Great Western Coffee Shop

Last weekend I noticed that some supplies had been left at intervals along the banks of the cutting just north of Sandhurst station.

They consist of packs of short concrete castings with a capital Ι cross section, packs of longer concrete castings with a plain rectangular cross section, plus packs of concrete mix. They were still there today - see the attached photos.

What will they be used for? The only thing I could think of was new cable ducting, perhaps for signalling?

Currently the line is controlled by Wokingham signal box to a mile short of Farnborough North (near Synhurst footpath crossing). That means signals only - the crossover at Blackwater is operated by a ground frame, and there are no other points. With the recontrol from Wokingham SB to Feltham RSC going on at the moment, there is a lot of work being done in many different places, some of it hard to relate directly to signalling. So this might be some of that work.

I can't be sure, but they look more like supports for ballast or embankment toes. A bit like gravel boards without a fence above. The flat panels slot into the i posts. 

Hmm.  If they have any left over, those would also be bluddy useful in my back garden: I'll make them an offer.  ;D

I sort of thought that too. But why are those post/beams made with a (stonehenge-style) little tenon on one end a matching mortise in the other? Further research finds that this is a "bobble finished top": just an alternative decoration to a pyramid, but it's usual for both of these to be put on both ends.

I have attached a couple of extra photos in case they help. One shows a closer view of the ends of the i-beams/posts.

The other is the view looking north. There are further sets of supplies along the left side of the cutting. There are also a number of blue and white objects or markings at intervals along the right side of the tracks. It's difficult to tell what they are, as the photo was taken on my phone and doesn't show enough detail. The blue object at the bottom of the photo looks like a damaged sign, but may be different to those on the right. The larger blue area on the bridge is graffiti.

Support to the embankment toe does look like a possibility I have seen such elsewhere. 

I've had a look at some of my earlier photos and the blue/white objects on the right weren't there in August 2020, but were there in September 2021, so perhaps not related to the current works.

The white with blue top items are rectangular drainage catch pits, they have a similar access function to the kerbside gullies for roadside drainage, a place where they can get in and clean out the drains.

Paul

Concrete gravel boards, used to hold back embankment base,  Used for a number of reasons some are, to just hold back the base of an embankment, the allow the instillation of cable trough route or to provide a walking route

The works are now under way between the footbridge and the Church Road bridge in Little Sandhurst.

Looks like a fairly standard gravel board install to protect the trough route from embankment encroachment, it is also posible it is being installed in readiness for an additional trough route

There were no workers on site this morning, but sections of temporary fencing have been erected between the tracks and the existing trough.

When I went passed on the train on Friday, I noticed there were much longer sections of the same type of fencing extending several hundred yards southwards from Crowthorne station.

I have attached some photos taken from the footbridge in Little Sandhurst.

Fencing is known as Vortox fencing, it provides a temporary fenced work sit, so no additional staff protection against trains is required