44 38 SPOTLIGHT RAILWAY STRUCTURES ARE DIFFERENT

RAILWAY STRUCTURES ARE DIFFERENT

CULTURAL VANDALISM AT GREAT MUSGRAVE

As a student I worked briefly for a County Council in the department led by that County’s Surveyor and Bridgemaster who was a chartered civil engineer with many years of experience. Post-graduation working for British Rail was very different.

In one railway office I recall the working of a full-time member of staff whose sole mission was to generate income by letting contracts for the removal of the steel deck spans of redundant railway bridges usually leaving the abutments and wind walls standing. At the time the prices being paid for scrap steel significantly improved our bottom line. Detailed examination of these bridge decks often revealed serious corrosion wherever water could accumulate. Bearings, cill beams, trimmer girders, trough decks and other areas all needed close examination if the bridge’s life was to be extended.

Due to the age of these bridges their design life easily exceeded the 100 or so years with which highway engineers are well acquainted. Indeed, most if not all would have been candidates for estimated and actual cost reductions if the original designers had known how to apply “value engineering” analysis. However routine maintenance had been neglected deliberately due to budget constraints and the prioritisation of repair works to operational structures.

I also recall having to repair two ornamental stone arch bridges within the grounds of a minor stately home due to the fact that the owner of the house at the time when a certain railway was built only agreed to allow it to be built across his land if the rail company agreed to maintain the two bridges into perpetuity!

When Railtrack was set up many disused railway structures, including unused railway bridges and tunnels were initially transferred to the keeping of “British Rail Residual”. This was the method Colin Wheeler.

used to separate them from the operational railway. In 2013 Highways England became responsible for them. In total there is a portfolio of 3,800 bridges, tunnels and viaducts. Their website says that very rarely is demolition or infilling considered and the local authority is asked to take over the structure or others may provide a “viable new use”. Infilling of bridges they describe as “where material such as crushed rock underneath an old railway bridge makes sure it is fully supported”.

I had first-hand experience of the filling in of a number of structures but the one I best remember was a series of brick arches carrying an operational railway that had been filled in to reduce maintenance. Details of the filling were meagre, but for a few decades there had been no problems. Then the track geometry began to deteriorate, a speed restriction was imposed and we sought the cause.

From the memories of a former employee, we then discovered the inadequacy of the filling in. Having crawled into a horizontal man-sized tunnel at the top of the filled in arches embankment we discovered that only around three quarters of the depth of each arch was filled. Believing it was filled our predecessors had tried to grout up the space between the fill and each arch soffit. Generally, the set grout could be seen in the form of a near perfect cone supporting thin air! The three ring arches had deteriorated and loose brickwork with slipped bricks was easily seen. We closed the railway for some weeks, broke each arch at its springing, and filled and consolidated substantial quantities of additional filling material. The tracks were then reinstated and the problems did not recur.

Subsequently I had reason to demolish a number of redundant brick and stone bridges. A lesson had been learnt, we always broke the filled arch at both sides or by the removal of keystones and then consolidated the arch rubble and fill together to eliminate voids.

Merely filling in but leaving the arches intact will not guarantee support. But for many original railway structures especially those built in stone or brickwork (including engineering bricks) the 100-year design life does not apply. The design life of vintage rail steel structures is most often limited by fatigue considerations, with working loadings well within permitted limits. The design life of brick and stone bridges and tunnels is longer as may be judged by the number of original structures still in use. The first railway was built nearly 200 years ago.

Some time ago I recall a design consultancy business development director trying to convince me that with the number of bridges and tunnels we were responsible for, we ought to be renewing a set number each and every year. He offered to provide designers to do the job. We were standing under a splendid multi-span stone viaduct that was nearly 150 years old. I pointed to the cathedral in the city which was built 1,100 years ago to explain my lack of concern. In my experience creating a reinforced concrete saddle over weak arches is both simple and cost effective in extending the lives of such arches.

I am surprised and dismayed to learn from press reports that in May of this year a bridge at Great Musgrave in Cumbria was infilled using 1,000 tonnes of concrete and aggregate under its arches. Highways England have apparently claimed that the “infilling of the arch removes the risk of the bridge deck failing”.

The need for retrospective planning permission is now being examined despite the District Council originally stating it was not needed.

Pictures of the infilled 159 year old bridge do not look good! Given the number of Victorian innovative railway structures we have as testimony to an astonishing work of the Stephensons, Brunel and others, I concur with the use by the Historical Railways Estate Group campaigners of the description of the action taken at Great Musgrave as being “cultural vandalism”.

RAIL TEAM

OF THE YEAR

One of the most loosely defined categories at the RailStaff Awards, Rail Team of the Year gives nominators broad scope. A team can be any number between two and infinity, and there is no restriction on what role that team has in ‘real’ life. So, nominating a pair of recruiters, five drainage specialists, ten train cleaners or twenty timetable planners – all are equally valid entries.

