Captain Kernow

More photos of the main wash-out site, taken yesterday afternoon, and the area up by Rockstone footbridge, where repairs to the parapet wall are almost complete, and some genuine masonry repair was also taking place: Back at the main wash-out site. The higher level of concrete represents the final level now, on top of which the ballast is going: Loading the last few of the 'L' section pieces onto a R/R trailer:

After visiting the slip site, I then visited Dawlish station, the main wash-out site and Rockstone footbridge area: More photos in next post.

Here are some more photos from my site visit yesterday. I visited the main slip site between Sprey Point and Smugglers Cove, as well as the main wash-out site at Dawlish etc. First of all, the earth slip site. This has featured on BBC Spotlight this evening, using aerial footage shot by a drone. First of all, accessing the track via the authorised location near the esplanade in Teignmouth, and starting to walk out towards Sprey Point: Concrete blocks at a lesser slip site: More photos of the lesser slip site between Teignmouth station and Sprey Point: A view out to sea showed an ominous change in colour in the bay, and foretold what was to come: This is the favoured mode of transport on this section of Sea Wall currently: This excellent conveyance took us right up to the main slip site: Some concrete repairs to the parapet wall was still taking place close to the slip site (but not too close..): Here are some views of the main slip site as of mid-morning yesterday. A Licence is in place to allow the spoil to be dumped on the beach for the tide to take away, there is really no practical alternative to this. As of yesterday, the Fire Brigade were still pumping sea water up to the top of the cliff and spraying it down on top of the loose material, but today they have finished installing a long hose connection from a hydrant in the main road, via a new trench and through gardens at the top of the cliffs, to the same position: More photos in next post.

Brilliant Jim, superb photos. Don't forget to let me know if you ever find yourself on the Devon logs! (got some empty timber wagons to shift around in Kingsland Road, Bristol, by the way, in case you're interested, just been talking to one of your Guv'nors today about that..!)

Yes, thanks for that. Just read it....

That should be for the remaining portion of the main deck area, to bring it up to the level that the eastern-end is now at. The ballast should soon start to go on top of all that.

I can neither confirm nor deny that these may or may not be photos taken by me, or not...... Oh alright then, yes, they are mine! I'm hoping to upload a whole series of yesterdays photos from my home PC this evening...

No, that wasn't me. I was watching someone else pour me a cup of tea a bit later, mind... Work is continuing at the landslip site.

Yes, in my previous postings I had overlooked the fact that there is another 18" (approx) of concrete to be laid on the top of the previous level, which will have the effect of 'burying' the bases of the smaller 'L' sections. When you see my photos from yesterday, you will see that approx 2/3 of the main washout site has now had this final level of concrete added, the rest may have been done by now. The ballast waiting at Dawlish Warren will follow soon afterwards.

Well, I did notice them there, so it would have been rude not to check that everything was alright ...

Hi Light Engine, I was in Teignmouth station car park, yesterday morning, briefly (parked the car there to make a site visit further up), but not at lunchtime. Don't take any notice about rumours or whispers about where trains will or will not stop when the line reopens. Dawlish station has just had a major make-over, new canopy coverings and a complete re-paint amongst other things. What with the volume of school traffic there as well, rest assured that trains will stop there from the time the line reopens!

Folks, listen, please..... it is very unlikely that the line will reopen earlier than the 4th April date. There is absolutely no whisper from the steam charter operators about a steam special in connection with this, and there normally would be. I'm not convinced that a steam train is the most appropriate type of train to be first over the reopened line, I personally think it should be a conventional, modern train carrying the usual passengers that use the line, in a low-key, 'let's get on with it' kind of way...

Here's another view. This will be the only photo I put up this evening, as having spent the whole day out there and also at the Newton Abbot roadworks site (huge culvert under the railway), I have run out of energy...

