Landslip at Hatfield & Stainforth

[eastwestdivide]

A quick look this morning in the rain, and there was GBRF 66746 loading coal - according to the real times site, the 1110 Hatfield Main Mining to West Burton (Gbrf) via Maltby, although it departed about an hour early. The train is box wagons, and when I was there about 0915, half were already loaded and waiting (visible on the right), while the loco was backing the other half into the loading siding. Don't know if they're loading via the bunker or by shovel, as I was getting wet and didn't have time to hang around. It's hard to tell from the perspective if there's enough track beyond the bunker to load half the train, but there could be.

 

Visible further on, there are excavators and the like on the broken piece of track.

 

Backing half the train in:

 

 

And a crop of the broken track with my longest lens, best I could do in the circumstances:

[The Stationmaster]

A quick look this morning in the rain, and there was GBRF 66746 loading coal - according to the real times site, the 1110 Hatfield Main Mining to West Burton (Gbrf) via Maltby, although it departed about an hour early. The train is box wagons, and when I was there about 0915, half were already loaded and waiting (visible on the right), while the loco was backing the other half into the loading siding. Don't know if they're loading via the bunker or by shovel, as I was getting wet and didn't have time to hang around. It's hard to tell from the perspective if there's enough track beyond the bunker to load half the train, but there could be.

 

Visible further on, there are excavators and the like on the broken piece of track.

 

Backing half the train in:

IMGP6171.jpg

 

IMGP6174 crop.jpg

 

And a crop of the broken track with my longest lens, best I could do in the circumstances:

IMGP6174 super crop.jpg

I wonder how they're going to unload them at West Burton?  (And I hope it's not GBRF up to their earlier trick of sending ons into West Burton of a type which has not been accepted by EDF - I'm not sure if they've paid yet for teh damage they caused to the discharge hopper house last time round).

[beast66606]

A quick look this morning in the rain, and there was GBRF 66746 loading coal - according to the real times site, the 1110 Hatfield Main Mining to West Burton (Gbrf) via Maltby, although it departed about an hour early.

 

6B70

[eastwestdivide]

I wonder how they're going to unload them at West Burton?  (And I hope it's not GBRF up to their earlier trick of sending ons into West Burton of a type which has not been accepted by EDF - I'm not sure if they've paid yet for teh damage they caused to the discharge hopper house last time round).

Well, that's only the info I got off that timetable site, but it does show it arrived at West Burton now. Offloaded with grabs onto the stockpile?

[The Stationmaster]

Well, that's only the info I got off that timetable site, but it does show it arrived at West Burton now. Offloaded with grabs onto the stockpile?

Seems like the only way but I'm wondering where they would stand the train to do that as all (from memory) lines within the boundary fence are some distance from the stockpile and not necessarily with any road way between the two.

[eastwestdivide]

And still connected with the landslip, one of the TransPennine crew training runs: 185129 on 5T80 1315 Cleethorpes via Brigg and Retford to Sheffield due 1510, running a few minutes early at Woodhouse. In the rain again, otherwise I'd have tried to get it out at the viaduct.

 

*Cleethorpes-Sheffield journey times: it's 2h13 (Clee-Sheff) on the replacement bus all the way from Cleethorpes to Doncaster, then train from there, or else 2h39 Clee-Sheff via the train Cleethorpes-Scunthorpe, bus from there to Doncaster and train onwards. Normal times pre-landslip, 1h41.

 

*Edited later for clarity.

 

And much later: what appears to be vents on the side of the first coach is in fact reflections from the footbridge steps

Edited April 19, 2013 by eastwestdivide

[PhillH]

That does sound about right,I understand its more to do with getting the 185 units to and from Ardwick for Heavy servicing than operating a service so to speak..

 

The timings for passengers are quicker by coach from Cleethorpes to Doncaster than via Brigg and Gainsborough and ECML.

 

           In the autumn of 1982 the Sundays were taken up with a series of diversions over the Brigg Line due to engineering work near to Scunthorpe. The B.R. timetablers allowed 51 mins. from Barnetby to Doncaster. If we add on a further 15 mins for the Cleethorpes to Barnetby run (the current allowance) then we have a transit time of 1hr.6mins. This handsomely beat the 1hr.35mins. by bus and also deposited passengers on a platform at a railway station rather than in the darkest depths of a bus station 10mins walk from said railway station.

 

The above scenario is nowadays unrepeatable for two good reasons:- 

1. Trans Pennine does not possess any class 114 units
2. Trans Pennine also states on its website that "The Brigg Line does not serve Doncaster......." If this is true then of course it is most foolish for prospective passengers to think they may reach Doncaster by this closed, sorry mythical, route.  I am in the process of contacting East Midlands Trains to urge them to cease driving their trains over the fields between Gainsborough Trent Junction and Doncaster, which is highly dangerous and undoubtedly gives a bumpy ride for passengers.

[James]

 

Seems like the only way but I'm wondering where they would stand the train to do that as all (from memory) lines within the boundary fence are some distance from the stockpile and not necessarily with any road way between the two.

