Granitechops

Saturday 23rd May 2015 maybe bank holiday weekend but the orange army are busy, no concrete running, but lots of prep work going on Seawall going from north to south Taken from Rockstone bridge 1st section path surface NOT YET LAID & scaffolding walkway elevated over, ready for when concrete does get poured here small store to protect vulnerable small (cordless?) plant from waves and various other gear including spare concrete pumping pipes in pallet beyond which we see a FINISHED section of PATH SURFACE with the concrete delivery pipe laid over to edge of unlaid section (Concrete comes in from the south) and red rusty reinforcing fabrications leaning against the scaffolding safety rail to the right in this pic you can see the new parapet wall just to the left of the first line of 2014 'L' units another view unfinished PATH SURFACE at south end with plenty of supports ready for the end section on the old ramp scaffolding bridge & tower for access down to the beach (just during construction) View now from the SOUTH end scaffolding tower on concrete base looks like wooden formwork starting to take shape just a couple of many boats about this weekend

word on the wall is 10 weeks, but no idea what original source of that info was..

see https://www.lobstervision.tv/home the new parapet is on the inside of the walkway but outside of the wall formed by the first phase of 'L' units placed in march 2014 and seems to be quite a bit higher than that structure

Wed 21st May 2015 concrete lorries running today, possibly doing another section of top finish walkway surface todays photos Stone Breakwater in Coryton Cove continues to deteriorate severly more masonery gone missing the new food facility had the final touches put to the decking in the front of the serving hatch this morning, the contractor said he thought they would be open for next week wonder if he meant the bank holiday? at the main site, more steel struts in place for bracing the shuttering I hope the footings (temp) for those struts are well down in the sand, especially if the beach level drops any more. It has dropped at the Old Lifeboat house breakwater down 6 steps so far ( sometimes the top step is buried under 3 foot of sand/shingle most of the orange activity seemed to be on top of the walkway, either pouring the path or maybe still working on the parapet wall behind.

Over a month since my last post, due to various factors, not the least the unreliability of my blue Neo scooter with the twin wheels. So obtained replacement scooter this one is much bigger, stronger & will take 25 stones weight, so with the tandem behind it will cope better with our combined weight, the blue Neo was rated for about 16 stones if I remember. but that was a cheap second hand one which gave me an advantageous learning curve for my new Comet scooter this one is not only stronger but has got internal mudguards on the back axle for splash protection very neccessary as the seawall often has pools of sea water (SALT) along it the old one corroded badly this one has had an added coat of hammerite over the new paint for better protection new stronger drawbar needed as this one has suspension & pivots 18ins inboard from back fender so cant bolt to back cross member Pin hitch attatchment, detatchable, as other wise the larger overall length would prevent entry to the local supermarket lift to the upstairs restraunt seat & cowling removed, chassis now with coat of blue hammerite BUT now I am mobile & can handle the seawall again Fridays photos (15th May) The slipway at Dawlish Station viaduct, the sand is now within 18 inches of the top of the walkway Doosan digger busy at work at the slipway, southern end of new works. lifting what appears to be a steel support to hold up concrete shuttering fixing the steelwork in place here you can see top right where they have got to adding the final top layer of concrete to the new walkway, to the left you can see the red rusty reinforcing steel not yet encased and finaly for now, down at Coryton cove towards the tunnels a new eatery has arrived to replace that which burnt down just after Easter last year, 2014 but not open yet.

from Simon on Dawlish Beach Cam from yesterday Another of Don's pictures with thanks and a little info for the repair watchers. The tie in of old to new is progressing at a steady place along with the reinstatement of the parapet walls. The present estimate for completion is the end of June but as always weather and tide permitting. There is some activity planned for tomorrow afternoons low tide but i have just been told to watch the beach! For the eagle eyed with Don's pic you will notice that the final 4 L sections do not have the wave deflectors on. This is where the new steps to the beach will be installed and they have been left off so we don't bang our heads smile emoticon Many thanks to those who have shared the info SD I aimed to get down to Red rock & along the wall to Rockstone footbridge at low tide this afternoon but battery malfunction on the scooter caused us to turn back before getting there ( us, me & my lady on the tandem behind the scooter) i believe some politician made a beach foray? but did see the relay TV vans with big sattellight dishes parked up at Warren carpark compound Guy with shades waving to camera!! also caught the interest of the other van 'minder' Men at work on joints in the sloping wall, originally bitumen type compound in the joints, but what I saw last week, was not impressed by the results, THEN it looked like they had used a heat gun/flame lance to melt the original compound, but in this pic looks like one guy has a silicon type applicator in hand must get another closer look!

