The Floods have Lift up their Voice!

[kandnwlr]

I have just gotten back from my annual holiday in the UK & IOM, and when I was having my morning coffee I decided shuffle down the garden and see what three weeks of total neglect had done to the railway.  The monsoon season has been far longer than usual this year, as I write we still have monsoon activity, which is about 3 weeks later than usual.  Also there have been some fairly intense storms whilst I have been away, so I was expecting to have some work to do.

The railway was, in fact, remarkably clear and intact.  No washouts, a couple of culverts needed clearing, and there were some weeds to remove, but about 10-15 minutes of casual poking and pulling took care of the worst of it, so it should be possible to run trains this evening - jetlag permitting.
Peter in AZ

Excellent News

[Big Jim]

Good news and I hope the truce with nature holds for many years yet.

[IrishPeter]

Last year's repairs are standing up to their second monsoon season very nicely. This year' monsoon has not been so intense as last year, but that is usually the case when it starts early. The weeds have liked it better - we are currently pulling our third crop of the summer.

Given our climate I should probably model Indian Hill Railways! Kalka Simla Railway (AZ Branch) anyone? I seem to think that Barog is about the same altitude as Prescott, but four degrees closer to the equator.

Joking apart, I am relieved to have that old chesnut under control.

Peter in AZ

[Big Jim]

Glad to hear it.

Here in Wales we seem to have had a monsoon period, followed by more heavy rain, followed but another monsoon season!

Its getting so wet my Son and Heir's pet guinea pig, appears to have grown gills and webbed feet.

[IrishPeter]

I remember being seriously impressed with the rainfall statistics for West Wales when I was doing 'O' level geography.  North Lincolnshire gets about 30 inches, thanks to it being in the rain shadow of the Pennines, and I think you guys were 2 to 4 times that depending how far up in 'dem der hills' you are.  Here we get about 17 inches a year, but an awful lot of it seems to come down in one go.  We will get an inch in a couple of hours, and then nothing for weeks, which makes planning for run off a little difficult.

I have been adding cement to recent applications of ballast to help it stick, and reduce that chore to more manageable proportions. I started with the most vulnerable sections, and then I have gradually spread it to pretty much any part of the line that runs on a shelf on the side of a slope - which is most of it.  The high proportion of ballast to cement, it is holding that ballast together rather than concreting-in the track, and it should be easy enough to break up should I need to lift the track.  The number of derailments has dropped sharply now that the worst sections for movement are more stable.

Next up are a couple of retaining walls that will need some serious attention this autumn, but I do at least feel as though I have the upper hand on this truce.

Cheers,
Peter in AZ