Following on from Part 1 in August, Inspire Structures Ltd returned to the Railway last week to complete their examinations for this year.
The remaining exams are Detailed Exams on three bridges, Numbers 40, 41 & 42, and Greet Tunnel Bore. These are carried out during the closed season in November as we will require an Engineering Possession to enable access to the bridge decks and the tunnel bore.
The Visual Exams on Stanway Viaduct, Hunting Butts Tunnel and the Portals of Greet Tunnel were also completed
Bridge 42: The photos show ladders and a tower scaffold in use to access the soffit of the bridge to examine the girders and record all the defects. Due to the position of the track at this location a road-based MEWP would not be able to get to the bridge.
The examiners will carry out the exam within touching distance of all the parts of the bridge and produce a report detailing the condition of the bridge with recommendations for repairs. The report will compare any defects to those noted in the previous exam report, so that deterioration can be monitored.
Greet Tunnel: The RRV gained access at Winchcombe yard and travelled up to the tunnel. The tunnel is marked out with markers at 1 chain (22 yard) intervals. As with the bridges, a report is produced charting all the areas of the tunnel bore with areas of open joints, hollow brickwork, and wetness all mapped out using the markers as reference points. Again, recommendations are given for repairs.
The reports will be sent into the Railway for checking and acceptance.
The Infrastructure Manager and the Civil Engineer will then use these reports, and those carried out by own engineers, to decide a programme of future works to be carried out on our structures.
John Fancote, Structures Examination Works Leader
