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Main line to the west out for weeks as tracks washed away at Dawlish

I don't imagine the salt water is too kind to the stock & permanent way.

There were always loads of bunnies next to the line at Teignmouth when I used to watch hoovers and peaks going up and down in the early 80s, often inches from the rails but unfussed by the trains. I hope they have decent waterproofs.

(sand martins in the cliffs too)
 
ChrisD said:
it's that time of the year again.... !
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it's definately that time of year when the bloody trains stop working properly. truro to penzance is out, for a month or so I think.

all i really want to say is grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. if they have the bloody line out, then why in the fucking fuck do they need to be doing quite so much at 3am and using the bloody horns so much.
 
toggle said:
it's definately that time of year when the bloody trains stop working properly. truro to penzance is out, for a month or so I think.

all i really want to say is grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. if they have the bloody line out, then why in the fucking fuck do they need to be doing quite so much at 3am and using the bloody horns so much.
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All showing on National Rail website as on time this evening (?) I wouldn't open the window when going near Dawlish though......
 
ChrisD said:
All showing on National Rail website as on time this evening (?) I wouldn't open the window when going near Dawlish though......
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they haven't got it listed, have they. looks like they have timetabled the busses and so are running on time. not that it's up to 45 mins longer journey times via a row of coaches outside the station
 
It's still somewhat perilous:

Dawlish passengers abandon wave-hit train
Passengers abandoned a train after huge waves left it stranded on a coastal track.

The Arriva Cross Country service broke down when its electrics failed between Dawlish and Teignmouth at about 21:30 BST on Sunday.

The same stretch of track was destroyed by winter storms last year and was out of action for several months.

Torrential rain on Sunday night has also left a number homes flooded in Dawlish.

First Great Western said its staff were called to help passengers on the Arriva Cross Country train.

"While the majority of First Great Western services were able to continue running, there were delays to some trains while the Cross Country service was recovered," it said in a statement.

A spokesman for Cross Country said the train involved was the 17:07 service from Manchester to Plymouth.

"When passing Dawlish seafront the train was struck by spray from a wave and seawater entered the train roof causing mechanical problems," he said.

"Despite numerous attempts it proved impossible to get the train restarted so ultimately everyone was transferred to another train to continue their journeys, although involving a considerable delay.

"There were 36 passengers and three train crew onboard."

Dawlish passengers abandon wave-hit train - BBC News
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editor said:
It's still somewhat perilous:
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That's happened to me before on that line. A big wave smacked right into the train, all the electrics went out and the engines stopped. I thought it was gonna be a get-out-and-walk job (there's nothing at that point on the line but a beach on one side and cliffs on the other, no roads) but the train started up again after about a minute. There was a very British exchange of goggle-eyed looks and mutterings of 'bloody hell' among the passengers in the meantime.
 
Salt water and electrics make a bad combination. The trains have had a modification done - but this wave sounds like an epic one.

No doubt the Daily Mail will be full of outraged comments from residents in San Diego and rural France.

Things happen.
 
davesgcr said:
Salt water and electrics make a bad combination. The trains have had a modification done - but this wave sounds like an epic one.

No doubt the Daily Mail will be full of outraged comments from residents in San Diego and rural France.

Things happen.
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If anything to Mail should blame presumably the Victorians who built the line right by the sea...
 
rubbershoes said:
Or that Brunel fellow. What's he ever done that's stood the test of time?
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;)

said that building along the coast at dawlish wasn't the cleverest idea in the world.

StoneRoad said:
I wonder how much affect a lack of maintenance might have had ? not to mention changing weather patterns !
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either there's an excessive fondness for fixes that last 3 days, or an excessive fondness for fixing stuff that is really close to the maintenance yards. judging by how many times in the past year the buggers have been working within spitting distance of where i've been trying and failing to get any bloody sleep. needing to work on one set of points as often as they have been isn't something i'd consider a good sign.

but, there was an announcement of investment into rail travel down here recently. i'll believe it's effects when i see them tbh.
 
Half French I believe - at a time when we had issues with them.

The son of French civil engineer Sir Marc Isambard Brunel and Sophia Kingdom, Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born on 9 April 1806 in Britan Street, Portsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire,[8] where his father was working on block-making machinery.[9][10] He had two older sisters, Sophia (oldest child, Sophia[11]) and Emma, and the whole family moved to London in 1808 for his father's work. Brunel had a happy childhood, despite the family's constant money worries, with his father acting as his teacher during his early years. His father taught him drawing and observational techniques from the age of four and Brunel had learned Euclidean geometry by eight. During this time he also learned fluent French and the basic principles of engineering. He was encouraged to draw interesting buildings and identify any faults in their structure.[12][13]

When Brunel was eight he was sent to Dr Morrell's boarding school in Hove, where he learned the classics. His father, a Frenchman by birth, was determined that Brunel should have access to the high-quality education he had enjoyed in his youth in France; accordingly, at the age of 14, the younger Brunel was enrolled first at the College of Caen in Normandy, then at Lycée Henri-IV in Paris.[12][14]

When Brunel was 15, his father Marc, who had accumulated debts of over £5,000, was sent to a debtors' prison. After three months went by with no prospect of release, Marc let it be known that he was considering an offer from the Tsar of Russia. In August 1821, facing the prospect of losing a prominent engineer, the government relented and issued Marc £5,000 to clear his debts in exchange for his promise to remain in Britain.[15][16]

When Brunel completed his studies at Henri-IV in 1822, his father had him presented as a candidate at the renowned engineering school École Polytechnique, but as a foreigner he was deemed ineligible for entry. Brunel subsequently studied under the prominent master clockmaker and horologist Abraham-Louis Breguet, who praised Brunel's potential in letters to his father.[12] In late 1822, having completed his apprenticeship, Brunel returned to England.[14]
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toggle - may I suggest that you question the area manager for network rail as to exactly what that track gang have been up to ? I'ld be interested, as it seems a little unusual, unless there has been a series of problems / upgrades all in the same area.
 
