Granitechops

Work is ongoing tidying up

2.30 am Sunday

workman with small trolley

Scene at 6 am Sunday

all the blue pipes (Water supplies?) are gone

 all electric cables & etc are gone

apparently those sand castles left on the beach by the digger last week was the result of "sieving" the sand

with a special digger bucket to remove broken concrete & steel etc

left over from emptying the shipping containers

And a lot more of the beach has to be yet "Sieved"

over the next weeks?  months?

Shot of the ice cream cart

Andy in action, 

view of 'Toblerone' wall topping

end on view from south

generous landing space on " High traffic" steps

was it raining?

yes it was 

It was also a pleasure to meet up with Tim & many of his colleagues,.

and several visitors & locals who recognised me as Granitechops from my web scribbllings

At 10 am today it was raining, the wall almost deserted & plastic barriers in place

plus two security blokes at the Old Life Boat House

overnight rain had been almost non stop 60 mm in last 24 hrs I believe

water was spouting out of the lower, old wall stonework

could not see wether it was out of proper pipe outlets or just cracks

definately no railings on outside of new steps

the ice cream was supplied by this concern using a "Stop me & buy one" tricycle 

Edit this is Andy & Tara

Their vintage ice cream van is a 1972 Bedford CF ( left in the Station car park)

And Tim with two work collegues, sorry but forgot their names, not good!!

I have more photos, but as I have an early start tomorrow

they will have to wait till Sunday

Well today is scheduled for reopening of the walk way

but its been raining hard with little sign of letup

hope it improves by lunch time!!

the orange army have been busy  clearing up

on reflection

much plant etc. has been going off site & out of the compounds

low loader awaiting loading at Dawlish Warren compound

Hopefully the Warren compound will be much shrunk by next Sat, 22nd

as its Dawlish Air show & the warren car park will be bursting at the seams  

It was heard said that last year 100,000 visitors came to town.

Oxy cutting gear has been in use to remove all protruding steel anchor bolts from stanchions etc

empty bottle awaiting removal

railings on steps at Warren end on Tuesday

one assumes they have also put railings on the outside edge!!

still Tuesday, steps at town end (south) in use but railings not yet in place

Dawlish is looking good flower displays in fine shape

and it is also carnival week, with Dave Rowlands fair in town

Bridge over the brook, with the Shaftesbury Theatre in the background

Might get some photos later IF

the rain lets up

Just wondering when Slaters Plasticard embossed stone sheets will be stuck onto the new concrete wall sections?

Nah, you all got it wrong

The plasticard is going on the top of the walkway, horizontal layer

not the front vertical face  

Edit

and I did hear that after the main tourist season is over

that in the autumn the walk way will be closed again

to accomplish that

Another site visit today saw me meet with Don and his good lady once again. I do believe that I did my Good Deed for the Day this afternoon, by retrieving Don's hat when it blew off his head and landed in the 'forbidden territory' beyond the public barrier. I then repeated the Good Deed a few minutes late

Good job it was only me hat, not me head, thanks Tim. 

BTW, why does the big landing on the "High mileage steps" have an inclined edge on the north side.

Cant seen any practical design advantage?

Interestingly talking to one of the guys, the original wall was not a smooth curve

but is "wiggly" to break up the waves when they swept at an angle ALONG the wall.

so they have had to follow the original profile as they have built up the walkway

you can actually see this looking along the BASE of the wall towards the tunnels from the Viaduct,

not acentuated, but probably only about a 10 -15 inches 'wiggle'

Sandcastles left as digger goes off duty 5pm yesterday Tues.

