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Harbury Landslip

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Harbury Landslip 06/02/2015 at 10:31 #68931
outofsection
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The landslip that occurred and closed the line last Saturday on the Chiltern Line near Harbury Tunnel looks enormous!

It occurred in the same place as another smaller slip last February which closed the line for several days. This time the embankment has slipped big time and it's still moving. Looks like the line will be closed for 2 months - not just 2 days!




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Harbury Landslip 06/02/2015 at 12:26 #68936
bfcmik
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They are saying upwards of 300,000 tonnes of material may need to be cleared. That will take several weeks at best.

Watford engineering works postponed so as to leave a route to London for West Midlands passengers but TOCs saying they will have to look if they have any resources to run a service into Euston!

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Harbury Landslip 06/02/2015 at 17:11 #68941
Colourlight
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I take it the new drainage stones didn,t work too well?
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Harbury Landslip 06/02/2015 at 19:05 #68947
Jersey_Mike
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" said:
I take it the new drainage stones didn,t work too well?
Should have stayed with using trees.

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Harbury Landslip 06/02/2015 at 21:06 #68952
Lardybiker
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I was wondering the exact same thing....
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Harbury Landslip 06/02/2015 at 21:15 #68954
Foulounoux
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I'd Seen arguments on other forums re trees and wasn't sure if there was justification

But then look at those pictures

3 sides with trees. No slippage

1 side no trees.

Assuming of course the geology and hydrology doesn't dramatidally change in the space of a few hundred yards

Colin

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Harbury Landslip 06/02/2015 at 21:41 #68955
Steamer
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" said:
I'd Seen arguments on other forums re trees and wasn't sure if there was justification
Basically, a cutting where trees have never been is fine. Once they get established it's OK from a stability point of view because the roots bind the soil together, but come autumn you have fun and games when the leaves turn to mush and trains start sliding around. Cutting trees down is where the problems start, as the roots rot away they leave cavities which gradually make the whole thing unstable. As I understand it the trees here were cleared a few years ago, these days I think they plant some species that grows roots but doesn't have the leaf-fall problem.

Ideally, they wouldn't have cut back on vegetation management a few decades ago, but long-term thinking is a skill found lacking in politicians and others who control the purse strings...

EDIT: Anyway, onto more important matters, anyone working on a Marylebone TT? :silly:

"Don't stress/ relax/ let life roll off your backs./ Except for death and paying taxes/ everything in life.../ is only for now." (Avenue Q)
Last edited: 06/02/2015 at 23:32 by Steamer
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Harbury Landslip 07/02/2015 at 11:12 #68970
mfcooper
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" said:
Watford engineering works postponed so as to leave a route to London for West Midlands passengers...
Actually to keep a route open for Freight traffic. Passengers can be bussed relatively easily, but transferring goods from containers onto lorries and back to containers isn't quite as easy.

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Harbury Landslip 07/02/2015 at 19:30 #68985
Danny252
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" said:
but transferring goods from containers onto lorries and back to containers isn't quite as easy.
Well, you'd hope it would be transferring containers from trains to lorries to trains, rather than unpacking every container, but your point still stands!

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Harbury Landslip 07/02/2015 at 20:16 #68987
Stephen Fulcher
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There is a lot of freight traffic through Harbury.

I wonder if they wiped out the telephone for OL3184 this time - I remember digging the concrete post in to replace it after the last landslip.

Danny, if they were going to transfer from train to lorry, they would more than likely just ship the whole thing by road for the entirety of the journey, and history has shown that when this happens there is a good chance the traffic will be lost to the railway forever. Although fairly busy, the Chiltern line carries a lot less passengers than the WCML in any case.

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Harbury Landslip 08/02/2015 at 05:42 #68988
Jersey_Mike
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" said:

Basically, a cutting where trees have never been is fine. Once they get established it's OK from a stability point of view because the roots bind the soil together, but come autumn you have fun and games when the leaves turn to mush and trains start sliding around.
Isn't that only an issue near stations where trains need to change velocity with respect to time?

