SVR Embankment collapse

[Neilo09]

Can anyone confirm if there was another embankment collapse on the SVR ?

 

[paul1609]

Can anyone confirm if there was another embankment collapse on the SVR ?

Unfortunately there has, I understand that the SVR expect the section from Bridgenorth to Hampton Loade to be closed for sometime.

 

[D6130]

Photo from Facebook taken from rail level, showing the track undermined by an embankment slip and partial bridge collapse.

 

[Neilo09]

Not my photo.....sent to me by a friend:

Bad enough

 

[Cowley]

I did have a look online but there’s no official news releases that I’ve been able to find, obviously if something does come up then please do post it for us.

Not my photo.....sent to me by a friend:

That looks like a great deal of very expensive damage. Such an awful situation for the line.

 

[paul1609]

Land slippage on the Severn Valley Railway will affect some services - Severn Valley Railway

A serious embankment failure has occurred on the Severn Valley Railway, leaving the track impassable at one location along the 16-mile route. The popular heritage line is likely to face a large repair bill, and disruption to services at the northern end of its route.

svr.co.uk

A serious embankment failure has occurred on the Severn Valley Railway, leaving the track impassable at one location along the 16-mile route. The popular heritage line is likely to face a large repair bill, and disruption to services at the northern end of its route.

The damage happened around 300 metres north of an area known as Sterns on the Shropshire section of the line. Although the Sterns area has suffered previous landslips with considerable remedial work already carried out, the location of this failure is not one the railway previously had concerns about. The SVR’s head of infrastructure Chris Bond visited the site to make a preliminary inspection and explained more:

‘We’ve suffered a significant embankment failure and damage to approximately 30 metres of the track and track bed. The area remains in a dangerous state and further slippage may occur so we are warning people to stay well away.

 

[Tetchytyke]

It’s on Facebook too, along with photos and with a link to the fundraiser.

Facebook

www.facebook.com

We are sad to report that a serious embankment failure has occurred between Hampton Loade and Bridgnorth, leaving the line impassable.
We are due to reopen the whole line on 15 February for half-term and the start of our 2025 season, but clearly services between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade cannot run. We are still planning, however, to run trains from Kidderminster on the unaffected part of the railway line.
We want to reassure passengers who’ve pre-booked tickets that we’ll be in touch soon by email, and they don’t need to phone us. We’ll get this sorted out as quickly as we possibly can.
There is of course, a further impact on us as a heritage line, and that’s the cost we now face to bring our full line back into operation. Things were just beginning to stabilise for the SVR, following several years of financial struggles, and this is the last thing we needed.
Inevitably, we’re going to have to find the funds to pay for this essential repair, and would welcome all the help that we can get. If you would like to assist, we would be extremely grateful, and you can donate to the SVR Resilience Fund at https://svr.co.uk/resilience/

 

[Amlag]

possible pile driving to shore it up etc

and wonder if a temporary track slew is feasible here ?

 

[Neilo09]

possible pile driving to shore it up etc

and wonder if a temporary track slew is feasible here ?

couldn't really slew it anywhere, the lane is the private entrance to sterns cottage.

 

[John Webb]

couldn't really slew it anywhere, the lane is the private entrance to sterns cottage.

It looks from the photo in Post #3 that the lane is flooded. If so, could that be the cause of the collapse?

 

[Heritage-DMU]

^The bridge is over a brook.

 

[HOOVER29]

Has the bridge edging collapsed?

 

[Solent&Wessex]

Has the bridge edging collapsed?

I'm not an engineer and don't know the bridge concerned, but it looks very much like the bridge edging / retaining wall has collapsed, yes.

 

[DarloRich]

that looks really bad. Terrible. If possible people should think about donating to the resilience fund. I am sure we all like visiting for the various galas and events. Every little helps as someone once said.

Resilience Fund - Severn Valley Railway

The Severn Valley Railway is a living museum; it transports you into the past, creates memories and puts a smile on your face. But operating a heritage railway costs a […]

svr.co.uk

 

[John Webb]

^The bridge is over a brook.

Thanks.

 

[Amlag]

I'm not an engineer and don't know the bridge concerned, but it looks very much like the bridge edging / retaining wall has collapsed, yes.

Yes it does look as if the capstones and possibly a course of stone above the arch, has fallen away into the stream below, possibly due roots of vegetation/scrub getting in and loosening the mortar ( as found increasingly throughout Britain’s neglected Network Rail structures ) thus the earth and ballast that was retained has also fallen away down into the stream and not so much a failure of the embankment itself.