Spring tides, very low

3 sets of people observed walking past work site

Has security gone home/finished?

not been down there today myself

teams were working overnight, even had auxilliary services parked in Sealawn & Riviera Terr,

but more later

Edit 

Sun 2 Aug  3am

from

https://www.lobstervision.tv/home#

roadrailer at work on wall most likely pouring concrete into steps & support vehicles in Riviera Terrace

still in possesion at 5.30 am

2 fishermen at Dawlish Warren at 7.15 this morning

formwork mostly under water at high tide

the Doosan has been lodging at the Old Lifeboat House slip during high tides

So it can get on site quicker than if it returned to Red rock each tide

a rash of blue blobs appeared on the sea wall

they are on closer inspection, drain outlets, with hinged covers to keep wave surge out of the drains,

and still allow storm water to escape

the temporary wall lights have been disconnected & unscrewed from the wall prior to removal

interesting vessel sighted off Coryton today

looks like a (short)  Tall Ship, anyone any ideas as to identity?

the red rusty stanchions at each end of site will probably get removed towards next weekend

Thurs 30th July 2015

NWR units??  going north at 12.08

it was proceeded by a tamper? going south, but didnt get my camera out quick enough

fettling/snaging / joints being given attention

large piece of shuttering being moved into position by Doosan swing arm 

smaller detail shuttering panels being moved into site by shanks's pony

precast 16 step section being transported, chippy recons it only weights 3.5 tons

then of course they had to re-sling it to the correct angle to land it gently on its mountings

several adjustments, were needed

moving SLOWLY into place

snug fit against the wall

but the top needed adjustment on the support jacks

so swing away while that was done

5 hours later, precast steps in place, first shuttering panel fixed, tide rising,  so break in progress

view from Rockstone bridge showing completion of top flight.

and shuttering still to be fixed to back of middle landing ( 6ft x 12 ft )

Information was received, that rest of shuttering will be done tomorrow,  friday

and concrete will be poured sat night which probably means early sun morning as in 1 - 2 am onwards

and shuttering will begin to be removed on Monday through wednesday

leaving snagging and fixing of the handrails around & down the new steps

some gangs will be working their final day tomorow

from NWR,s cam 

https://www.lobstervision.tv/home

Works in progress at 5 am this Sun morning

Pouring concrete? possibly

earlier this week one of the 8 step precast sections was lying on the slip at The Old Lifeboat House

Saturday it was gone

So

probably it is now in situ on the wall with concrete around it

dont know if that is the first or second 8 step section

as I have not been to the Warren compound for a few days

Did Don have half a pound of sausages? It looks like his vehicle is “loaded for bear” - as they say over here...

 

Splendid photos, el Capitan, thanks.

 

Best, Pete.

Oh Yes, prepared for anything, fleeccies, waterproof trousers & jacket, extra leg insulation for bad circulation, camera,

tablet for notes, bottled water,  cooler bag for goats milk ( react to cows milk) ready for the mornings coffee, etc.!! etc

I do have the advantage over the able bodied in that I can carry for any eventuallity.  

very little chance of getting hypothermia if I were to get stuck somewhere!!!

even been known to carry a yard brush to ease the way when the seawall has been deep in shingle

though that has not been neccessary the last 4/5 months as the council beach staff have started to do some clearing!

Edit

and of course, it will also pull the tanden chair behind,  as my wife is also disabled

as seen at the weekend do at Powderham

thank you Tim for those photos, particularly those taken almost at right angles to the work

photos I could not take, unless I persuaded a friend to take me out in his boat

That is very unlikely , as boats & me do not blend well!!

And

for those travelling the rails last sat/sun,

you may have noticed an event, right beside the track at Powderham Castle, just north of Starcross

The Devon Crash box Club annual show, vintage, veteran, classic cars steam etc

well worth a visit saw an 1928 Lagonda similar to one I once drove in the early 1960s 

the only car I remember to carry a set of spare spark plugs readily to hand!

but my favourite car, not very practical, but just love the style, a Ford Capri

Had the pleasure this morning

of meeting Tim, Capn Kernow, with his colleague Dave, on the sea wall at Dawlish

it would appear that the walkway could be open unofficially on the 12th August

Later on, from a different source, I got sight of a working drawing of the steps at the south end

entitled "High mileage Stairs"

a landing will jut out from the walkway of about 6 ft, a flight of 16 steps

(2 sections of 8 as seen at the Red Rock compound above)

will lead down parallel to the walkway to another landing (12 ft x 6 ft )

and a lower flight of 16 steps will lead down back the other way

(parallel to the first flight,  down on to the concrete toe area

all with safety railings

digger lifting rebar fabrication from off top of wall to be positioned

North end steps, formwork removed, at the moment,

the new steps only go down to the top terrace of toe platforms

there is an old handrail visible down to the sand, so maybe an older set of steps existed there.