Indeed, but as this is a family show, it was a case of (before the charity charging regime came into force)...'would you like another burger with your burger, Sir? Yes, OK then, how about a couple of sausages and a slice of cheese on top of that? Yes? OK then, how about a couple of slices of bacon on top of the cheese, Sir? You would? OK then, and what's that, you'd like another couple of burgers on top of the bacon? Fine, that's no problem. Sorry? You'd like that order twice, - for your mate up on the platform, no problem at all.....Well, that will take a couple of minutes to prepare, do have a pasty while you're waiting - oh, OK then, have a couple....!'

Negative, Caller, I can confirm that I am 'elsewhere' today, ie. not at Dawlish. In fact, I hereby officially deny that I was ever at Dawlish on this day... So, it's not me, I wasn't there, not guilty, Guv'nor! And no, I don't have a special pasty van, I can neither confirm nor deny that I may (or may not) at some stage in the future (or the past) have (or not have) my own personal pasty van (or utilise a public pasty van)... In fact, the last meal I had from the burger van last week was chilli with rice & chips, and a most cordially agreeable taste it was, too... By the way you lot, I hope you realise that the food isn't free from these burger vans.... it was at first (with NR meeting the overall bill separately), but now there is a charge per item, with 100% of the cash raised that way going to local charities. That way you put a bit of a control on the urge to order the burger equivilent of a 'Shaggy super sandwich'...

Now then, here are a few answers to some of the points raised above.... We have a licence to dispose of the cliff fall spoil in the sea, so what Combe Barton suggested just proves that Great Minds think alike! The point about replicating stone walls in concrete is exactly what we are doing with the repairs to the parapet walls along the whole length - a total length of 525 metres when all added together. And as for the four burger vans, I only know the location of two of them, so where are the other two, I'd like to know.... yet another reason to go on another site visit...! As for big holes in the ground, we've just dug another big 'un at Newton Abbot West, where we are in the middle of a 7 day blockade to install a very large 6m deep flood relief channel under all four lines, in connection with the South Devon Link Road (aka Kingskerswell Bypass) scheme - photos to follow (but visible from the public road if you are in the area). That work finishes at 4pm on Friday this week.

There's also information on my use of a trial set of Ultrascale wheels here - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/21/entry-13402-Hornby-sentinel-converted-to-p4/

Rest assured, gentle readers, that I haven't forgotten about the Taunton weekend....

We know that the areas of the wall (a large percentage of it) with the higher walkway and foundation strengthening has withstood the storms much better. However, this is literally an on-going discussion, so more regarding the future of the wall will no doubt emerge from 'the wash' as time passes.

Sounds more like it. I'm going to find out more shortly...

Me too...! (been out all day on family business). I'm not sure that the BBC have got the tonnages of material right, I think it's rather less than that, yet still a substantial amount. I'm hoping to visit the location next week (between Sprey Point and Smugglers Cove).

Hi Andy - this is the final finish - concrete moulded in a masonry pattern (pattern taken from elsewhere on the wall). We believe that it will weather down quite quickly under marine conditions...

Yes, a certain mutual friend sent me a couple of snaps of the nice new fence earlier on! Top stuff!

Looking at one of Andy's excellent photos, and considering that one or two folk seem to have had valve gear problems, I'm wondering if the example in Andy's picture was suffering from a droopy slidebar, and - if this was a common feature - whether this may have contributed to the valve gear dis-assembling itself?

More photos from yesterday. This is the main breach site, showing the current positioning of the 'L' sections, with one of the tall, inner 'L' sections being moved into position by a large, tracked machine: Repairs to the wall at the point where the walkway starts to descend to the lower level: View looking eastwards towards the main breach site: Repairs to Dawlish station are coming on as well: More 'L' sections getting ready to be taken to the main breach site: They arrive at Dawlish by road: More work on the station buildings, including a complete re-paint and new roofing material for the canopies: A road railer passes through the station, en-route to the worksite on Marine Parade: