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Washout at Dawlish


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That's a massive amount of concrete they're pumping in there; hope the weather stays calm until it's gone off properly. That sea looks like a mill pond at the moment; amazing how quickly it can change.

 

yes you cant fault the lads for getting in there to crack on with the job as time & weather allows.

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The latest media reports are that NR were working towards reopening in time for Easter, but that may have gone down the pan after the further damage last Friday.

 

SS

 

edit. To get rid of spurious capitals.

Easter is the revised estimate following last Friday's additional damage.

 

John

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That's a massive amount of concrete they're pumping in there; hope the weather stays calm until it's gone off properly. That sea looks like a mill pond at the moment; amazing how quickly it can change.

Yes, I'm a little surprised they didn't build the wall itself up a bit higher first to help keep the water out.

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If the lows track in a Northerly or NNE direction as arrowed on the map then there's a good change the highs will track just to the south of us giving us a decent bit of weather which will help all tbe trouble spots here and the good folk working on them.

I have everything crossed.

SS

Unfortunately the local weather forecast is not backing this up, they are giving showery with an increase in wind speed, but luckily enough not as bad as we've had, about 12mm of rain and winds of about 50mph. This is over the next few days'til Saturday.

 

SS

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I suspect that this was probably the weakest section of the wall, owing to the lower footpath at this point (so the wall itself isn't as thick) and possibly outward thrust on the wall from the weight of the buildings behind it.

It appears obvious that the wall and path alongside the the railway needs raising to a sensible height to a stronger design.

The talk of 'modern' curved walls to turn back the force of the waves seems sensible as demonstrated by the 'relatively' minor damage to the sea wall between Teignmouth and Parsons Tunnel. (see Rod's (10800) post 471 on this thread.

 

A comparison between the two walls in better days.

 

Dawlish June 1989

post-1161-0-53179800-1392761909.jpg

 

Teignmouth July 1986

post-1161-0-45919200-1392761931.jpg

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Here is a short video made from pictures of the web cam at Dawlish, taken between 1500 and 2200 hrs today.

 

I hope the weather holds like it is in this clip so that NR can really make inroads in to repairing this major rail link to the South-west. I wish CK and all his colleagues all the best and stay safe. 

 

http://youtu.be/1qzXLN899yw

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A concrete formed wall that deflects wave power back out to sea or dissipates it into the air could be one alternative approach.

 

Thats what I was thinking, they have those at Blackpool and New Brighton I think.

not a big fan of the idea that in bad but not extreme conditions water gets onto the ballast to affect running, hence my sketches earlier,I  wasnt thinking for extreme conditions when the wall could be breached but more everyday bad conditions,ie weather dies down and can be brought back to use without any shifting of track.

 

Even if you build the wall strong enough to resist it being demolished, these waves we've seen are still strong enough to force over a train passing over it so you could have a disaster either way. I just like the idea that if the weather is so bad, trains can be halted until it dies down and then continue on later with no risk of track shifting.

 

Ive been watching the dambusters too much, another example of how powerful water can be, no matter how strong the structure.

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A comparison between the two walls in better days.

 

Dawlish June 1989

 

Teignmouth July 1986

 

Interesting that the current breach seems to have occurred at the change in direction of the wall adjacent to the house with the brown paint.

 

Also there's a significant patch of rebuilding as indicated by the clean stone under the semaphore.

 

Not going to mention the double-headed "freight" though - jammy *!*!*!*!*!

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Am I correct that the new wall is already above the level of the protective row of containers?

 

Looking half hour ago and current cam screen, it seams the wall rebuild nearest cam is about same level as top of containers, and to the far end the wall is level-ish with the new concrete so about 3 to 4 foot lower then the containers. but CK or Gary will be able to confirm better then cam view angle.

 

post-14408-0-79316000-1392823388.jpg

 

still amazing what they have managed to do in such a short time period with weather interruptions they`ve had.

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From the Network Rail daily bulletin...... 

 

 

 

Latest news 19 February 2014

We will be working round the clock with dedicated resources day and night to accelerate the programe of repairs, and anticipate the railway will be restored by mid-April 2014.

A concrete foundation is laid in the main breach as well as the secondary breach at Dawlish Warren.

Repairs have started to the station platform, and more debris is being cleared along the costal route.

Until the line reopens train services are running between Exeter and London, and between Newton Abbot and Penzance with bus services linking these.

 

From the NR Webcam - Today 19th Feb.   Here.

 

Two days ago - Here.

 

One of the other smaller breaches - Here.

 

.

Edited by Ron Ron Ron
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One of the other smaller breaches - Here..

With a small washout like this where the track has hung and sagged under its own weight will the track need to be replaced or will its own elasticity bring it back to normal once the roadbed is built up beneath it?

 

Andi 

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With a small washout like this where the track has hung and sagged under its own weight will the track need to be replaced or will its own elasticity bring it back to normal once the roadbed is built up beneath it?

 

Andi 

That small breach is so close to the main breach that it may be just as easy to re-lay it when they re-lay the main breach anyway. I may be wrong, but isn't that washout visible in the bottom right corner of the BBC webcam? Either way, it's pretty close to that as it's still on the section of wall where the footpath is lower.

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With a small washout like this where the track has hung and sagged under its own weight will the track need to be replaced or will its own elasticity bring it back to normal once the roadbed is built up beneath it?

 

Andi 

Whether or not the existing materials are re-used ( I doubt it - it'll be easier to use new) the track in that area will require completely re-stressing for a distance in either direction.

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