 

GBRf were previously using scrap wagons on 6B70 when it was running from Hull - they were rather optimistacally loaded too!

[6Y99]

'B' Track at West Burton is ued to discharge the box wagons that GBRF Haul onto site. There is enough room to get a few lorries and JCB for the discharge to take place. As James stated the train is optimistically loaded the last time I saw it the sound of axels was deffening! Also when it pulled away from its crew change the 66 was well and truely working flat out with the power controller in notch 8 before the train started moving!

[PhillH]

There was a week back in 1977 when the entire Cleethorpes to Doncaster service was diverted via Brigg and Trent Junctions for P.W. work West of Scunthorpe, a bus connection being provided between Brigg and Scunthorpe in addition to a more limied road provision for Althorpe etc. Of course, at that time the Brigg line was double track throughout and power station coal traffic was more localised with much less dependancy on imports through Immingham, Brigg did still have some of it's station building and facilities to draw upon, the footbridge there was not weight restricted (10 persons if I remember correctly) and the D.M.U. links at the depots concerned had crews with more extensive route knowledge than is now the case. There was at least one timetable at around the same time when the Leeds to Cleethorpes Saturday Summer Holiday Service was routed this way.

 

It could be done and has been done but the divided nature of Lincolnshire's passenger operations now make any such extensive alteration difficult and expensive, and, along with the nature of the freight operation and limited capacity via the alternative routes near impossible on any substantial and meaningful scale. 

 

E.M.T could have helped, in my view anyway, but have not as I have already commented earlier in this thread.

 

Just one point, Cleethorpes to Barnetby is more likely to take around 30 miniutes rather than the 15 miniutes that you have stated above.   

Yes, you have a point about the time I gave for Cleethorpes to Barnetby. The current best time appears to be about 25 mins thus giving a suggested transit time of 1 hr.16 mins. This of course is still a lot better than the bus.

 

I travelled over the Brigg Line today and it is starting to exhibit signs of wear due to the heavy tonnage being borne. A 30 m.p.h. TRS has been imposed between Kirton Lime and Blyton High Bridge. This TRS. is placing a further burden of about 5 mins. on the Northern passengers.

[Mallard60022]

Wasn't the Brigg line re-engineered to accommodate heavy freight use just a few years back?

P

[Guest 838rapid]

"If it turns out that we can't come up with a workable plan, we will consider deferring the Selby works."

 

Quote taken from:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-22076899

 

Cheers,

Mick

Its Officially been defered from Today,My Former TPE  work Mates at Hull Depot have been advised that is normal running and there will not be the planned shut down for the  Selby Works,also it seems the planned removal of the top of the slip is going ahead at Hatfield and they are dumping the waste on the clear part of the site just passed the bottom of the previous slag tip.

 

Estimates now are for the line to re-open have now slipped so to speak and they are looking at maybe some point in September,

Edited April 29, 2013 by 838rapid

[newbryford]

Its Officially been defered from Today,

Full details here, including a few pics from the site.

 

http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/News-Releases/Selby-swing-bridge-improvements-deferred-following-colliery-landslip-1d52.aspx

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited April 30, 2013 by newbryford

[ess1uk]

guess it was inevitable really.

[Guest 838rapid]

First Passenger service from Sheffield to Cleethorpes via Retford was run today.

 

Welcome back Cleethorpes to the national network..

 

Pictured at Retford Stn today.(photo taken by Cleethorpes Senior driver today,used with permission)

Edited May 25, 2013 by 838rapid

[eastwestdivide]

You weren't the only one making the most of the sunshine:

 

The TransPennine passing Kirton Lime Sidings:

 

And then (after a nice cuppa and cake in the windmill tea shop), on to the Trent bridge at Althorpe, where there was track work under way (making the most of the lack of trains on this route I suppose)

 

And onwards to the landslip site, where there was a lot of activity on a Saturday lunchtime. They're hauling spoil in big dumper trucks alongside the railway to dump it near to Thorne Junction.

General view from Thorne Junction:

 

And three of the dump trucks passing:

 

Round the back of the colliery to the station road bridge. General view:

 

And a crane was unloading track panels off trucks onto the side of the line:

 

Then round via Cuckoo Lane to the bridleway bridge nearest the landslip. There's still more to remove from the trackbed, but all the track has gone:

 

Edit: the pile of fresh material in the centre of the trackbed in the above photo is odd. It looks as if it's been dumped there and a few bucket loads have been shovelled away from this end. It doesn't look like ballast, but it could well be material for shoring up the haul road. The colour isn't exactly the same from my photos, but this was into the sun, and the haul road was with the sun behind me, plus it's probably been contaminated by spillage ground into the surface. That's my theory.

 

The excavator feeding the dump trucks, a Cat 345C for the digger spotters. It was feeding them almost continuously, with at least 8 dump trucks in the circuit:

 

The bridge had this thing attached to it, I guess for surveying - datum point?

