A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - The saga continues

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ge_rik
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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - FINISHED

Post by ge_rik » Sun May 26, 2019 8:29 am

philipy wrote: Sat May 25, 2019 10:00 am ...... it's losing say 15 litres a month!

I'm 99% sure I haven't got a leak, I put it down to a combination of evaporation, the plants using some, and the birds drinking and splashing. The local blackbirds, sparrows and goldfinches have dicovered that they can sit on the bank and drink, and if they jump in they can splash bathe for ages and the water goes everywhere!
That's quite remarkable. I reckon on losing around 5 litres a day, so quite a contrast. I know I lose some from splashing over the edge of the stream bed, and where the liner doesn't quite reach fully into the sump. I think, also, your mesh cover is a lot more efficient than my perforated upturned lid - which over time becomes clogged and so needs to be cleaned out periodically. The loss has increased over the years, so maybe there is a small leak somewhere in my system.

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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - FINISHED

Post by philipy » Sun May 26, 2019 11:35 am

ge_rik wrote: Sun May 26, 2019 8:29 am I think, also, your mesh cover is a lot more efficient than my perforated upturned lid - which over time becomes clogged and so needs to be cleaned out periodically.
Since mine runs behind/under a Camellia and a couple of apple trees, I soon discovered just how many flower petals and leaves drop all the time, plus the bits of soil, moss and other debris from the birds. I've made a small net filter on a wire coat hanger frame that just sits under the final waterfall, and lift it out and shake it clean every 4 or 5 days, plus a wash under the tap a couple of times. It's amazing how much it collects in a short time. I cleaned this out under the tap yesterday morning and took the pic a few minutes ago.
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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - FINISHED

Post by ge_rik » Sun May 26, 2019 1:02 pm

I put an old plastic colander under the outlet for a few minutes each time I run the stream for the first time after a lay-off and it's amazing what debris it captures. I don't leave it there, though, because when it gets clogged it overflows outside the sump.

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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway

Post by philipy » Tue May 28, 2019 11:22 am

FWLR wrote: Sun Apr 28, 2019 8:36 am
Just need a few little fishes now swimming under it.... :roll:
Rod obviously knows my stream better than I do, I hadn't previously realised that it is a Salmon river. As far as I know this is the largest specimen seen so far! :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - FINISHED

Post by FWLR » Tue May 28, 2019 11:24 am

Brilliant Phillip..I love it...Now all you need is an open fire or pit and cook it.... :lol: :lol:

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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - FINISHED

Post by markoteal » Tue May 28, 2019 9:16 pm

ge_rik wrote: Wed May 01, 2019 6:54 pm Looks brilliant, Philip! Once the moss and groundcover takes a hold, it will tone down the starknss of the concrete. Your sump cover does look a whole lot more subtle than my upturned dustbin lid and will probably be a lot more efficient.

I think this project is worthy of an article in Garden Rail.

Rik
Yes - we haven't seen many waterworks articles in GR recently - would be a good read
Where did I put that uncoupler?

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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - FINISHED

Post by DonW » Tue Jul 30, 2019 12:18 am

Love the stream looks really good.

I did build a stream when we had some pet ducks rather deeper and wider so they cold swim along. The ground sloped so I made serveral sections with a shallow waterfall at each join. This meant that when the pump was off it didn't all empty to the sump,. The idea might be of use to someone. I recycled the water through a filter of the type used for fish ponds. However Ducks produce a lot of waste and it did need frequent cleaning out. Seeing yours I must plan one for the Garden railway.

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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - FINISHED

Post by Lonsdaler » Tue Aug 20, 2019 12:11 pm

Hi Philip,
My first foray onto the forum for quite a while - what a brilliant job you have made, not just of the stream, but also the walling. I had great trouble trying to make walling from the aerated blocks, so congratulations on your success there. The only section of my railway with a 'stream' is where the bridge over the Greta is located, and I bottled it and used blue slate chppings instead :lol:
I am now sorely tempted to rethink introducing moving water there!
Well done, and thanks for the tip about white cement - who knew? :thumbup:
Phil

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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - FINISHED

Post by philipy » Sun Mar 22, 2020 11:26 am

I meant to post about this months ago, but somehow never got around to it.

At the end of September, before the weather really turned, I noticed problems with both the stream and the bridge.
Firstly a crack across the stream about 3 or 4 feet downstream from the bridge:
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Secondly:
The heaving clay has really mangled the bridge as these pictures show:
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The broken off parapet was actually done by a pigeon blundering through the cracked piece.

