, so maybe pre-WW1.

 

And why is it different on each side?

The near-side appears to have had extra height added, with the brickwork raised and blended to suit, so is the road higher on that side also?

[Ryde-on-time]

Pictures taken yesterday and as expected, demolition is in progress

 

[Nearholmer]

On 31/03/2022 at 20:12, Davexoc said:

And why is it different on each side?

The near-side appears to have had extra height added, with the brickwork raised and blended to suit, so is the road higher on that side also?

I think the now-gone bridge was probably a replacement of an earlier one, unless there was originally a crossing (need to check maps), so possibly contained bits of an older structure. The ‘downhill’ side abutment was on the move anyway, and may have been for donkeys years, so another possibility is patch repair.

 

PS: map shows a bridge in 1880, I couldn’t find an earlier map, so I reckon the concrete version was a rebuild, although I suppose it is just possible that It is original. RC was around from the 1850s in a very basic form, but it took a while for it to be perfected for bridge spans.

 

Looking at those photos, it’s hard to tell, but I think I see I-beams, cut-off and bent back, so it maybe that the bridge was a weird early structure using steel and concrete, but not RC as we now know it ……. Maybe they just demolished something of rare industrial archaeological interest!

Edited April 4, 2022 by Nearholmer

[Davexoc]

Some views of the current state around Little Horwood Road - Winslow

Looking back towards Winslow

 

Towards Bletchley

 

 

Views of the short viaduct rapidly disappearing from view as the leaves appear on the trees.

 

 

Further along the road towards Little Horwood you can just see another upgraded bridge (Moco Farm?) and what I think is the green footbridge just west of (ex)Swanbourne Station. Awkward place to stop for a photo though...

[Nearholmer]

Here’s the new EWR CEO to praise or blame as the occasion demands:

 

https://eastwestrail.co.uk/latest-news/company-updates/east-west-railway-company-appoint-beth-west-as-new-ceo

 

A good while back, I worked with Beth at TfL, and if she’s still the same the word one word descriptor would be “focused”.

[kryten65]

On 31/03/2022 at 12:04, Ryde-on-time said:

The new bridge for Salden Lane near Mursley is now open so last weekend from it I took a couple of photos of the more characterful old bridge which will soon be demolished I imagine?

 

 

 I've seen pictures of this dating from 1915, but after standing underneath it when we were delivering the beams for the new bridge and seeing the rather alarming cracks in the concrete span and supporting walls, it's served its time and then some

[Nearholmer]

Did you get a feel for how it was constructed? Was it RC in the sense of re-bar reinforcement, or was the load taken mainly by steel beams, and the concrete non-reinforced? If it was steel beams, were they encased, or ‘naked’?

 

(Why the dickens I come up with all these questions only after it’s gone, when I could have looked at it in detail on any one of the hundreds of times I cycled over it, is best not asked!)

[Davexoc]

Stopped quickly to grab this shot this evening, Moco Farm bridge from Little Horwood - Winslow road. Didn't realise that the focus had shifted to the mid-ground due to the hedge blowing around in the wind, dohhh!

Still, being in the sun, I think you can see what's what....

 

[Artless Bodger]

Photo here shows a bit of the underneath detail - beams and maybe something akin to jack arches?

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Mursley#/media/File:Ornate_railway_bridge_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2724196.jpg

 

Also here

 

https://twitter.com/Marshrail/status/1429472090734964738

 

[Nearholmer]

Hard to be certain, but it does look like steel I-beams, with the concrete supported on them, or possibly cast around them, so not modern (Hennebique?) RC.

[kryten65]

21 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Did you get a feel for how it was constructed? Was it RC in the sense of re-bar reinforcement, or was the load taken mainly by steel beams, and the concrete non-reinforced? If it was steel beams, were they encased, or ‘naked’?

 

(Why the dickens I come up with all these questions only after it’s gone, when I could have looked at it in detail on any one of the hundreds of times I cycled over it, is best not asked!)

i don't remember there being any exposed steel at all under there, also I don't remember any mould markings standing out 

[melmerby]

I wonder why it was done in this form?

IMHO it doesn't sit well with the remaining, typically railway, blue brick structure.

 

Did get bombed during WW1?

[Edwin_m]

Looks very much like a replacement span for a structure that was originally entirely blue brick.  A common reason for doing this is if the abutments start moving apart so a brick arch is at risk of collapsing.  While the steel and concrete span looked like an arch, structurally it would have been more akin to a beam bridge, more able to withstand tension so less reliant on lateral support from the abutments.  

[Pacific231G]

On 20/03/2022 at 08:04, corneliuslundie said:

I also know of at least one case where new housing was built near a farm and the purchasers then took action against the farm for nuisance (I can't remember whether noise or smells).

Jonathan

The same thing happened when they built a new housing estate a few hundred yards from the end of Clacton Aerodrome's runway  right under the 18 approach. The aerodrome is used a lot for training (I learnt to fly there in the early 1990s) so, needless to say ,the people who'd bought houses there soon started complaining about the noise. I think they got fairly short shrift though.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Pacific231G

[Davexoc]

Took a detour on the way home on Friday to see what was happening a little further west. Got home to find that phone/internet not working.

Grabbed these shots looking south from Calvert station bridge. The semi next to the bridge is now boarded up.

 

 

 

This concrete plant has sprung up, but is HS2s I think. But then most of the work here could be HS2 at this stage. Not sure on that camouflage....

 

[Davexoc]

Again, these are probably more to do with HS2 than EWRA, looking north from Calvert station at the virtual quarry and beyond.

 

 

 

 

[Davexoc]

Firstly, the view towards the former Claydon LNE Junction. Firmly in EWRA territory.

 

 

 

Then the new bridge going in alongside where Steeple Claydon level crossing used to be.

 

 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by Davexoc
image order correction

[Davexoc]

To Verney Junction, the new bridge just west of.

 

 

A blast from the past, the remains of the bridge on the Quainton connection still in the undergrowth.

 

 

Either side of the Claydon Brook bridge, which is the limit of EWRA traffic. I do wonder how many miles these guys do sticking to the designated routes to go between two sites less than a mile apart as the crow flies?

 

 

[Davexoc]

The other two bridges heading east towards Winslow, largely untouched....

 

 

[Davexoc]

And finally, the current scene at Winslow looking form the Furze Lane bridge looking in both directions....