Black Bridge, Nuneham: southern abutment failure

[whole diary]

[Marlburian]

I'm not keen on crowding on to a replacement bus at Didcot along with disgruntled Cross-Country travellers, and the X40 bus service from Reading offers a long-winded 90-minute journey. So possibly I'll take a taxi from Didcot, drive to a village or town(Wallingford) to pick up the X40, or use one of the Oxford park & rides. At least for the initial hospital visit I won't be having any tests that preclude driving.

Whereabouts are you travelling from? Given your username I would suggest Marlborough (nr. Swindon) in which case GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) advise - https://www.gwr.com/oxford-update - that Service S6 (Swindon - Oxford, via. Farringdon) has an acceptance in place for rail tickets. Nice trip tbh which takes about 1½ - 1¾hrs depending on the time of day and I prefer it to a train trip if time allows. Also the S6 between Swindon and Oxford runs more frequently than the Didcot - Oxford service. The S6 is currently not going into Oxford City Centre though due to the work on the rail bridge by Oxford station.

Dave

Only from Tilehurst, so getting to Didcot is easy, as is catching the X40 from Reading or an intermediate spot. (I'm going to a hospital other than the John Radcliffe.)

(Your deduction that I live in Wiltshire was a reasonable one, but my Forum name relates to the county being my favourite and my interest in military training there. And no, I wasn't in the army!  )

[nickswift99]

The X32 runs directly from Didcot to the John Radcliffe (assuming that’s your hospital of choice in Oxford). It runs twice an hour and takes roughly 1 hour.

[Marlburian]

Hey Nick, that's very useful, thanks for the tip. The hospital I have in mind is very close to the John Radcliffe. As is often the case, I'm over-thinking the travel arrangements, especially as it's not certain I'll be going there.

[stuving]

Here is a report from Ground Engineering, so while they have no new sources of information at least they ought to understand what they have been told by NR^» (Network Rail - home page)! Their photo shows what I believe are a pair of McCulloch Panel Lifters at work.

And no - that's not a battery box on top, it's got a 32kW diesel (Euro stage V tier 4 final) plus all the electrical/mechanical/hydraulic gubbins it needs.

[ReWind]

Things not looking good if you want to get back to Oxford from London tonight.

It's either a RRB^▸ (Rail Replacement Bus) from Didcot or er...... that's it.  Chiltern route blocked due to a failed freight train causing mayhem there.

[Mark A]

Chiltern route blocked due to a failed freight train causing mayhem there.

Now under way, hesitantly, and almost at Princes Risborough heading for 'Quainton Railhead' wherever that is.

Mark

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:H04312/2023-04-18/detailed

[bradshaw]

East West Rail construction site I think, not too far from Quainton Road of the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.

[nickswift99]

Unfortunately it looks like this train got as far as Princes Risborough and has stayed there overnight blocking platform 3.

As of 0615 it’s still there.

[paul7575]

East West Rail construction site I think, not too far from Quainton Road of the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.

It’s more the HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) railhead than EWR, although some material is being used by HS2 for their contracted part of the EWR embankments where they cross.

It’s fair to say however that these are not reactionary diversions for the Nuneham viaduct failure, they’re running on their normal route in the WTT^▸ (Working Time-Table) for this whole timetable period.

[TonyN]

This is certainly generating some unusual freight paths.

Returning from Derby to Worcestershire Parkway this afternoon as my Cross Country train entered New Street at around 17:25 a freight train went past us heading North out of New Street!

Real Time trains tells me it was from Appleford tip to Milford sidings.

[ChrisB]

Another update from Network Rail…

https://twitter.com/networkrailwest/status/1649077107660652547?s=46&t=ah-SsHksqViJs35eOx7jsQ

[Electric train]

Another update from Network Rail…

https://twitter.com/networkrailwest/status/1649077107660652547?s=46&t=ah-SsHksqViJs35eOx7jsQ

Looking at the piles stacked up they look like the type and style used for OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") masts; I wonder if they are making use of the Didcot - Oxford electrification piles that were not driven into the ground before the electrification was stopped

[Oxonhutch]

Looking at the piles stacked up they look like the type and style used for OLE^▸ (Overhead Line Equipment, more often "OHLE") masts; I wonder if they are making use of the Didcot - Oxford electrification piles that were not driven into the ground before the electrification was stopped

I wonder if those piles are going to be used to temporarily support the spans while the abutment is repiled and rebuild. The temporary piles will not have to support any dynamic weight unlike the abutment.

[stuving]

How do you pile into the bed of a river anyway? It may be closed, but the water is still there, and I've seen no mention of a coffer dam. In this case, would you use very long piles (joined if need be) so the tops are above water - and have to cut them down to free the river for reopening? Or would you drive the piles flush with the river bed, using a suitable piling hammer (which I see are standard pieces of kit), and bolt on the trestle underwater?

For the abutment, I can see that removing the embankment will allow them to put piles in just beyond the end of the bridge, and they can also put them beside the bearings. That could give enough support and keep the load through the piles vertical (which I think helps). The bearing for the middle girder is the difficult one to get under or all around. 

[paul7575]

I wonder if those piles are going to be used to temporarily support the spans while the abutment is repiled and rebuild. The temporary piles will not have to support any dynamic weight unlike the abutment.

Yes, that’s how the NR^» (Network Rail - home page) chap Stuart Calvert explains it in the latest video, linked earlier by ChrisB. It’s at about 55s into the video.  

It was also stated in the previous video he also appeared in.

Paul