and back of same steps, no permanent handrail as yet visible on new step section

South end

more formwork being placed

precast step sections at beach compound at Red rock, Dawlish Warren

complete with hefty turnbuckle type lifting gear

steel reinforcing cages for use under the precast step units at Red Rock 

Sign at entrance to Sealawn & Riviera Terraces

road marked out for trench work & utility relaying

first wood facing in place  (edge on towards us)

next piece awaiting placement

meanwhile down at Coryton cove caught Simon & Charlie at "Love at first bite"

it appears he loves his food & shares that passion with his customers

Yes, I noted to my slight surprise when I passed on the train this morning, that the web cam was still there on the balcony.

its one of NWR's working tools., isn't it.

was told by a resident that, the terraces were closed to all traffic including residents cars,

someone drove down when security were not on duty, within a short time an "enforcement?" unit arrived

complete with camera to rectify the situation

I understand that some one at NWR ( or delegated contractor)

 is on monitor duty 24/12 or similar

in order to facilitate such action

there was an incident last year picked up on the Dawlish Beach webcam

of an adult & child walking late at night along the works on the seawall

& then climbing over the wall & proceeding along the trackside

a webcam is a brilliant security tool

I recon that it will be there at least the official opening aug 15th

and maybe even longer as an observation window as to conditions at Dawlish

( but that may not be considered  cost effective, the long term, that is) 

No messing, 

at around 5.45am today digger in use at spot where cage was landed 

from 

https://www.lobstervision.tv/home#

4th July

Steps at warren end, the north end, taking shape, only down as far as top level of toe additions 

probably got more to do at that end, to get down to the beach itself

7th July 

large steel reinforcing cage arrived on beach, about 4 mtrs each side?

the diagonal shaped side fits against the bottom slope of the original seawall

cage in place, looks like a much more complicated set of steps here at the south end

maybe a halfway platform/landing?

and at Coryton Cove the new refreshments stand is open for business,

the operator, Simon, says they will be open every day

a minimum amount of hours opening being a condition of the lease

good coffee, friendly staff

and on the 24th  June, a survey ship was seen working off Redrock.

but no information as to its purpose

Anyone heard anything from Granit Chops in the last few weeks.?

 

Keith

Still here Keith, 

been very busy with various things recently

must see if I can add few photos early tomorrow

But for now,

I heard today from a knowledgable source

that

the walkway would be finished & open by

first week in August

6th, 7th 8th?

with the official opening ceremony on Sat 15th of Aug

Time will tell how that will turn out

But if so that will greatly be beneficial for the Dawlish Air show

Red arrows, et al on 22nd of August

edit

the residents of Sealawn & Riviera terraces have not had vehicular access for 9 days now,

no access for refuse collection vehicles, etc etc,

and although the terraces are tarmacked, the access road down the back hill is also being resurfaced

due to deterioration caused by passing of all the heavy contractors  vehicles

they have hit a snag, finding utility supplies only 2 inches under the surface

so another long delay for the residents for all that to be relaid deeper, before resurfacing can take place

It is fairly clear from the Network Rail camera, that concrete was delivered overnight - note black plastic tube

 

Thank you for that observation prof

Thats the sort of pipe used for Storm water drains

BUT

what is interesting is that if you compare NR webcan for 12th Thurs with Sat 13th, and today, sun am,

you will see that they have cut through the innner line of 2014 'L' sections, removed short 3'? /4'? or 5'? sections, inserted formwork

through to outer 'L' section wall or now Parapet.  In the field of vision viewed on NWRail webcam there are 4 point where they have done this.

SO

just guess work

they may be major drainage points to drain seawater off the track? maybe?