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Harbury Landslip 08/02/2015 at 07:14 #68989
kbarber
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" said:
" said:

Basically, a cutting where trees have never been is fine. Once they get established it's OK from a stability point of view because the roots bind the soil together, but come autumn you have fun and games when the leaves turn to mush and trains start sliding around.
Isn't that only an issue near stations where trains need to change velocity with respect to time?

Also near signals where a like need may arise.

Last edited: 08/02/2015 at 07:15 by kbarber
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Harbury Landslip 08/02/2015 at 10:07 #68990
Steamer
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" said:
" said:

Basically, a cutting where trees have never been is fine. Once they get established it's OK from a stability point of view because the roots bind the soil together, but come autumn you have fun and games when the leaves turn to mush and trains start sliding around.
Isn't that only an issue near stations where trains need to change velocity with respect to time?
It's a problem whenever the train is under power or braking, which can happen at any location.

"Don't stress/ relax/ let life roll off your backs./ Except for death and paying taxes/ everything in life.../ is only for now." (Avenue Q)
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Harbury Landslip 08/02/2015 at 10:25 #68991
Late Turn
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It can also be a problem at any location where you're relying on the ability of a train to drop a track circuit - especially relatively lightweight trains.
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Harbury Landslip 08/02/2015 at 11:43 #68993
Danny252
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" said:
I'd Seen arguments on other forums re trees and wasn't sure if there was justification

But then look at those pictures

3 sides with trees. No slippage

1 side no trees.

Assuming of course the geology and hydrology doesn't dramatidally change in the space of a few hundred yards

Colin
Looking back at historical satellite photos, it seems that trees may never have existed there - there's certainly none visible in in any of the images, which go back to 1999 and also include one image from 1945. There's a hint of some young vegetation in the 2006 image, but whether this was an actual effort to grow trees or just some overgrown weeds is hard to tell.

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Harbury Landslip 08/02/2015 at 20:43 #69005
outofsection
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It's funny but every time I went past this embankment on the train I always wondered "how on earth has this never slipped? Well it has now!

We have to use the line at the end of the month: does anyone know how long it takes on the bus from Banbury to Leamington as it's about the only option we have as going to Marylebone from Wycombe and then from Marylebone to Euston, Euston to B'ham New St. then walk from New St to Moor St is not feasible. I reckon around an hour if the bus goes along the A41.

Any info would be appreciated.

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Harbury Landslip 08/02/2015 at 20:55 #69006
Steamer
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outofsection said:
We have to use the line at the end of the month: does anyone know how long it takes on the bus from Banbury to Leamington as it's about the only option we have as going to Marylebone from Wycombe and then from Marylebone to Euston, Euston to B'ham New St. then walk from New St to Moor St is not feasible. I reckon around an hour if the bus goes along the A41.

Any info would be appreciated.
The Chiltern Website will have up-to-date timetable information on it.

"Don't stress/ relax/ let life roll off your backs./ Except for death and paying taxes/ everything in life.../ is only for now." (Avenue Q)
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Harbury Landslip 08/02/2015 at 21:29 #69008
AndyG
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" said:
I'd Seen arguments on other forums re trees and wasn't sure if there was justification

But then look at those pictures

3 sides with trees. No slippage

1 side no trees.

Assuming of course the geology and hydrology doesn't dramatidally change in the space of a few hundred yards

Colin
Quite possible that the trees were cleared to allow the extensive remedial works to be undertaken.

I can only help one person a day. Today's not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look too good either.
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Harbury Landslip 09/02/2015 at 00:26 #69012
bill_gensheet
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Latest estimate for reopening is 2 April (date from Operating Notice).

Bill

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Harbury Landslip 09/02/2015 at 13:21 #69023
outofsection
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Hmm. no Saturday timetable on Chiltern's site which is when I'll be travelling, but the weekday scheduled time seems to be around 35 mins from Banbury to Leamington by bus. I think I can live with that as ISTR it took around 18 minutes on the train itself.
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