Wallers Ash (near Winchester) Landslip 27/8/20

[theironroad]

A small Landslip near Wallers Ash tunnel has caused debris to block both lines. XC service struck landslip but no derailmemt.

Pic from Network Rail Wessex Twitter (though presume from back cab of the XC unit).

 

[fgwrich]

I'm not surprised after the very heavy rain we had here for an hour this afternoon. It looks like the bank has slipped on both sides. of the tunnel mouth.

 

[pompeyfan]

It’s been confirmed there is no injuries and that all wheels remained on the track. Believe the unit has some faults so will need rescuing.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

It’s been confirmed there is no injuries ---

Fantastic news

 

[ANDREW_D_WEBB]

Would appear to be 1M66 https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C86503/2020-08-27/detailed.

A 1Z99 is on the down line on Traksy.

 

[theironroad]

I'm not surprised after the very heavy rain we had here for an hour this afternoon. It looks like the bank has slipped on both sides. of the tunnel mouth.

Yeah, some of the most torrential rain I've seen for a while, surprised there's not been more flash flooding.

 

[LowLevel]

Would appear to be 1M66 https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/C86503/2020-08-27/detailed.

A 1Z99 is on the down line on Traksy.

SWR have supplied a 15x and crew as a rescue train.

 

[55002]

Line still blocked, Presumably extra checks on embankment after Carmont, and obviously any work needed to shore up, the XC unit moved into Wallers Ash loop

 

[59CosG95]

Crikey, look at the steam coming from that. Must be due to the water shorting the 750V out.

 

[Dunfanaghy Rd]

Horrible place to work. I was there when NR renewed the Down Road coming out of the London end of the tunnel. Could only get a mobile signal when I climbed a signal post.
Pat

 

[theironroad]

Crikey, look at the steam coming from that. Must be due to the water shorting the 750V out.

I'm not sure if it is steam, personally thinking it's a thumb/hand print smudge from inside the back cab of the xc voyager that was involved and pic taken by rear unit TM.

 

[Meerkat]

I hope someone brought the driver some new trousers!
At least nothing went over the slip on the other track - that would surely be a derailment in the tunnel.
Obviously even more scary but would a derailment in a tunnel actually be safer for the passengers as the train will be kept straighter?

 

[swt_passenger]

I'm not sure if it is steam, personally thinking it's a thumb/hand print smudge from inside the back cab of the xc voyager that was involved and pic taken by rear unit TM.

I think the photo in the original post is looking towards London, (and have now confirmed that checking on YouTube), and the incident units (heading north) are stopped just beyond the other portal. But you’ll need to expand the image to see it.

 

[mcmad]

Don;t think the angle is right for it to be a back cab picture. Look more like someone standing in the 4ft.

 

[theironroad]

I think the photo in the original post is looking towards London, and the incident units are just beyond the far portal. But you’ll need to expand the image to see it...

You could well be correct. Must admit hadn't zoomed in and noticed that...

Don;t think the angle is right for it to be a back cab picture. Look more like someone standing in the 4ft.

Good point, guess a pic from cab would be angled down more.

In which case, must be steam I guess. ...or a smudged lens but probably steam . Surprised the juice wasn't off by that point though as pic must be from MOM who would have taken a while to walk to the site.

 

[fgwrich]

I'm not sure if it is steam, personally thinking it's a thumb/hand print smudge from inside the back cab of the xc voyager that was involved and pic taken by rear unit TM.

That certainly is taken in the four foot - the image would be too low down to be taken from the rear cab of anything (the voyager involved is in the distance). The rain we had here in North Hampshire was that strong and heavy yesterday that half of my garden was under around 2 inches of water, add in the fact that Winchester city centre had some flooding as well and that gives you an idea of the amount of rainfall sustained in this area.

I have to say though that both Network Rail Wessex and Paul Clifton’s Twitter feed’s have both been rather informative over the past 24 hours.

 

[Meerkat]

That certainly is taken in the four foot - the image would be too low down to be taken from the rear cab of anything (the voyager involved is in the distance). The rain we had here in North Hampshire was that strong and heavy yesterday that half of my garden was under around 2 inches of water, add in the fact that Winchester city centre had some flooding as well and that gives you an idea of the amount of rainfall sustained in this area.

I have to say though that both Network Rail Wessex and Paul Clifton’s Twitter feed’s have both been rather informative over the past 24 hours.

You mean the Voyager went over that hump covering the track on the left and kept all its wheels on the rails? Blimey, defo new trousers required!!

 

[theironroad]

Would seem that debris came down both sides of the cutting, as while the up line debris seems to have come down from above the left hand side of the portal , the first image that NR posted (the one in post #1) is debris having come down onto the down line but slightly away from the portal.

 

[RichSwitch]

It may well be that more came down between 1M66 passing over, and the photo being taken. Difficult to know how the incident progressed. What I’m saying is: had the landslip happened before the train reached the tunnel, or was it happening as the train reached the tunnel.
Incidentally, does anyone know where the Voyager went from Wallers Ash Loop (Eastleigh?) and how it got there? (towed? or under its own power?)

