ALL NEW Competition Thread...Last Post WINS ;-)

[naughty.tortie]

Well..... it couldnt be lost forever could it !

So its back... all singing, all dancing... no farting allowed...

May the dirtiest player win 😄




I am first... I WILL BE LAST

[cke786]

My boots too?  I have had to repeatedly clean them because of this work afterall 😁

It's starting to look good, I had to reposition the planks this past weekend! I won't be putting down any gravel this Sunday though, there's another issue slightly further up the path in the form of a downed tree, I'll go with my limb-lopper and remove it from the way, if the council hasn't done it already!

[peteryola]

I'm guessing that was a result of one of the recent storms?

If the council can't be bothered to keep the path in good condition, I'd be surprised if they bother to deal with the tree!

[cke786]

It's unfortunate as well, this was one of many trees specially planted as a test back in the 60s, on the earth mound from when the shafts wer dug out!

Anyway, "MISISION FAIL, MISSION FAIL!!" I managed to get one limb off, but my chain slipped and got caught in the branch and stuck, took a lot of pulling to get it out, by which time the guide got buckled a bit, so I couldn't continue! I did however have a longer walk down the colliery railway line, found some track and a few other things, though I did have to turn back when the overgrowth became too thick to traverse through!

Also, my second MRI scan was yesterday, luckily I only have two weeks to go! 😅

[peteryola]

Does that indicate the other trees in that location might also be unstable and likely to block the path?

Not good, if so.

Ooh... MRI scans... I had to have one when I was being assessed for my implant.  A rather boring and noisy few minutes in that machine...  Now I have the implant I cannot have an MRI because I have metal in my head now, but I can still have a CT if necessary because those use X-Ray rather than magnetic.

[cke786]

It is possible, but then again, most trees, even on flat low lying land have the potential to be blown over in high winds!

True, it would cause a splitting headache!

Anyway, whilst I was there, I attempted to gain access to Boars Head Railway Station in Lower Standish, but annoyingly, every single way to get into the site was blocked, my one and only hope was going over the Douglas Valley Railway Viaduct, though this sadly ended up not going my way! Whilst I could get up onto the viaduct and walk along most of it, the far end was blocked off by those annoying metal fences, somebody had been up there and busted a couple of the bars out of the way, but my chest was tad too thick for me to fit through and the two workers who were supposed to be doing some work up there didn't have the key for the gate... more annoyingly, their supervisor would be coming the next day, whilst I was at work, so darn! I did manage to take a few snaps whilst I was up there, here's one:

[peteryola]

Now that's still very recognisable as a disused line isn't it?  Much more so than some...

[cke786]

Yes, parts of the supporting pillars are somewhat crumbling at the base, but this seems to be mostly the outer shell of bricks, though this is what happens when railway structures are regularly maintained like they usually are! I'm just hoping they're not going to be blowing it up like they did with the Boars Head Viaduct!

Here's another from on the viaduct:

[peteryola]

Doesn't look in too bad a condition really - and yes, pillars do need looking after, but then again a lot of active ones aren't in the best of conditions are they?

[cke786]

True!

Though asides from a couple of the pillars, it's not too bad, just needs to rebuild the bases where the bricks have fallen away, repoint and clear all the growth on the top, and it'll be good to re-lay the track down!

[peteryola]

Guessing it's mostly spalling from frost damage, then?

Oh...

This appears to be the "50" half snipe... 

[cke786]

That would be my assessment too, I'm just hoping they're not going to use this as an excuse to blow the viaduct up!

[peteryola]

Is the viaduct listed or anything like that?

You've probably been following ther row over Great Musgrave and a few other bridges that were similarly badly treated - so there is a strong groundswell of support for retaining these things where they could potentially be useful - and not just for possible transport re-instatements; look at the new footpath route over Bennerley Viaduct as an example.

[cke786]

I don't see it as a listed structure, but they are trying to get it opened as a path and cycleway.... really wish it would get reopened to trains instead, it'd sort out a lot of traffic congestion!

Yes, I've commented on Twitter regarding the G.Musgrave bridge infill stupidity! Their own report stated to make it safe for another hundred and fifty or so years just required repointing it at a cost of about £5K, yet they blew £124K filling it in and of course however much it cost to dig it all out and restore it properly after the damage! What a waste of our tax money!

[peteryola]

Not a surprise, though, with a Government body is it...?

[cke786]

When I went there, the two workers were waiting on the local councilman arriving, so I have my worries.

On a lighter note, I may have overestimated the amount of bags of gravel I need to buy to finish off the path section, the wooden planks were making the gap I have left to fill look much larger than it actually is! I was thinking I nwould need an additional 5 or 6 bags of 20mm gravel after this past weekends visit, but now I think just another 3 bags will do, as I have pretty much gotten through the deepest part of the mud and I'm nearly on the original council constructed path surface. I'll still need the same amount in the bags of 10mm gravel though, however they cover a much wider area, one bag would probably cover what's left no problem, but 3 bags will add the protectional layers to keep the area afloat above the mud!

[peteryola]

Why would it be a worry that the council are looking at it?  Wouldn't that indicate that they are actually finally going to make some improvements themselves?

Yes - extra bags to make sure wouldn't be a bad idea.

[cke786]

Or they want to sell the land for development and are going to blow it up to clear the site for sale! Our local council did similar for the old railway line through our town, then sold the surrounding land for development, in the process, destroyed the only medieval structures in our area.

I want to make sure the path is safe for any future issues, but with the silted up drainage ditch by the site of it, makes that a tad uncertain, however from my last visit, it was far less waterlogged, despite the rain.

[peteryola]

Ah.

Perhaps if you see the bods again you should ask them outright?

[cke786]

Problem is, I won't be that way for a while, but I'll see about flinging the council page an email!

[peteryola]

Or mail the council ceo directly?  Should be on the ceo e-mail addresses website... and avoids the risk of some minor minion sending a stock reply back.