That permissible variety was evident in the nominations in 2019. A total entry of 64 teams included train operator apprentices, community ambassadors, a graduate outreach programme, a performance and planning team, train care, customer service, revenue protection, a station team (including the station cat!) and even a team of drivers testing new trains in the Czech Republic!

What will the RailStaff Awards attract in 2021?

MORE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY

As it happened, the 2019 winner was the ‘Scotrail in the Community’ team, which had successfully delivered a number of community rail, regeneration, transport integration, accessibility and charitable schemes over the previous year.

This included high-profile events such as hosting the Association of Community Rail Awards in October 2018, which was attended by close to 500 people - an event record.

There have also been smaller changes that have had a big impact on people’s lives. Grace’s Signs, a more-inclusive toilet door sign for people with invisible disabilities, has been introduced to all stations. It is named after 13-year-old Grace Warnock, who has Crohn’s Disease and who came up with the idea after facing criticism from strangers when she used accessible toilets.

In a nomination bursting with success stories, there were also mentions of: a comprehensive programme of cycling initiatives, reducing the notice for passenger assist times to only two hours from April 2019 and increasing ScotRail’s ‘Adopt a Station’ programme to 75 per cent of its stations, while still reducing overall costs by 20 per cent.

James Ledgerwood, head of economic development and communities at ScotRail, said: “I’m so pleased for the team, because that’s the key thing. I work with a wonderful team - they’ve worked so hard since Abellio won the franchise to really change what the railway’s about.

“They’ve changed it from being just about getting from A to B to being much more about the community and this is just a small reward for the work the boys and girls have done.

“Community rail is at the forefront of what the franchise is all about. Railways are going to be so important in the future, they’re going to be at the heart of communities, whether it be for getting people to education, work or for tourism, it’s about connecting people to opportunities.”

The Rail Team of the Year Award was sponsored by on-track plant hire specialists Total Rail Solutions (TRS). Paul Bateman, chief executive officer at TRS, said: “What can I say? Another fantastic evening showcasing the rail industry and the people who make it happen. FORGING AHEAD

The Rail Team of the Year category is of special importance to all at TRS as it represents the core value of teamwork, a value the business and the industry rightly places at the epicentre of all it does and achieves.

TRS CEO Paul Bateman said “This last year has clearly presented many additional and unimaginable challenges. Those challenges have been firmly met by an industry that is recognised for its planning, organisation and teamwork. I am particularly pleased to see the wealth of applications outlining the great work and results the various teams have achieved, from across the sector”.

Total Rail Solutions themselves have strengthened their team, in addition to simplifying its working processes thus ensuring its customers are best placed to meet and address the challenges and opportunities of an evolving rail network.

Paul continued, “I am delighted to welcome the four new members of our leadership team. We have worked diligently to ensure the recruitment strategy matched that of the business and the needs of our customers, employees and stakeholders. The new team is equipped with a depth of knowledge and expertise of the market and industry, in addition to a proven track record of delivering results”.

Team TRS announced earlier this year, two significant initiatives to complement its environmental and welfare strategies. Firstly TRS will become one of the first hirers in the rail sector to switch from fuelling its machines with diesel, to one of the cleanest fuels on the market, Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) supplied by Crown Oil. Secondly, the company will be installing defibrillators and easy to operate guides in each of their 70 strong fleet or Road Rail Vehicles (RRV). Thus improving the recovery rate of any rail operative who suffers a cardiac arrest, whilst in the vicinity of a TRS machine.

Total Rail Solution specialist RRV plant and multi-disciplined expert teams get hired for a wide range of projects, including rail infrastructure and civils, permanent way and electrification. With three broad areas of service, TRS keep the operations flexible, so they can be tailored to meet customers’ exact needs.

On-track plant hire and POS services

RRV hire and POS services, including on-track plant planning, delivery and site management.

Multi-disciplined labour provision

Delivering the best rail labour teams for every project.

Sub-contract management and project delivery

End-to-end project delivery, managing rail sub-contractors, equipment, materials and labour needs.

With delivery, customer experience and renewal teams amongst the finalist, in addition to teams who have provided support to others via the Railway Benevolent Fund, TRS is proud, once again, to support and sponsor the Rail Team of the Year category, in a year, like no other year.

Watch // TRS CEO Paul Bateman talking about HVO at Rail Live 2021 Scan this //

total rail sustainable

Total Rail Solutions ditches diesel and switches to a cleaner, greener fuel for a more sustainable rail network .

• Alternative HVO fuel from Crown Oil to be supplied in all plant • Further improving the environmental impact on the rail network

We are one of the first hirers in rail to make this change and are committed to protecting all our futures.