Bridge that Gap: Great Central Railway News

I would think so, but we are away for a week now....

 

Just noticed that they added a (very) short video to the bridge web page at the end of last week concerning the current works.

 

The canal bridge is now fully enclosed and has sounds of grit blasting coming from within!

Also work is being done to the North of the MML bridge. The old embankment is being made higher and lengthening Southwards to the new bridge.

 

This from the main GCR website news section:

Bridging the Gap – Works at Midland Main Line bridge site
Published March 19, 2019 | By GCR Admin
Work has started to relocate the pile of earth from its temporary location on the paddock owned by Loughborough Grammar School back onto the EMRT site where it will be stored until work starts in the future to reconstruct the northern embankment as part of the Bridging the Gap project.

To facilitate the construction of the abutment supporting the new bridge over the Midland Mainline, part of the old embankment and an area of the EMRT paddock were removed to accommodate the machinery and materials needed to erect the new bridge.

Now that the bridge has been completed and signed off by Network Rail, we are able to restore both paddocks to their former levels. The cost of this work was included in the original budget for the bridge project and we are grateful that the Grammar School allowed us to store the spoil free of charge.

Meanwhile, work continues on the next exciting stage of our project to reunify the two halves of the Great Central Railway, Crossing the Canal. For more details please see www.gcrailway.co.uk/unify

 

Thanks for that Mogulb, there must be some technical reason why they cannot just put the spoil where it needs to be to complete the embankment. It might be that the footprint of the higher embankment and the slight change of position puts it too close to the brook? So retaining wall/piles might be needed for the base of the embankment?

 

Other news is that there is now an S&T shed alongside the new Carriage shed at Swithland.

 

Spot on Phil. The Environment Agency have a no go zone next to water courses, from memory 8m, as the base of the embankment will impinge into this zone some variety of retaining walls, gabions, soil nailing will have to be used .

 

Would there be any chance to put corrogated sheeting alongside the brook and alongside the new railway embankment or does it need to be something like a concrete renforcing wall between the brook and bottom side of the railway enbankment. Also as well would the bridge over the A60 nottingham road would that require new steel plates on it and likewise same as whats been done to the canal trestle bridge i remember having a look at the A60 bridge myself when i went to G.C.R. last hurrah and noticed on the down line deck on the northen end is big hole through it maybe caused by corrosion and vibration from railway traffic over the years but the up track deck thats still used today looked ok from my opinion.

 

Hi Davo
I suspect that we will have to wait and see as it will have to be to a fully approved design to satisfy the Environmental Agency, Council, Severn Trent etc etc.....In the plans for the project they do say the A60 bridge will need refurbishing to carry the second track. They need to come a fair way along with two tracks, so a train from the Main Line is not stopped on the inclined curved chord line.

 

Davo. My understanding is that the EA require a clear level strip alongside any water course at bank level for possible maintenance. You could use sheet piling to retain the embankment, not sure that would be the most cost effective solution though.
The A60 bridge will need refurbishment on the lines of the canal bridge if it is retained, although I suppose it could be replaced if Suitable replacement could be found. All down to cost at the end of the day.

 

Well if the G.C.R. bridge the gap society wanted something long lasting to shore up the new embankment would it be sensible to line the base of the embankment tradionally with clay or maybe something synthetic like thick corrogated plastic panelling and would be a cheaper alternative than corrogated steel plates.

 

Hi Davo
I think they would probably have to use those corregated steel piles which are slotted together, as they are driven several metres into the ground. Whatever it is bound to be expensive!

 

Interlocking steel sheet piling it's called, and the strip of land by the stream is a Riparian Zone - see Wikipedia..

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If so the material used is corrogated steel could it be galvenised steel or pheraps coated in tar or syntheticly coated to stop corrosion afterall it needs to last a lifetime.

 

They paint them all in Lowca varnish first, and when they drive them into the ground, the friction with the ground rubs it off again! (Except that which remains above ground)

The best way to ensure resilience, is to up the copper content of the steel but I don't know what the additional cost would be..

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Slightly "Off Thread" but still GCR......We visited Leicester yesterday and I took these pictures of the old Leicester Central Station. It has been in a sad state since closure, but now is being sympathetically refurbished. Most of the external brickwork and internal major walls have been retained, cleaned and repaired where necessary. A new glass roof is going over the front concourse area. As it is now just across the road from the extended Highcross shopping complex it could have a much brighter future.

 

Suddenly you can see similarities between Leicester Central and Leicester and Nottingham Midland stations in the porte cochere area. Was the same architect employed on all three stations?

 

I’m sure I’ve read that both Nottingham stations (Midland and Victoria) used the same architect but I’m unsure about the two Leicester ones (Midland and Central, yes I know the GN had a separate station). So that doesn’t quite answer the question but might be a shove in the right direction.


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Just noticed this on the GCR website whilst looking for details of this weekends Diesel Gala.....
http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/shedappeal/
Currently just shown as a tab to click on the webpage. Would have thought the announcement would have been done with a higher profile than that , unless that follows later today......

 

All the trees look a tad optimistic, I'm not sure there is room for them!

Andy