Wartime Bomb causing Disruption at Exeter 27 February

[PHILIPE]

Exeter university students evacuated over WW2 bomb

Royal Navy bomb disposal specialists are dealing with a 2.5m (8ft) device.

www.bbc.co.uk

Hundreds of university students have been evacuated from 12 halls of residence after an unexploded World War Two bomb was found.

Police were called to University of Exeter halls on Glenthorne Road in the city at about 09:20 GMT and have declared a major incident.

A 100m (328ft) cordon is currently in place and a further 100 nearby properties have also been evacuated.

A Wartime Bomb was discovered yesterday in the Exeter University area and close to the Rail Line. An occupation has been planned today for it's removal. GWR are diverting some via the Mule

Extract from National Rail:

www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/today.aspx

Buses replace trains between Exeter St Davids and Crediton / Tiverton Parkway until the end of service and which resulted in evacuation of property.
Live updates Incident created26/02/2021 19:18Last updated27/02/2021 08:28Route affected DownloadMapof route afected CrossCountry between Plymouth and Bristol Temple Meads / Birmingham New Street / Edinburgh / Derby / Leeds / York / Glasgow Central / Newcastle: and between Paignton and Bristol Temple Meads: and between Penzance and Glasgow Central Great Western Railway between Penzance / Exeter St Davids and Bristol Temple Meads: and between Penzance / Plymouth / Exeter St Davids and Cardiff Central / London Paddington South Western Railway between Exeter St Davids and London Waterloo / Salisbury / Yeovil Junction Train operator affectedCrossCountry; Great Western Railway; South Western Railway; Description A wartime bomb has been found near the railway between Exeter St Davids and Tiverton Parkway. In order to remove it, the line will be blocked between Exeter St Davids and Crediton / Tiverton Parkway until the end of service. How does this affect my journey? CrossCountry A train shuttle will run between the south west of England and Exeter St Davids. Accessible coaches will run between Exeter St Davids and Tiverton Parkway to connect with CrossCountry services at Tiverton Parkway. You can use Great Western Railway services between Penzance / Paignton and Cheltenham Spa after 09:00. If you are a customer requiring further assistance for your disrupted journey, please speak to railway station staff or use the customer help points if the station is unstaffed. Great Western Railway Buses will replace trains between Exeter St Davids and Crediton / Taunton, in both directions. You may use your tickets on CrossCountry services Penzance and Cheltenham Spa. South Western Railway Buses will replace trains between Exeter St Davids and Yeovil Junction until 10:00. After this, trains will start / terminate at Exeter Central, not calling at Exeter St Davids.

 

[dk1]

Fun & games. Looks like they are hoping for a resolution by this evening.

 

[greatvoyager]

Fun & games. Looks like they are hoping for a resolution by this evening.

As someone living there, it’s been wild. Some of my family have had to be evacuated.
They did reduce the cordon from 100m to 50m yesterday, but overnight it was extended to 400m.

 

[dk1]

As someone living there, it’s been wild. Some of my family have had to be evacuated.
They did reduce the cordon from 100m to 50m yesterday, but overnight it was extended to 400m.

Good job the excellent Imperial Spoons is closed at the moment too. It would be busy today.

 

[PHILIPE]

There seems to be some confusion regarding what "The Mule" is. This is the former LSWR route from Waterloo to Exeter, part of which is being used by GWR diversions which divert from Exeter St Davids via Central, Honiton, Yeovil Jcn, Yeovil Pen Mill and regaining their booked route at Castle Cary.

 

[AndrewE]

What does surprise me is the police notice included in the BBC report:

UPDATE: Major incident, Exeter - More than 2,000 homes are being evacuated this morning in preparation for the detonation of a suspected WW2 bomb by the Army, discovered at a building site on Glenthorne Road yesterday https://crowd.in/KyayTZ

I sincerely hope they do not plan to detonate it!

 

[Cowley]

What does surprise me is the police notice included in the BBC report:

I sincerely hope they do not plan to detonate it!

Hm. Might need to look into purchasing some window shutters.

 

[swt_passenger]

What does surprise me is the police notice included in the BBC report:

I sincerely hope they do not plan to detonate it!

I think they will. There are reports of a 300 tonne sand barrier being built round it, that usually precedes controlled detonation...

 

[AndrewE]

The TV news will be worth watching then...

 

[Gloster]

The bomb has been there nearly eighty years, so there comes a point where its condition is such that it is probably better to plan on carrying out a controlled explosion. According to The Guardian, the protective wall was built by the Navy, but they have handed over to the Army, who will carry out the explosion. Was it a case of both eagerly competing to do the work, or was it one of, “No, no. We insist that you have the privilege of doing this one.”

 

[Scotrail314209]

If it's a controlled explosion would not end up causing possible damage to the residences?

 

[ExRes]

I think they will. There are reports of a 300 tonne sand barrier being built round it, that usually precedes controlled detonation...

Depends which hack you listen to, another one has upped the 300 to 400 tonnes .......

The bomb has been there nearly eighty years, so there comes a point where its condition is such that it is probably better to plan on carrying out a controlled explosion. According to The Guardian, the protective wall was built by the Navy, but they have handed over to the Army, who will carry out the explosion. Was it a case of both eagerly competing to do the work, or was it one of, “No, no. We insist that you have the privilege of doing this one.”

The report I read says that as the Army had the capability to deliver the sand they've taken over

 

[AndyPJG]

"You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off...."

 

[ExRes]

If it's a controlled explosion would not end up causing possible damage to the residences?

Not if it's done properly, that's why the sand has been delivered to the site

 

[swt_passenger]

Depends which hack you listen to, another one has upped the 300 to 400 tonnes .......