The plan is, once the weather warms a bit and the danger of frost is past, to open up the crack and try to repair it, there is a butyl liner underneath so it will hopefully be possible, although I'm pretty sure it will crack again as the ground moves.

As for the bridge, I'll mortar the bit back on but there are so many cracks in total that I think it will neeed to be replaced by something else in due course.
Philip

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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - The saga continues

Post by LNR » Sun Mar 22, 2020 11:50 am

I feel for you Philip, I had a crack develop just after my creek leaves the pond and I'm on sand which is generally a stable foundation.I raked the crack out, made sure it was dry then filled it deep down with silicone rubber smoothing with a finger then sprinkled sand on it. When cured you can't see it and it is flexible. It lasts several years. As for b!!!! pidgeons and others "nuf said".
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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - The saga continues

Post by philipy » Sun Mar 22, 2020 12:42 pm

LNR wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2020 11:50 am I raked the crack out, made sure it was dry then filled it deep down with silicone rubber smoothing with a finger then sprinkled sand on it. When cured you can't see it and it is flexible. It lasts several years.
Thanks Grant, that sounds a good idea. I've been toying with using Stixall which also has a rubbery texture, but it may depend on how big the crack is when I start raking it out.
Philip

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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - The saga continues

Post by Lonsdaler » Mon Mar 23, 2020 5:04 pm

philipy wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2020 12:42 pm
LNR wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2020 11:50 am I raked the crack out, made sure it was dry then filled it deep down with silicone rubber smoothing with a finger then sprinkled sand on it. When cured you can't see it and it is flexible. It lasts several years.
Thanks Grant, that sounds a good idea. I've been toying with using Stixall which also has a rubbery texture, but it may depend on how big the crack is when I start raking it out.
I would go +1 for Stixall. It will give a much more secure bond and fill than silicone. Wipe off surplus and then wipe down stonework with isopropyl alcohol (or meths, I think) to remove any shiny residue.
Phil

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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - The saga continues

Post by Soar Valley Light » Tue Mar 24, 2020 7:31 pm

Oh Philip!

I wandered down the garden today, looked at the two bridges under the line and thought how nice a water feature would look - then I come on here tonight to be reminded of you're fantastic stream - which also makes me think of Rik's super little watercourse!

Sorry to hear of your 'cracking up' issues, it just goes to prove the essential need for a waterproof liner beneath all. The isk of a crack that let in water is that frost can get in and pop the lot up in the air. The suggested repairs sound like exactly the right way to go.

As for the pigeons..... I recommend pastry!

All the best,

Andrew
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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - The saga continues

Post by ge_rik » Wed Mar 25, 2020 8:25 am

Sorry to hear about the cracking, Philip. Our subsoil is clay, but the topsoil in the raised bed was more loamish which might account for why I've not experienced your sort of heave. Hopefully, the liner will prevent water loss and the flexible sealant will keep it running through the stream bed.

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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - FINISHED

Post by Jimmyb » Fri Mar 27, 2020 12:29 pm

philipy wrote: Sat May 25, 2019 10:00 am Just a little bit of info for anyone thinking of a stream of their own.
Rik has commented in his various Peckforton writings about losing water and being worried about a leak. I've just topped up mine by approx 12 -13 litres because I noticed that the sump level had dropped. It has been running for 13 hours a day since the beginning of May, so on that basis it's losing say 15 litres a month!

I'm 99% sure I haven't got a leak, I put it down to a combination of evaporation, the plants using some, and the birds drinking and splashing. The local blackbirds, sparrows and goldfinches have dicovered that they can sit on the bank and drink, and if they jump in they can splash bathe for ages and the water goes everywhere!
I also have a stream about 4 metres long, and discovered that during the very windy whether we had water loss was at a peak, even though it was cool, wind drops water loss drops off. I did find a black bird and a wood pigeon bathing in mine, and water everywhere, which again will count for some water loss.

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Re: A stream for the Elderbury & District Light Railway - FINISHED

Post by philipy » Fri Mar 27, 2020 2:45 pm

Jimmyb wrote: Fri Mar 27, 2020 12:29 pm
I also have a stream about 4 metres long, and discovered that during the very windy whether we had water loss was at a peak, even though it was cool, wind drops water loss drops off. I did find a black bird and a wood pigeon bathing in mine, and water everywhere, which again will count for some water loss.
hi Jimmy,
The water loss hasn't really been an issue, it just surprised me a little back at the beginning, thats all.
As for the birds, yes we get the blackbirds, pigeons and sparrows bathing in it plus assorted others drinking it. We have a blackbird sitting on a nest in the honeysuckle atm and she popped down for a bath this morning. :)
Philip

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