 

[Highview]

It might be the photo angle but there does not seem to be any bridge wall to the other side of the track?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I read somewhere on X (not quite sure where) that the bridge indeed doesn't have any walls and it was just an embankment over a much lower arch. Perhaps needs one!

The photo below shows this to be incorrect, it indeed appears a retaining wall has failed.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Looks like a structural failure rather than embankment, as if there should be a wingwall there that no longer is (based on there being a wingwall on the other side, and also, looks like it would be way too steep to be an embankment without one. Wonder if the wing wall has gone due to scour after recent heavy rainfall. Certainly doesn't look a cheap fix in any way shape or form. Echo DarloRich on donating.

 

[BRX]

This post previously contained an image showing the damaged area from ground level. It appeared to me to suggest that a wing wall had collapsed.

 

[D6130]

So it's actually the partial failure of a bridge....which has taken a short section of the embankment with it?

 

[paul1609]

I understand that the water here is the Mor Brook which drains a large basin and basically does a hairpin bend under the SVR a couple of hundred yards before it's confluence with the main river Severn.

 

[BRX]

So it's actually the partial failure of a bridge....which has taken a short section of the embankment with it?

That's what it looks like to me.

The bit of the embankment that's gone looks to be the part that would have been retained by the wing wall of the bridge, so it doesn't seem quite right to describe it as an embankment failure.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 31 Jan 2025 ==

I understand that the water here is the Muc Brook which drains a large basin and basically does a hairpin bend under the SVR a couple of hundred yards before it's confluence with the main river Severn.

Mor Brook.

Culvert over Mor Brook - SVR Wiki

www.svrwiki.com

 

[Forty29]

The amount of rain we've had recently probably has contributed to the collapse. Hopefully a specialist contractor will be able to reattach the stone to the structure somehow and Infilled. Probably won't be cheap or a quick fix either.

 

[AndrewE]

The amount of rain we've had recently probably has contributed to the collapse. Hopefully a specialist contractor will be able to reattach the stone to the structure somehow and Infilled. Probably won't be cheap or a quick fix either.

I don't think so... It will be construct a new invert and foundation for the wing wall, then build that up from the bottom - filling in carefully behind, then the new bridge/culvert parapet and (after that has gained full strength) rebuild the embankment above it and relay the track.
Oh, btw, this is after getting it surveyed, the repair designed, then a couple of quotes and then raising the money. And all that might need to be preceded by craning out a couple of track panels and excavating the embankment that looks as though it is still sliding into the brook...

 

[D Williams]

I don't think so... It will be construct a new invert and foundation for the wing wall, then build that up from the bottom - filling in carefully behind, then the new bridge/culvert parapet and (after that has gained full strength) rebuild the embankment above it and relay the track.
Oh, btw, this is after getting it surveyed, the repair designed, then a couple of quotes and then raising the money. And all that might need to be preceded by craning out a couple of track panels and excavating the embankment that looks as though it is still sliding into the brook...

A million or so should pay for the design and environmental studies, a year or so to get a decision from the Environment Agency and Natural England , then a tendering process to get the construction cost , another appeal, so the job could be complete by the end of 2027!

 

[Amlag]

What serviceable locos and carriages etc are now marooned at Bridgnorth and may need roading to Kidder if needed for service trains between Kidder and Hampton Loade I wonder?

 

[Harpo]

The bit of the embankment that's gone looks to be the part that would have been retained by the wing wall of the bridge, so it doesn't seem quite right to describe it as an embankment failure.

I suspect that the underlying cause could be either a formation or structure failure.

I also wonder whether RAIB will investigate as it’s far more than just a ‘landslip’.

 

[YorkshireBear]

A million or so should pay for the design and environmental studies, a year or so to get a decision from the Environment Agency and Natural England , then a tendering process to get the construction cost , another appeal, so the job could be complete by the end of 2027!

That's exactly how it would work if you don't know what you are doing yes.

Environment Agency generally have a 12 week turnaround and natural England I don't see a reason they would be involved specifically.

 

[AndrewE]

That's exactly how it would work if you don't know what you are doing yes.

Environment Agency generally have a 12 week turnaround and natural England I don't see a reason they would be involved specifically.

AS the new wing wall will need a proper foundation which will entail dredging a hole for it in the bed of the stream (and maybe a cofferdam too) I am sure they will be interested. It could well be a spawning reach for river fish etc...