Cornwall cut-off by rail!

gramps

gramps

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The railway line at Dawlish in Devon has been left swinging in the breeze after the supporting ground has been washed away by the sea - Network Rail estimate 6-8 weeks to effect a repair!

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Cripes, good job a train wasnt going over at the time.
 
is it my eye site, or has the front of that house gone as well ??
 
Musicman said:
It looks like their porch is going for a Burton.

First few secs of this BBC report has some closer-up video.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26044428
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I've changed my mind, more like a year to re-build the lot. What do you think Rob, yours would be the better guess?

I've got friends down that way who use it regular, they're now planning to 'car club' or something through the summer.
 
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on Railforums the suggestion has been made that Dawlish must be the gay wedding capital of the UK
 
Chris Wilson said:
No, it's your spelling Scott;) - just a wee jest.
It's been pretty rough down here.
cheers, cw
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lol, its a blackberry thing...............honest :oops: :$
 
The next bit of devastating news for the locals will be that Trago Mills is closed due to flooding. :LOL:
 
They are now talking of re-routing the line - I really hope that they don't, it's part of every 'holiday moment' when traveling to Cornwall by rail.
 
I don't see complete closure, the line will be repaired (quote of around 6 weeks) but due to the impact the closure will have on plymouth and Cornwall, there needs to be an alternatie route to stop this disruption happening again. The two contenders are a brand new line inland or reinstatment of the closed railway between Okehampton and Bere Alston.

Re a couple of earlier posts. I do not find this situation at all amusing. We are talking of an area of the UK with enough economic problems already, of people made homeless and some houses adjacent to the line may have to be demolished. Further storms are predicted for this weekend and next Wednesday
 
To serve the coast, the line has to go along the route it currently follows. It's not as simple as rerouting it a few miles inland - the area's a bit too hilly for that. Using the old Okehampton - Bere Alston route misses out Torbay and the clay mining area near Newton Abbot (which I think uses the line to shift its product). Bad weather has caused temporary problems before but this is the first time I can remember the line being damaged this badly.

The current plan (as of local lunchtime news) is to use a concrete spray to stabilize the backfill before dealing with the repairs to the line. 6 weeks may be a bit optimistic but if the weather cooperates, could be possible.
 
kennethwfd said:
Re a couple of earlier posts. I do not find this situation at all amusing. We are talking of an area of the UK with enough economic problems already, of people made homeless and some houses adjacent to the line may have to be demolished.
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I'm well aware Kenneth - probably more than you are. ;)
 
kennethwfd said:
Re a couple of earlier posts. I do not find this situation at all amusing.
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Its the british way to take the pee instead of wringing our hands in despair - for those of us living in the areas taking the brunt of it , its often a case of if you didn't laugh you'd have to cry. ( My freind carl lives in moorland somerset - he tells me he's torn between building an ark and opening a watersports centre)
 
Nod said:
You couldn't make it up!
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to be fair if they had repopulated dawlish warren with sand before the storms, most of it would now be in exmouth thanks to the west east tidal scour .... you'll notice when you next come to branscombe that we don't have a shingle bar anymore , most of it is in dorset. (we've also lost the access road to the chalets and various other bits - i'm not looking forward to the 40mph onshore wind which should arive at high tide tonight )
 
At least it's neaps at the moment. Are the chalets and road/track trust or private?
 
big soft moose said:
i'm not looking forward to the 40mph onshore wind which should arive at high tide tonight )
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Is that wishful thinking ... they're talking 70-80mph on the weather news! :jawdrop:
 
Nod said:
At least it's neaps at the moment. Are the chalets and road/track trust or private?
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Private - we've got the beach but theres a pocket of private land where the sea shanty is - its still a head ache for us though as it all impacts on the visitor experience whether its ours or not - and it may be neaps , but the low pressure means a higher sea so its still pretty destructive... if it was a spring I think we'd be looking at utter devastation right up the lower valley

gramps said:
Is that wishful thinking ... they're talking 70-80mph on the weather news! :jawdrop:
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Thats for cornwall - BBC weather says 39MPH from the south west gusting to 60mph for Branscombe
 
gramps said:
Let's hope it treats you kindly :)
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Seconded!

Very true, Pete but the loss of the beach won't kill the trust's part of B - the Sea Shanty could be killed off by the storms. The buildings should be relatively safe but I can see the chalets being washed away.
 
big soft moose said:
Its the british way to take the pee instead of wringing our hands in despair - for those of us living in the areas taking the brunt of it , its often a case of if you didn't laugh you'd have to cry. ( My freind carl lives in moorland somerset - he tells me he's torn between building an ark and opening a watersports centre)
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There are now no trains at all running between London and Exeter and it has been suggested that visitors from Westminster to the Somerset Levels should be chucked in the floodwaters....but who'd notice a couple of extra turds floating around?
 
its certainly riveting to watch on the news ,but now the thames is flooding they will get all the money sent there way .wonder what effect this will have on tourism to the south west this year we are not that far off easter after all .
 
Nod said:
Seconded!

Very true, Pete but the loss of the beach won't kill the trust's part of B - the Sea Shanty could be killed off by the storms. The buildings should be relatively safe but I can see the chalets being washed away.
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except that we own the beach and the headland either side , and most of the valley behind - our part of branscombe is more than just the bit near the bakery - so while we fortunately don't have to pay for the damage to the chalets and access tracks etc , anything that impacts on how a visitor enjoys the beach or the coast path is still very much a concern
 
And there's precisely 1/637 of sod all you can do about what the weather throws at it! As an entity, the Trust has far more in its portfolio than beaches, as you say, they have a fair bit of the valley as well and that will probably still attract a few visitors - the beach visitors may well just drive straight past the inland attractions and never even know they're there. Yes, the forge is visible but the mill isn't. Parking is a real pain in season as well.
 
Hi, One thing nobody seems to have noticed, the Wall at Dawlish was faulty for a while. I've seen a photo, taken during the summer, that shows a *dip* in the level of the top of the wall and a bulge outwards, right at the point it failed.
Funny how nobody appears to have noticed this. (100% certain this was the case, clear in the photo).
The sea always finds the weak spots eh!
 
Nod said:
Latest news...

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co....glimpse-work/story-20710605-detail/story.html
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The fine work continues: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26356917 I have nothing but admiration for those rail workers as they work around the elements to try and bring a sense of normality to things in time for the summer.

Speaking as an amateur meteorologist, in all my 35 years of being into the weather, I have never known such a brutal winter as I found it mentally exhausting by trying to keep up with it all (the cause & effect as well as forecasting, I almost suffered with depression as I see yet another depression ready to slam onto the UK).
Winter 1990 (which include the devastating St Burns Day storm) and Autumn 2000 (which was even wetter still!) were particularly outstanding in terms of unsettled weather but the past October, November, December, January, February and probably March felt like one long November.
I hope 2014 will follow 1990's example where that brutal winter then lead to an excellent summer where it was 30 C and above for several days.
 
Well, I'm hoping to have the best part of 4 weeks of 30°C+ and maybe more. The 4 weeks will be abroad and any extra will be nice!

Not being a train traveller, I've never actually used the line that passes Dawlish. Must rectify that when the line reopens since it's a beautiful stretch of coast that it passes along.
 
They are talking about HS1 and HS2 to the midlands and north but we haven't even got a direct motorway to London. The A303 isn't even dual all the way and now getting past Exeter by train looks like it's a struggle. Screw the north, they've got enough rail and motorway links. What about the south west. :mad:
 
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