OK, back from holidaying in N Devon. exercised the beach scooter & tandem over Saunton Sands, tide out, 1/2 mile beach 2? miles long? flat damp sand, ideal for a speed romp not much to observe in Dawlish now the jack up barges have gone, but work goes on, they restarted yesterday, Tues, after holiday weekend break. no shuttering in sight at town end & an orange clad operative yesterday said, no idea, not told when shuttering will be done. but interestingly the last four 'L' units do NOT have a return lip on top edge for some reason, & are not all identical, with one being taller than the rest they have removed some old sewage ( I suppose?) pipes & stacked them at the Warren beach compound seeing that, reminded of years ago (48?) loading similar ones by HAND at a water board depot near Kingsbridge meanwhile down at Dawlish Warren the new walk way above possible flood level, in front of new shop development was opened in time for Easter and steel cages await deployment on site at the car park compound

Quoted from Dawlish Beach page "An evening shot of the drilling unit and digger making their way to the ramp end. I have some updated info for you too! SeaRiser4 looks unlikely to move until wed/thurs due to low water and as always will be subject to weather conditions. Good progress was made over the weekend with 80m3 plus of concrete poured via the static line system and the rebar placed over the weekend was for the foundation section of the parapets in the old breach section - lots more concrete pours planned for this week whilst we wait on the tide to move SeaRiser4. The drilling is nearing completion at our end of the site. The guys are still a long way off completing the whole job with all the parapet works, tie ins at both ends and new steps to both end yet to be commenced the Orange Army won't be retreating any time soon! Many thanks to our nameless friend! SD" Now I had understood, maybe mistakenly, that there was going to be ramps at both ends, not steps. Anyone any 'concrete' info on this

Was recently down Dawlish Warren & saw the seawall parapet joints where the rock armour is, And seeing them use mastic & smoothing it out with a piece of white plastic tubing

The one done last year by the footbridge is still there. that one was not a Banksy, it was reputed to have been done by a local from Teignmouth, so the likelyhood is this one is by the same person

Coryton Cove, contractors have nearly finished the parapet to the seawall walk, just another coat of paint new stainless rails gleaming, well they would be if the sun was shining! Breakwater at Coryton Cove is breaking up Masonry missing here & here new grafitti apeared by the Coryton toilets Coastguards 2 machines parked up sea air salt water sand shingle, taking its toll on the gear comment from one operative when the plant is finished with on here, it will be fit for scrapping!! other digger, the Case has the drilling rig on it And guys rock climbing, probably grouting the joints with mastic.

That may explain the post fabrication holes burnt with a thermal torch, as if no anchor point vertically downwards ( where the drains are) presumably the said 'L's would have to be bolted to the JOISTS which would also be also/either fixed to the other 'L's each side or JOISTS long pinned themselves No wonder they are beefy joists

They must have done a great deal of pouring today, coming past the traffic lights on Exeter road, there were 5 mixer wagons in side the cones, one more just left & off towards Exeter & another full one approaching from Exeter to join the queue that's 7 in total in just a short space!!

6.55 am today Sunrise at Dawlish Viaduct Joined by someone who, jumped out of car took a quick snap, then drove off again Seajack 3 in Teigmouth this end of deck cleared of tackle Still gear this end to remove before real dismantling can start you can see the size of the fender much clearer from this angle the ship along side unloading Fertaliser is the 'Paper Moon' so then at Dawlish, from this angle, looks like they almost joined up at the north end BUT looking from the other end, Rockstone bridge, there is still a gap there is a step in the foundation suggesting the hole may be filled with shuttering to finish BUT that last 'L' has a tongue on this end suggesting that there may be another 'L' to go in which would require packing up before placing it Time will tell there was no sign of activity of tugs at Teignmouth, to go & move JUB 1 to the south end yet could be they have to lift reinforcing cages into place first before crane goes South!!