EDIT

looking further on NWRail webcam

see

https://www.lobstervision.tv/home#

they cut the sections out ( to about 2ft deep) on Sat am early

Cut sections sitting on Road Railer wagon

constucting formwork

full wagon of concrete ( 2 inches from top?) arriving at 3 am Sun.

And poured concrete sun morning uptill at least 5.45am 

you can just see the infill of concrete poured to the left of the left formwork

filling in between the two lines of 'L' precast units

the next formwork is in place to the right

probably get poured over night

A team of Dean & Dyball pointing the seawall on 3rd of june,

a helpful guy working for them said that when they 'repointed' the breakwater at the Old lifeboat house,

they ground out to 60mm (approx 2 foot) before refilling, and as the centre was soft infill originally,

they packed in a lot of 'grout'? to fill in the voids!

dont think this was grouting, my guess is that they were preparing Anchor points

ready for when they pour the steps

5th June,

during the previous week, half term, traffic in Dawlish was chaotic

due to the increase of holiday traffic trying to negotiate the traffic lights,

there are some  5 or 6 holiday camps at the warren, each catering for thousands of holiday makers

so from the 5th on, no more pumping concrete from Exeter road

for the duration of the summer season, concrete will be delivered by road railers at night

when the track is closed to normal traffic

last week residents at the flats right by Dawlish Station, had their sleep disturbed

as mixer trucks delivered concrete to the Dawlish town Station yard,

instead of from Dawlish Warren compound as previously done

roadsweeper cleaning up site before removal of traffic lights

all pumping pipes gone from gateway of derelict house

concrete pumper at Dawlish Warren Compound, awaiting going off hire, I should imagine

formwork removed from wall, and stacked at the Old Lifeboat House,

awaiting collection by the night Road Railer

removed from this side of the site,

notice that there is still part of the ramp exposed

on Weds this week, I think it was, 2 arctics were seen carting off loads of the concrete pumping pipes

going past Dawlish Viaduct in the direction of Teignmouth

Network Rail's web cam, courtesy of Lobstervision seems to be stuck on 8.15 this morning doesn't want to update.

But its obvious that they poured another section of parapet, yesterday or the day before, as they were dismantling the formwork.

and another section previously poured., off to the right,   has had its "Toblerone"   'Prism' top section added

EDIT;- 

rewinding the webcam to Yesterday, they poured at least 10 m of parapet between 9.30 am & 10.45 am

And at 10.15am there appeared to be some consternation over the formwork holding/leaking?

but it must have been just precautionary,  as 15 mins later pour had been completed

From information that came my way yesterday,

it looks like work may start on the formwork for the first lift of  infilling the existing steps at the north end ( Warren end) of site.

Looks like a working platform will be built on the concrete apron at low sea level,

and the struts  ( similar to those already in place at the south, Dawlish end)

 to anchor/ support the formwork will be  supported on that base

Was told that an inner wall would be constructed first, then the outer steps done as a second build 

but this was information from a PRELIMINARY projection, 

so some adjustments or change of procedure are possible

edit

from Lobstervision,  the house that has been empty for nearly 16 months on Riviera Terrace

the scaffolding is gone, the garage door is open, and a "Packfirst" red removal van is coming down the road!!

( from 8.45 onwards)

Going the long way round on my old slow PC got these

there has to be quite a gap between the first ('L' units Mar 2014)

and the new parapet seeing these guys putting up the next lot of shuttering

last lot to the right has not yet got its "toblerone" top 'prism' on 

putting finishing touches to new section, probably be running concrete in them on Tuesday

Maybe.

Well it may be sunday on a bank holiday weekend, but looking at

https://www.lobstervision.tv/home

and rewinding the guys have been visible on the wall from 7.30 am to at least 2. 45 pm today

(cant do a screen capture, haven't got really used to this windows 8.1 yet!!)

which is a shame as I have just discovered there is a ZOOM button on that page

giving very good definition.

In fact it looks like the parapet is at least up to the guys shoulders when standing on the seawall path!