The report I read says that as the Army had the capability to deliver the sand they've taken over

I think there’s a 500 tonne report I saw somewhere as well. I suspect theres a normal split in responsibility where the Navy usually do stuff found on beaches, or out at sea in nets, but they will also be first response if their base is much nearer than the Army EOD. The latter have their own JCBs and similar kit.

 

[Cowley]

Not if it's done properly, that's why the sand has been delivered to the site

If the earth moves tonight I’ll report back.

 

[pompeyfan]

It appears that some SWR services have had to terminate at Yeovil Junction, with most terminating at Exeter Central. GWR have made some calls at the larger stations in place like Honiton, Axminster and Yeovil Junction.

 

[ExRes]

If the earth moves tonight I’ll report back.

I'll drive through your way tomorrow to see if I can spot a satisfied/dissatisfied looking lady who answers to Mrs Cowley

 

[bramling]

What does surprise me is the police notice included in the BBC report:

I sincerely hope they do not plan to detonate it!

That’s what happened when there was one in a building site alongside our railway. Army turned up and assessed it, made an exclusion zone (which as it happened didn’t affect the railway at that time), then simply agreed a time when the line would be blocked for about half an hour, which as it happened was the next day just after the morning peak (they won’t work in darkness so overnight wasn’t an option), and a controlled detonation was carried out. They were an absolute delight to deal with.

 

[Trackman]

Looking at the photo it looks like a SC-1000 'Herman'.
Depending on the fuze and the condition of casing they would make a decision.

 

[AndrewE]

The bomb has been there nearly eighty years, so there comes a point where its condition is such that it is probably better to plan on carrying out a controlled explosion. According to The Guardian, the protective wall was built by the Navy, but they have handed over to the Army, who will carry out the explosion. Was it a case of both eagerly competing to do the work, or was it one of, “No, no. We insist that you have the privilege of doing this one.”

Every day is a school day! I was thinking that after a couple of disastrous explosions "sur le continong," emptying it or whatever would be the default, but clearly it is too big a risk... it will be interesting to see whether the "controlled explosion" separates the components - my understanding of the term - or whether they really do detonate it!

 

[richw]

The bomb has been there nearly eighty years, so there comes a point where its condition is such that it is probably better to plan on carrying out a controlled explosion. According to The Guardian, the protective wall was built by the Navy, but they have handed over to the Army, who will carry out the explosion. Was it a case of both eagerly competing to do the work, or was it one of, “No, no. We insist that you have the privilege of doing this one.”

The guardian is incorrect. The navy handed the operation over to the army as they didn’t have the equipment to build the sand walls.

 

[Gloster]

The guardian is incorrect. The navy handed the operation over to the army as they didn’t have the equipment to build the sand walls.

The Guardian’s headline starts, “Police to detonate bomb...”

 

[louis97]

It appears that some SWR services have had to terminate at Yeovil Junction, with most terminating at Exeter Central. GWR have made some calls at the larger stations in place like Honiton, Axminster and Yeovil Junction.

Mexican stand off at Yeovil Junction now, 1C84 on the Pen Mill single line, 1A88 in the platform at Yeovil blocking the single line to Chard. 1C84 is a 10-car so will block 1A88 going onto the single line to Pen Mill.

 

[Murray J]

If it's a controlled explosion would not end up causing possible damage to the residences?

Shouldn't do but I did hear that an exceptionally large bomb found in Germany was detonated on site and caused quite a few large fires nearby and shattered windows.

 

[Class172]

If the earth moves tonight I’ll report back.

It’ll be interesting to see how far away the explosion will be felt.

 

[pompeyfan]

Mexican stand off at Yeovil Junction now, 1C84 on the Pen Mill single line, 1A88 in the platform at Yeovil blocking the single line to Chard. 1C84 is a 10-car so will block 1A88 going onto the single line to Pen Mill.

oops! Not necessarily Basingstoke WoE signallers fault either.

 

[TheEdge]

Looking at the photo it looks like a SC-1000 'Herman'.
Depending on the fuze and the condition of casing they would make a decision.

The German's got very nasty with booby trapped fuzes which can still be functional today so they do have to be exceedingly careful with Luftwaffe bombs. Although being German they had a habit of being German and labelling everything very clearly which can help.

Shouldn't do but I did hear that an exceptionally large bomb found in Germany was detonated on site and caused quite a few large fires nearby and shattered windows.

Later in the war we liked to drop bombs far bigger than the Luftwaffe ever managed. Aircraft like the Lancaster and B17 could carry things well beyond the capacity of the He 111 and Do 17s that made up the backbone of the Blitz bombers.

 

[Class 170101]

Mexican stand off at Yeovil Junction now, 1C84 on the Pen Mill single line, 1A88 in the platform at Yeovil blocking the single line to Chard. 1C84 is a 10-car so will block 1A88 going onto the single line to Pen Mill.

Yeovil Jn not a 10 car platform then?

Would have it been possible for 1C84 and 1A88 to swap over at Yeovil Jn and return in the directions from which they came. Passengers etc swapping trains?

 

[Dunfanaghy Rd]

The German's got very nasty with booby trapped fuzes which can still be functional today so they do have to be exceedingly careful with Luftwaffe bombs. Although being German they had a habit of being German and labelling everything very clearly which can help.



Later in the war we liked to drop bombs far bigger than the Luftwaffe ever managed. Aircraft like the Lancaster and B17 could carry things well beyond the capacity of the He 111 and Do 17s that made up the backbone of the Blitz bombers.

One of which, a Grand Slam (10 ton), went off in a canal in Poland fairly recently. It would do a lot more than blow the doors off ... ... !
Pat