Posted from photo on Dawlish Beach Cam, ( free viewing till Sun pm ) obvious insider photo thanks buddy ( or buddyess) lots of 'L's placed & now ready for reinforcing cages/drainage systems etc putting in place ready for pouring concrete those heavy steel joists in my earlier post ( yesterday) are 'Lintels' to go over drainage outfalls to give them plenty of protection from the enormous weight of concrete poured over them,, so I was told today

Still from a video from 21st Feb 2015 beautiful day. 'L's arriving by sea from Teignmouth

Sat 1.30 pm placing 'L' into position & checking with spirit level loading at Warren compound - using the emergency crossing close up & off down the track why cant I insert my photos in position in the text???????????????

OK lets try again, using my ( wont beat a Sloth XP, but familiar old friend PC) Went to Polly Steps Teignmouth early this am to see how they were dismantling JUB 2- Seajack3 seems they had only just started to move ansiliaries the Huge fender, 5ft diam? was already on the dockside lifting the steel zig zag steel ladder & dropping it on the deck for bundling & securing for trsansport Went down Dawlish warren expecting to see much activity, like 'L' units arriving by road, but about 4pm ish all was quiet the approach road to load the road/railers was protected along the edges with heavy barriers just 2 Ls in sight, beside a rather beefy forklift numbered, but no tongue on this side 3inch? groove on other side Arty shot of one 'L' through the locating hole of the other one!! also some rather hefty steel welded construction special joists visible were several pallets of KINGSPAN products, but couldn't get close enough to see what one of their items are precast concrete floor panels for buildings wonder IF they are to be used in the top layer of walkway??

Went to Polly Steps Teignmouth to see how they were dismantling JUB 2- Seajack3 seems they had only just started to move ansiliaries the Huge fender, 5ft diam? was already on the dockside Went down Dawlish warren expecting to see much activity, like 'L' units arriving by road, but about 4pm ish all was quiet the approach road to load the road/railers was protected along the edges with heavy barriers oops seem to be having trouble with this windows 8.1, add to post button wont work, wont add pics inline, only at end??

from Simon on Dawlish Beach Webcam, who have a FREE view period over this weekend coming. Quote "Wall Update for you with many thanks to my sources smile emoticon As Saturday will see no normal rail traffic possession has been handed over to the Orange Army. L sections will be arriving via the RRV on site to speed up installation. The two ends will have shuttering placed between old and new, the void will be filled with reinforcing cages and a mass concrete pour will take place to join the new and old together. Saturday looks busy on the cam considering there will be no trains! Please make sure you take advantage of our birthday offer and come take a peek! We hope this information is useful and will hopefully aid in getting the wall open to the public in May. SD" His photo Thanks Simon

Didnt see the programme, but I did meet the BBC camera man on his way down to the site early today (9.30 am ish)

Anybody know what they will do when they get to the slipway at the Old Lifeboat House? there is a slope down & then back up again before getting to the higher walk way I ask purely for selfish reasons if it is left as it is it will be liable to fill with shingle/sand as it does now sometimes 2-3 ft deep & wheelchairs, prams, buggies zimmer frames, strollers, etc. will have great difficulty if not impossible getting through it

Spoke to an orange operative (no ID, Logo etc. on his suit) he said there was 30 units to go at the north end (rockstone end) and 20 units to place at the south end he reconed that 2 weeks will see them all done this am there were 2 diggers working at the south end at the slope & there was piles of DRY sand on the beach SO, are they perhaps digging out the slope ready to square up that end to marry up the 'L' units to the original wall? Just a guess on my part piles of sand gangway up on top of new construction Seajack 3 looking lonely with Exmouth in the background there were 2 mixer wagons unloading on Exeter road this am & a third on the road from Exeter

The thing is with an operation as complex as time & tide & swell & wind et al you have to have the tools ready to hand to use immediately they are needed I believe that with the neap tides at the weekend there was only a predicted difference between high & low tide of only 1.2 m It would be impractical to contact tugs in Teignmouth docks, saying its good to go, & by the time they arrive off Dawlish conditions have deteriorated having the tools on hand ready, primed to go, is likely to get the project finished as soon as possible I suspect there is considerable pressure both from inside Network Rail, and Public & commercial pressure groups to see this completed ASAP Even experienced local fishermen have been caught out on occasion by sudden sea changes

JUB 2, Seajack 3, moved off worksite, out to near mooring buoy