 

[theironroad]

It may well be that more came down between 1M66 passing over, and the photo being taken. Difficult to know how the incident progressed. What I’m saying is: had the landslip happened before the train reached the tunnel, or was it happening as the train reached the tunnel.
Incidentally, does anyone know where the Voyager went from Wallers Ash Loop (Eastleigh?) and how it got there? (towed? or under its own power?)

It was 2 units as xc have been running to Bournemouth since lockdown began easing skipping Winchester and Brockenhurst.

About 3 hrs after the incident passengers transferred to a rescue swr train.

The 2 xc units were split and the leading unit which was damaged and couldn't be driven from front was propelled into Wallers Ash up loop where it remained until earlier today before returning to Eastleigh direct at reduced speed when line reopened today.

The rear and undamaged unit went to Eastleigh the same day as incident but via Basingstoke and Andover/laverstock and down Test valley.

Both lines reopened this morning at 20mph

 

[Flange Squeal]

This appears to be a photo of the train.

https://twitter.com/DriverPotter/status/1299392970429521920

 

[dk1]

Looks like there has been another potential slide. The 20mph ESR is now over two miles long.

 

[theironroad]

Looks like there has been another potential slide. The 20mph ESR is now over two miles long.

Jeez, that will be painful.

 

[O L Leigh]

You mean the Voyager went over that hump covering the track on the left and kept all its wheels on the rails? Blimey, defo new trousers required!!

I'm assuming that more debris came down between the Voyager striking the obstruction and the photo being taken. However, whatever it hit must have been higher than that because it broke the valance (more on the 6 foot side weirdly, which suggests, counter-intuitively, that there was more on that side than on the cess side) and tore off the ETS socket as well as causing more damage besides. The muck thrown up from the impact covered the entire length of the unit (and presumably much of the unit it was coupled to also) including the roof and contained something hard and heavy enough to break both skins of the windscreen. The boys at Eastleigh were able to get the unit into a condition whereby it could be moved under it's own power to Central Rivers for repair.

I appreciate that this is just speculation, but I do wonder how this landslip will have compared with the one outside Stonehaven and also what factors caused the HST to derail where the Voyager did not. Voyagers do seem to have a better record of "staying on their feet" after hitting obstructions than HSTs do, so I wonder if there's something about the design of these trains that has a bearing.

 

[Meerkat]

I appreciate that this is just speculation, but I do wonder how this landslip will have compared with the one outside Stonehaven and also what factors caused the HST to derail where the Voyager did not

Stonehaven was going round a corner, this one looks like pretty straight track.
And as you say we don’t know what the Voyager actually hit - maybe it was a tree that fell down ahead of the slip that we can now see

 

[O L Leigh]

Stonehaven was going round a corner, this one looks like pretty straight track.

I was thinking more about the size, depth, shape and composition of the slip more than the track arrangements, and what it is about this that seems to lift the front of HSTs but not Voyagers so much.

 

[Class 170101]

Looks like there has been another potential slide. The 20mph ESR is now over two miles long.

Jeez, that will be painful.

Easily a ten minute delay. The 20mph between Marks Tey and Colchester when the Freight derailed on a set of points and wrecked the track was a mile and that caused at least five minutes of delay per train and more for Freight. NR insisted on an emergency weekend possession to fix that lot.

 

[najaB]

I was thinking more about the size, depth, shape and composition of the slip more than the track arrangements, and what it is about this that seems to lift the front of HSTs but not Voyagers so much.

Unless you compare like for like exactly it would be very difficult to say. As @Meerkat said, at Stonehaven the train was going around a bend whereas here it appears to have been going pretty much straight on. That means that the forces involved aren't comparable. They may well have lifted a comparable amount, but the direct of the momentum in this case was parallel to the rail where at Stonehaven a component will have been tangential.

 

[O L Leigh]

Unless you compare like for like exactly it would be very difficult to say.

Yes of course, which is why I’m wondering about the similarities (or otherwise) of the two slips.

As @Meerkat said, at Stonehaven the train was going around a bend whereas here it appears to have been going pretty much straight on. That means that the forces involved aren't comparable. They may well have lifted a comparable amount, but the direct of the momentum in this case was parallel to the rail where at Stonehaven a component will have been tangential.

Granted. But equally it’s possible to be derailed in a straight line after hitting an obstruction. It only requires the bogie to be deflected to one side, not the whole vehicle.

But as I mentioned above, Voyagers do seem quite good at staying on the track after hitting obstructions. I know from internal sources that they’ve hit a wide range of obstructions and not been derailed.

 

[najaB]

I know from internal sources that they’ve hit a wide range of obstructions and not been derailed.

Do your sources provide a similar number of examples of HSTs hitting comparable obstructions and being derailed?