 

And a view down the haul road, with an excavator clearing trees from beside the line, loading the waste into a little dumper, and a grader smoothing out the road for the dump trucks:

Edited May 25, 2013 by eastwestdivide

[Guest 838rapid]

63 passengers were aboard the initial service this morning,lets hope it increases during the summer months.

 

Its a start though I guess

[jamie92208]

You weren't the only one making the most of the sunshine:

 

The TransPennine passing Kirton Lime Sidings:

Extra-TransPennine-train-to-Cleethorpes-at-Kirton-Lime-Sidings.jpg

 

And then (after a nice cuppa and cake in the windmill tea shop), on to the Trent bridge at Althorpe, where there was track work under way (making the most of the lack of trains on this route I suppose)

Work-on-Trent-Bridge-Althorpe.jpg

 

And onwards to the landslip site, where there was a lot of activity on a Saturday lunchtime. They're hauling spoil in big dumper trucks alongside the railway to dump it near to Thorne Junction.

General view from Thorne Junction:

Thorne-Junction-view-of-Hatfield-landslip-and-spoil-removal.jpg

 

And three of the dump trucks passing:

Thorne-Junction-spoil-removal.jpg

 

Round the back of the colliery to the station road bridge. General view:

Hatfield-station-view-of-landslip.jpg

 

And a crane was unloading track panels off trucks onto the side of the line:

Hatfield-station-crane-for-replacement-track-panels.jpg

 

Then round via Cuckoo Lane to the bridleway bridge nearest the landslip. There's still more to remove from the trackbed, but all the track has gone:

Hatfield-general-view.jpg

 

The excavator feeding the dump trucks, a Cat 345C for the digger spotters. It was feeding them almost continuously, with at least 8 dump trucks in the circuit:

Hatfield-landslip-site-spoil-removal-(saw-at-least-8-dump-trucks-in-rotation).jpg

 

The bridge had this thing attached to it, I guess for surveying - datum point?

Poss-for-surveying.jpg

 

And a view down the haul road, with an excavator clearing trees from beside the line, loading the waste into a little dumper, and a grader smoothing out the road for the dump trucks:

haul-road-maintenance-grader-and-tree-removal-by-rail-line.jpg

Thanks for the great pictures.  An awful lot seems to have been done.  perhaps it will be open before September.

 

Jamie

[eastwestdivide]

Thanks for the great pictures.  An awful lot seems to have been done.  perhaps it will be open before September.

 

Jamie

Yes, they're still saying possibly July in the press release of about a week ago on the Network Rail media centre site.

 

Speaking as a non-techie*, I reckon some time in July is possible by the look of it. Maybe another week or so to excavate the trackbed down to the required height, then assuming no new problems are found, just foundations, ballasting, tracklaying, connect up a few wires and Robert's your avuncular relative. The main sign of optimism is that some track is already being delivered to site, with painted reference numbers for location (presumably), to judge by this crop from today's pics:

 

*Apologies to all the professional engineers out there for the drastic over-simplification! 

[gr.king]

Hardly rocket science is it?

 

1. You can't shift the heap until you start shovelling in earnest.

 

2. It's no use putting the muck you've shifted back on top of the heap.

 

3. In case you still haven't realised, in future don't heap the muck up on soft ground right next to the railway until it reaches dry-tipping-point and then express surprise when it all goes walkabout in saturated conditions.

[dvdlcs]

The bridge had this thing attached to it, I guess for surveying - datum point?

 

Hello.

 

Looks like a target for a theodolite or surveyors level.

 

If it has been attached to the bridge, may well be a TBM (temporary bench mark), although I always used a Hilti nail with a circle sprayed around it ...

 

Hope this helps,

 

 

David.

[buffalo]

Looks like a target for a theodolite or surveyors level.

 

If it has been attached to the bridge, may well be a TBM (temporary bench mark), although I always used a Hilti nail with a circle sprayed around it ...

Yes, it looks like a reflective prism for use with a 'total station', the modern electronic form of theodolite which incorporates a laser rangefinder.

 

Nick

[eastwestdivide]

One more comparison shot, showing the gradual reappearance of the winding wheels over the heap since the landslip. All taken from the same bridleway bridge (Cuckoo Lane), in varying weather conditions.

[Edited after subsequent posts noticed that I'd messed up with the third shot from a different viewpoint. Sorry.]

 

Edited version of progress shot, all three taken from the Cuckoo Lane bridleway bridge:

 

And yes, it appears to be a different portakabin between Feb and April.

 

And for completeness, last night's version with the wrong photo in the third frame:

Edited May 27, 2013 by eastwestdivide

[gr.king]

Very interesting. Same vantage point? Where did the trees and the S&T cabinet sprout from in order to appear in the latest picture but not in the others?

[bigd]

Very interesting. Same vantage point? Where did the trees and the S&T cabinet sprout from in order to appear in the latest picture but not in the others?

A photo on post no 265 shows the portakabin and the S&T cabinet together.

I suspect the photos were taken from different points on the bridge.

Edited May 27, 2013 by bigd