GWSR General Discussion and Operations

As some have already mentioned, the building replaces the mk1 coach that the loco dept gave called home for many years. Apart from the mess room- which will triple the current seating capacity, there will be a training classroom, another room for undertaking railway medicals, and changing area, decent toilets and showers for both Male and female staff. The machine shop extension from the good shed is to house small lathes and tooling along with more bench space - allowing a reshuffle of the machines in the goods shed. It’s been a while coming, but we can’t wait to take ownership over the summer.

 

Ah but the GWR didnt build it, as most railways that were built at the time, it was built buy a seperate limited company, obvoiusly it was built to a price/time rather than properly, the railway is used as an example in Pway engineering on how not build cuttings and embankments!

 

I think the construction was let in several contracts. I don't think that absolves the GWR though as either they agreed with the method or they did not exercise enough oversight.

 

Hence my careful use of the phrase "at Churchward House", after replacing 'in'!

Excellent! So good to see all the physical plant improvements on the GWSR! A long way from the low point of the Chicken Curve severing.

Noel

 

The contractors for the Cheltenham to Honeybourne Line were Messrs Walter Scott & Middleton. They started work at Honeybourne towards the end of 1902. Hutted accommodation for navvies was provided at Toddington and Gretton. In November 1904, Colonel Yorke inspected the section from Broadway to Toddington. Two embankments showed signs of settlement and so he ordered that a watch be kept on them and a speed restriction of 10 mph be imposed. He found that Stanway/Toddington viaduct was perfectly sound (the viaduct had partially collapsed whilst under construction on Friday 13 November 1903 - due to formers being removed too early from the viaduct arches and a steam crane on the viaduct at the time hastened the accident which claimed 4 lives). On 26 January 1905, Colonel Yorke inspected the section from Toddington to Winchcombe with the 1st train running to there the following month. (From: The Honeybourne Line by Colin Maggs and Peter Nicholson)

 

That's interesting, can you be more specific / quote your source?

I know of one picture taken at CRC which was used to advertise the straightness of the track

 

I should have said two contracts, one from Honeybourne to Winchcombe, and one from Winchcombe to Cheltenham. (source GWR half year reports for 31 December 1902 and 30 June 1903)

 

I was looking at the recent S&T blog and thought I recalled a note sometime saying the Broadway signalling would be ready for start of this season.

I assume that wont be the case, but wondered what still needs doing and likely commissioning date?

All good work to date so just a nice to know

 

Don't know of the specific publication, but it is still used today.
Ivor used to use it for reference.

 

Probably not until next running season now from what I can gather.

Meanwhile the slip at Gotherington looks more frightening every time the drain gang photograph it, 2.7m now, with another storm and buckets of rain coming:



I understand this is going to be soil nailed, like the Broadway slip was. Just watching our carriage shed slip further and further into the distance too...

 

Is it close to the previous Gotherington slip?

 

A bit further south.

 

Is this what storm ciara has done last w,end gosh thats quite bad could some hardcore stone be packed there and a bit of top soil to secure the railway enbankment or is that not feasable?

 

It's been on the move for longer than that, it was first noticeably visible late last year but has sunk about a metre in the last month. A dry summer followed by a very, very wet winter. Just throwing rocks at it won't help much in the long term, BR found that too! No, a permanent solution is much better even if the cost looks a bit eye-watering. @Breva wrote a handy guide to soil nailing when it was being done at Broadway here.

 

It will be dealt with Professionally. As I understand it, the hot, dry Summer didn't help. It unstabilized the interface between the Clay surface matter and the underlying material. We then had many weeks/months of excessive rainfall which caused the Clay material to take up moisture and become heavier. Hence the 'slip'.

I believe the plan is, in the short term, to stabilize the supporting area for the 'running line' for the current Season, and to then deal with the matter such that the problem will then be resolved.

 

To add to this, as discussed up-thread here, many of the GWSR earth-works used poor construction designs, in part because of limited understanding of such things at the time they were built. 'Patching' them just doesn't work, as BR found (e.g. at Chicken Curve). A proper well-engineered fix will give the GWSR sound infrastructure which it can rely on for a long time to come. The expense will delay some other much-desired infrastructure investments, but it's just a delay, not a cancellation. Luckily the GWSR is now healthy enough that it can handle these without threatening the line; in part because its heavy use of volunteers, instead of paid staff, reduces the amount of cash needed for normal operation.

In this particular case, the drainage blog reports that site preparation is already underway, and as @Ken_R reports, work to stabilize the line for its use this running season will shortly commence.

Noel

 

There’s no urgency for it this year at least, so 2021 probably. Until platform 2 is opened for public use there’s no need for it. Having a working signal box at Broadway doesn’t increase the capacity of the line it just means you can run passenger trains into P2 and also you can remove the required stop board from the north end of P1.

 

Yeah; I get impression from the S+T blog that it's a combination i) of a lot of distractions elsewhere, some unforeseen (e.g. the point damage; having to relocate lines at another slip site, including installing several line-side cabinets; etc), with a limited work-force to deal with them all; and ii) they don't really need the box, operationally, until the second platform comes into use, and that'll be a while yet (which has made diversion of S+T resources to other things, e.g. the refurbishment and installation of two point machines at Toddington, plausible and desirable). They may also be still collecting and training the people to operate it.

But there has been a lot done since last spring, e.g. installing all the rodding and cabling, putting up posts and signals, and starting the work connecting it all up inside the box. I think dressing the bracket at Broadway is about to start. I think once that's done it's mostly connecting things up inside the box.

Noel

 

I'd politely dispute that! It means you can have 2 trains north of Toddington at once, which does increase capacity, and could allow some different and more flexible timetables. It would also mean more room to run a freight train during a gala, my own personal hobby horse!

Indeed, compounded by the fact that not only is there less money for the signalling stuff and more distractions for the signalling staff, but less money to finish of P2 as well so even less incentive to get the signalling up and working to allow its use! It'll all happen, just like the carriage shed, just got to be patient and sit tight, and carry on running a brilliant railway to fill the coffers up again.