Part of the viaduct at Nine Elms has collapsed.

[swt_passenger]

Thanks for those photos. Looks like theres 6 rows of fresh brickwork, to my untrained (no pun intended!) eye.

Yes but that’s only the area in the first photo, there are also damaged areas that go much further down, hence the arch formwork and repairs in the second one.

 

[BRX]

Yes but that’s only the area in the first photo, there are also damaged areas that go much further down, hence the arch formwork and repairs in the second one.

Yes, much much more than just 6 courses of brickwork has had to be rebuilt.

 

[PG]

Yes, much much more than just 6 courses of brickwork has had to be rebuilt.

I did wonder about the second photo but, wrongly, convinced myself that the arch hadn't been rebuilt

 

[BRX]

I did wonder about the second photo but, wrongly, convinced myself that the arch hadn't been rebuilt

yes... hence the plywood formwork.

I wonder why it's cut in that castellated type shape.

 

[PG]

yes... hence the plywood formwork.

I wonder why it's cut in that castellated type shape.

Yes I obviously didn't twig that...

Maybe it starts out as a straight section of wood and the castellations allow it to deform sufficiently to an arch shape?

 

[HSP 2]

Yes I obviously didn't twig that...

Maybe it starts out as a straight section of wood and the castellations allow it to deform sufficiently to an arch shape?

You would not normally try to bend plywood that way. I think that its more likely so that it can be screwed (attached) to the remaining part of the wall.

 

[PG]

You would not normally try to bend plywood that way. I think that its more likely so that it can be screwed (attached) to the remaining part of the wall.

Thanks - it was a guess, my skills in this field are limited!

 

[Dan17H]

Turns out initial investigations have revealed the RRV when lifting a panel out came into contact with the retaining wall and caused the collapse.

 

[theironroad]

Turns out initial investigations have revealed the RRV when lifting a panel out came into contact with the retaining wall and caused the collapse.

Oh dear. I wonder how hard they hit it or whether it was just a glancing blow that caused a fragile wall to ripple away.

Not sure how much more work they have to do, but I see on open maps that the Windsor reversible is still closed and under possession. It's been just over 6 weeks since the incident.

 

[dingdinger]

The Windsor reversible line is now open again.

 

[swt_passenger]

Turns out initial investigations have revealed the RRV when lifting a panel out came into contact with the retaining wall and caused the collapse.

So it looks as if NR have done a more thorough investigation since publishing the info in post #59, where they deny the possibility..

 

[TrainBoy98]

So it looks as if NR have done a more thorough investigation since publishing the info in post #59, where they deny the possibility..

Slightly concerning the speed at which they denied it only to then be proven wrong... Wonder why they jumped to conclusions?

 

[theironroad]

The Windsor reversible line is now open again.

Seemed to be a lot of work going on on Saturday with wagon loads of ballast waiting to be laid.

Lucky there was a reduced timetable as it's taken just under two months to repair.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Oh dear. I wonder how hard they hit it or whether it was just a glancing blow that caused a fragile wall to ripple away.

Not sure how much more work they have to do, but I see on open maps that the Windsor reversible is still closed and under possession. It's been just over 6 weeks since the incident.

A panel of track weighs a fair few tonnes and if it was old concrete sleepers far more than wood so even a slow speed swing would pack a fair amount of inertia in it. Then if you contact it higher up the wall you have a bigger overturning moment to have potentially fractured the wall. Reviewing the video again in #42 it does look as though the wall had already moved before the passage of the RRV initiates the collapse.

 

[dingdinger]

Seemed to be a lot of work going on on Saturday with wagon loads of ballast waiting to be laid.

Lucky there was a reduced timetable as it's taken just under two months to repair.

The work ran over a couple of hours into Monday's morning peak

 

[Dan17H]

Slightly concerning the speed at which they denied it only to then be proven wrong... Wonder why they jumped to conclusions?

I think they initially went off what Colas said. Now after a better investigation the truths come out.

 

[dingdinger]

Looks like further work is to be completed with another part of the wall missing.

 

[BRX]

Photos from this afternoon.

 

[30907]

Is the refuge new?

 

[BRX]

Is the refuge new?

I think this was the 'before' version:

 

[theironroad]

Nice pics, thanks and nice to see it rid of vegetation. If only the thousands of other railway structures could be weed, tree, bush and general vegetation free as well....

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Photos from this afternoon.

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Many thanks for posting. Interesting the cable racking thats been installed although has no cables yet? Maybe they are bring them down from viaduct level.

 

[swt_passenger]

Looks like there’s some sort of visible drainage been added. Makes you wonder if there was a sodden mass of base material under the ballast...

 

[BRX]

Many thanks for posting. Interesting the cable racking thats been installed although has no cables yet? Maybe they are bring them down from viaduct level.

Yes I wasn't sure if that was just part of a temporary arrangement left over from the works or whether it's waiting for cabling to be installed.

 

[ComUtoR]

Does anyone know when the block will be lifted ?

Cheers in advance.

 

[Crossover]

Photos from this afternoon.

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Excellent photos - thanks for sharing. Looks a pretty good and comprehensive job they’ve done there

 

[swt_passenger]

Excellent photos - thanks for sharing. Looks a pretty good and comprehensive job they’ve done there

The build out for the location cases looks very neat I thought. Looks far more professional than before, but obviously much easier to do during a rebuild of this type than during what was probably a short opportunity during resignalling.

(Is that technique called “corbelling”?)

 

[PG]

Looks like there’s some sort of visible drainage been added. Makes you wonder if there was a sodden mass of base material under the ballast...

Which appears to discharge proud of the face of the brickwork but does the ground slope away from the base of the viaduct?

 

[BRX]

I also noticed the drainage added.

Most brick viaducts don't seem to have drainage like this as part of the original construction - so did they just rely on water gradually percolating its way down through the brickwork?

Also - the level at which the pipes are poking out - it is lower than the surface of the ballast but as far as I can make out from the photos after the collapse there is still plenty of infill material below that level. And the viaduct is pretty wide - how is the water transferred horizontally to these points? Does it mean they will have installed some kind of waterproof layer under the ballast that means all water ends up at the edges and then out through these pipes?

 

[Dan17H]

I also noticed the drainage added.

Most brick viaducts don't seem to have drainage like this as part of the original construction - so did they just rely on water gradually percolating its way down through the brickwork?

Also - the level at which the pipes are poking out - it is lower than the surface of the ballast but as far as I can make out from the photos after the collapse there is still plenty of infill material below that level. And the viaduct is pretty wide - how is the water transferred horizontally to these points? Does it mean they will have installed some kind of waterproof layer under the ballast that means all water ends up at the edges and then out through these pipes?

Most viaducts and Bridges have weep holes from the topside to the underside, that were part of the original building. Some of the taller viaducts also have gutters and drainpipes on the elevations, the problem is they are not maintained and cleared regularly.

Looking at Drainage and signs of water/dampness form a big part of an examiners examination. And will always be put into the structures report recommendedations, it's mandatory.

Nice pics, thanks and nice to see it rid of vegetation. If only the thousands of other railway structures could be weed, tree, bush and general vegetation free as well....

There just isn't the man hours to get rid of vegetation unfortunately, although it's the biggest cause of damage on most structures.