Bluebell track laying South from EG?

I believe the 10% figure includes the ammount they took out by road in the initial dig (last year I think). As for the wagons I was suprised at them but I am sure they have worked out the best ones for the job!

 

I believe there is a relatively low axle weight limit on a network rail bridge, north of East Grinstead, hence the reason why each wagon is having to be carefully weighed.

The big question for me is how and when are the Bluebell Railway going to find another couple of million to get the job finished?

 

I would assume that any larger wagons would mean the Japanese "Cat" tracked dumper vehicles would no longer be able to unload their contents into the wagons as easily as they do now. You also have to consider that it would take longer to unload at the other end in Buckinghamshire.

Regards,

Dan

 

With regards to the '10%' already removed, i suspect that might include the spoil and rubbish taken from the HK end.

Chris

 

The wagons are bogied so with an axleload of 25 tonne giving 100 less say 20 tare you have the capability of about 80 tonne per wagon but with this type of material not being dense enough you may achieve 40 tonne per wagon.
Wagon loading limits will prevent any overloading above the wagon top.
These wagons are in regular use for spoil and new ballast transport to and from railway renewal sites.

 

been following the progress on this site..

http://www.philpot.me/collection2.html

 

Great to see the updates on the recent excavation - http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/ext/extprog.html

Interesting to see the Shareholders and Local Residents Evening on April 8th, especially as it appears there will be another spoil train run on this day (immediately before the next East Grinstead Open Weekend).

Also, sounds like they are about to ramp up the fundraising activities in order to get the work completed before the landfill tax raise. I for one hadn't seen the David Suchet video before.

 

This is the first I've heard about this as well sounds a good idea. Maybe there will be a Michael Palin one. I think he's a Patron of the line as well wasn't he I can't get on the Bluebell site at the moment so I can't be sure.

Edit: Just got on the site and yes Michael Palin is a Patron.

 

I've just been looking at the latest photos on the Bluebell project page and have a question - is all the rubbish being removed, or is a new, narrower, cutting being created through it, leaving some at the sides to be capped and left in place?

 

Apparently under either the agreement to sell the tip or the licence to empty it, the Bluebell have to remove all the rubbish. I think a narrower cutting will be created during the removal process when the two ends link up, but the 'platform' at the side is just an easier way for the diggers to work and will then be removed restoring the cutting to its original width.


Keith

 

Agreed, the excavators need a raised bench to sit on, they work more efficiently that way for loading.

 

The Bluebell have just put out this appeal video, fronted by Nick Owen. It gives a good overview of what has been done so far, but also the scale of the task still remaining:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLYbUmf7q0E

You can donate here: http://bluebellrailwaytrust.org.uk/supportus/6WF-1C4/donate.aspx?campaignkw=Donate

Tom

 

Thanks for the link. I’ve just read the blog page by Mr. R Philpot about the Bluebell extension to EG. I find this info very alarming that they may never get to EG because of the short time period left before the cost of removing the waste becomes too expensive. There seems a lot of unanswered questions regarding the removal of waste material in this short time period left before the increase in waste material and the amount of waste left to be removed before they run out of time.

What would happen if the tip can’t be finished within the time scale left? Would the BB retreat back to Kingscote station? Or just press ahead with the extension?


I encourage everyone to read this blog before posting a reply.
http://www.philpot.me/blog.html

PS
I hope this is NOT true and we can all enjoy trip from EG to Sheffield Park soon.

 

I would take a lot of what he says with a pinch of salt, juding by his photo comments.

 

Is/are Mr Philpott's maths correct? I have no reason to doubt that it/they isn't/aren't. However, the weather over the past couple of months at least has been very dry and this must have affected the weight of the spoil in a beneficial way. Indeed, I would suggest that it couldn't get much drier at the moment! I don't know about unanswered questions but to me the answer is very straightforward: lots of money-right now! Or is this too simple? Another answer may be in further investigation of the spoil material. If it is less noxious than thought (ie if most of it has broken down into soil) then perhaps it could be removed elsewhere. Anyway, I'm sure that much smarter people than I are all over this issue at the moment but it is food for thought!