StoneRoad said:
toggle - may I suggest that you question the area manager for network rail as to exactly what that track gang have been up to ? I'ld be interested, as it seems a little unusual, unless there has been a series of problems / upgrades all in the same area.
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There is regular maintenance to the same bits of track near to me too - carried out during overnight posessions, at least every week or two.
However, I see this as an indication that regular maintenance is needed on infrastructure that gets hammered by thousands of tonnes of trains day in, day out, rather than assuming that it demonstrates the maintenance team's laziness or incompetence.
 
teuchter said:
There is regular maintenance to the same bits of track near to me too - carried out during overnight posessions, at least every week or two.
However, I see this as an indication that regular maintenance is needed on infrastructure that gets hammered by thousands of tonnes of trains day in, day out, rather than assuming that it demonstrates the maintenance team's laziness or incompetence.
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only for where i am, it's on the penzance line. 15 trains a day.

tbh, my moaning is mostly due to it being a pain in my arse, rather than a belief in general malice or incompetence. i think they've been repeatedly fixing something that is overdue for a proper overhaul. so a planning/funding problem, not the fault of the people out there. I'm hoping the couple of days work a few weeks ago that was planned (cause they gave notice rather than just waking us up) was the proper fix.

the bit that did bother me was the work that was on the side of the station starting at 11pm with an angle grinder. they went quiet within 30 seconds of me saying i'd be back asking for their work order if it wasn't done within the half hour estimate i was given. and if it was genuinely necessary to make that much noise and it was authorized, or emergency, then they wouldn't have just stopped at me complaining.
 
toggle said:
the bit that did bother me was the work that was on the side of the station starting at 11pm with an angle grinder. they went quiet within 30 seconds of me saying i'd be back asking for their work order if it wasn't done within the half hour estimate i was given.
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You, of course, followed this up with a letter thanking them for their courtesy and efficiency, right? :D
 
Clearly, subtlety is not my strong suit: there's a smiley there for a reason! Basically, by doing that you're letting management know they've fucked up while appearing to praise them.
 
StoneRoad said:
I wonder how much affect a lack of maintenance might have had ? not to mention changing weather patterns !
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The bit of the line that fell in the sea was not made to Brunel's original specifications because the owner of the house opposite objected to the sea wall spoiling his view.
 
Update:

he Sea Wall between Dawlish Warren and Teignmouth could be extended into the English Channel, with the railway re-aligned, if ambitious Network Rail plans are approved.

Speaking exclusively to RAIL, NR Director, Route Asset Management (Western) Mike Gallop said the biggest problem facing the wall comes from the adjacent cliffs, and that this project was the best solution to combating the problem.

By extending the sea wall, NR would create space whereby any cliff subsidence and collapse would not affect the railway.

“The options are going out onto the beach and moving the railway further away from the cliff. Sprey Point [near Teignmouth] would be the edge of the wall and we could have rock armour, too,” Gallop told RAIL.
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https://www.railmagazine.com/news/n...ension-plan-to-offer-extra-dawlish-resilience
 
NR certainly need to do something around Dawlish.
Hopefully, they will be able to carry out the works - technically and financially as planned.
 
To be totally and utterly honest - there was never a real chance of a line being re-opened around Okehampton to avoid the Dawlish sea wall. Emergency diversions do not , a railway business case make in a very sparse area population wise.

BR put in quite clever signalling to allow one line (the landward one) , to remain open in all but the very worst scenarios (to be fair , there have been a few of them) , the rock gang working on the cliffs have always been retained and I understand protected for the good job they do. Being a Geographer by training , with just a bit of railway operations on the side , I assumed that the construction of a series of breakwaters etc would do the job - but the present geophysical and geomorphological ideas seem to be the answer.....for now.

The GWR had the idea of a new line , inland , in the 1930's - (local to Dawlish) - kyboshed by WW2 etc and post war financial issues.

There is no freight , a much reduced high peak season traffic. (but obviously a decent and important all year local and further afield traffic) , and dare I say it , other climatically challenged areas the other side of exeter - Cowley Bridge Junction and the Somerset Levels. Let us not forget them either .......all need some work , to add to what has been done.
 
Not just in those areas, either davesgcr - don't forget the Welsh coastal lines nor the Cumbrian coast. Both have had - and still do - problems with normal erosion as well as storm surge events.
 
StoneRoad said:
Not just in those areas, either davesgcr - don't forget the Welsh coastal lines nor the Cumbrian coast. Both have had - and still do - problems with normal erosion as well as storm surge events.
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Thought you knew me well enough to understand , not just the railway "Hwyl" - but the deep concern for the Welsh railways and coastal areas ...(ex Aber graduate) :thumbs::D

Cumbrian Coast seems a bit more protected , on average from my recollections.... they get it sorted fairly quickly when there are issues, rail wise.
 
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