 

He has been very useful in publishing frequent photo and video updates of what has been going on.

However, his writing has a tendency to hyperbolae and his maths has been wrong on a couple of occasions, so personally I prefer to trust the professional surveyors with regard how many tons needs to be dug out.

Doesn't alter the substantive point though: plenty of money is needed very soon! You can donate here: http://www.justgiving.com/chitchatxpress

Tom

 

Hi all,

I have to admit that I tried to work out myself what each did means in terms of length of cutting gained but so far I failed to find a clear solution as the evidence from the pictures is a bit vague and stands at roughly 2 1/2 car lenghts of the open bogie wagons used. But I do not know the length of those. Anyone with any help on that?

On the other hand there are the figures on the Bluebell website. According to that the weight of material to be removed was about 115.000 tons by the end of November 2010. About 17.000 tons were removed in the nineteen days in February/March this year which should leave another 98.000 tons to be tackled. So, if those maths are correct, we are talking about roughly six more four-week digs. Are you still with me? With only 51 weeks to go before the landfill tax exemption deadline (is that correct?) that is quite a task. Where was that link to donate? I'm off to find it

Regards

Christoph


P.S.: I just got myself three "tenner for the tip" certificates. I hope the Bluebell will make the best out of it. Early in September I'll have a look for myself

 

[video=youtube;jLYbUmf7q0E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLYbUmf7q0E&feature=player_embedded[/video]

A new appeal video presented by Nicholas Owen has been made

 

I would personally like to thank Mr Philpott for his efforts to keep us mere bystanders up to date with progress! If the BB were supplying more information perhaps it would encourage others to donate more, although I guess they do have more important things to focus on! Personally I believe that the more information provided, the more support you are likely to recieve! For instance, I really enjoyed viewing the live webcam when there was all the work going on at Matlock. Perhaps the BB could set up a webcam and charge for viewings? This would be especially usefull as the rail head gets further and further from the bridge. This should be a good return for minimal effort.

I doubt for 1 mintute that the extension would cease if the digging was not completed within the March 2012 deadline. In fact I believe the BB have said that non-completion is not an option and that they would resort to a loan if required (assuming this is possible). The bottom line is that if it isn't completed by next March then it will just cost a lot more and take longer to get there. Think about it, if the cost increases 4 fold then the rate of interest is cheaper and therefore makes a loan attractive, together with the fact that the quicker trains are running to EG then faster they can start enjoying a higher rate of income (rail charters etc). Obviously the BB want to take out as small a loan as possible, preferrably none at all, otherwise they increase the risk to the business.

With regards to the tip itself there is estimated to be 16 weeks worth of digging required over the next 50 weeks to get maximum value for money. This roughly equates to one week of digging every 4 weeks! This really does reiterate the need for some immediate cash!

Cheers for now

Paul

 

Not sure of the length of a wagon, but the official "depth" into the tip is I believe 252 feet - about 77 metres. Later views show that you can just get 4 1/2 whole wagons under the bridge. This is the rail length, the actual tip face slopes back from there. For comparison, the tip is 440 metres long between bridges.

Don't forget, about 10,000 tons were removed in the initial dig (using lorries for removal) in 2008; and another 4,500 tons in the one week trial of removal by rail. So I think the current estimate is about 85,000 tons left. Theoretically that gives 17 weeks left, though by my reckoning, we are only removing 900 tons per train, not 1000, so it might be nearer 19 weeks. Loosely, the last funding update (Bluebell "What's new" page for April 1st) sort of implies 18 weeks of digging left, with 16 weeks of funding to raise and 2 weeks already in the bank. (http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk/bluebell/whats_new.html)

Thanks! Every little helps! For UK taxpayers, there is a JustGiving group that allows the railway to claim Gift Aid, see http://www.justgiving.com/chitchatxpress. Other ways to donate are here: http://bluebellrailwaytrust.org.uk/supportus/6WF-1C4/donate.aspx?campaignkw=Donate

Tom