Somerleyton Bridge Not Operational

[ranworthbreeze]

Dear all,

We have just been informed by Network Rail that Somerleyton Swing Bridge is currently not operational until further notice due to the heat.

Kind regards,

Tom

Tom Waterfall

Digital Communications Officer

Tel: +44 (0) 1603 756034

Mob: +44 (0) 7769 696117

Twitter: @BroadsAuth

Broads Authority, Yare House, 62-64 Thorpe Road. Norwich NR1 1RY
01603 610734
www.broads-authority.gov.uk

[JennyMorgan]

So boats at Brundall are cut off from the sea then. A load of GP's have gone through Oulton Broad's Lock this morning so some of the Brundall Navy have made it. I can imagine that there are some very angry owners and I don't blame them. The Authority really does have to start playing tough with Rail Track or whoever. To add insult to injury it's a higher than average tide at the moment thus more than just GP's will have difficulties.

 

[Bound2Please]

4 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

To add insult to injury it's a higher than average tide at the moment thus more than just GP's will have difficulties.

That will also mean though that the tide drops lower more average as well JM dont forget

[grendel]

and those who have got to sea are stuffed for getting back again. let us hope this brings the attention of everyone to all of the bridges and the state of repair , and that maintenance will be forthcoming to fix the problems and maintain the navigation, because it seems to me that at the current time there is no navigation possible for any boat too tall to pass under these bridges.

I wonder if Robin will consider fitting a fire hose to the front of Indy to cool off those bridges that over expand and stop him navigating.

I also wonder what railtrack could do about it to stop them if someone decided to cool down the rails with a powerful hose from their boat?

[Bound2Please]

3 minutes ago, grendel said:

I also wonder what railtrack could do about it to stop them if someone decided to cool down the rails with a powerful hose from their boat?

It would never work mate as the problem isnt on the bridge its for a couple of miles either side of the bridges, it would need a mighty long hose to cool that lot off.

There is a moral here though buy a boat that that is broads friendly.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, Bound2Please said:

That will also mean though that the tide drops lower more average as well JM dont forget

Next low tide at Somerleyton is around 8:00 this evening.

[JennyMorgan]

12 minutes ago, Bound2Please said:

 

There is a moral here though buy a boat that that is broads friendly.

Even some of those will struggle at Somerleyton right now.

[vanessan]

Part of today’s Broads Briefing.

Reedham and Somerleyton Swing Bridges

On Wednesday we had a meeting with the engineers from Network Rail. A number of interesting points came out from our discussion about the performance of the two bridges. Reedham Swing Bridge is apparently in a much better condition than Somerleyton which has a current problem with its centre bearing which is causing the bridge to rock. Network Rail is planning to commission work to deal with the problem in the near future.

I asked about the potential to install a sprinkler cooling system but the costs, potentially over £100,000, look too high to justify the expenditure. This is because of the need for a desalination system. The engineers would not want saline water spayed on the bridge and there is no fresh water supply available at Somerleyton.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

Even some of those will struggle at Somerleyton right now.

I knew I should have bought a '60's Broom Skipper.

[Guest]

They will certainly struggle to moor at somerleyton its rammed boats are having to turn around now , yes the tide is very  high here only a foot of the top of the quay .

[vanessan]

Sorry, here’s the rest of it. 

I also asked about ‘summer rails’ which have been mentioned by a number of people. This isn’t a term the engineers recognise. However, the company paints the end of the rails white which apparently reduces the temperature of the rails on a hot day by 2-3 degrees. They also ‘double clip’ the rails to the rail base plate which also reduces the amount of thermal expansion. They will be instructing the bridge operators to improve the wording put on the electronic signs so that the cause of any delay is displayed, as well as the anticipated time when the bridge is expected to be able to let boats pass. Regarding communications, I am told that next year when the improvements to the signalling are complete the bridge operators will have more time to take calls from boat owners. In terms of the Authority’s preferred option of replacement bridges, there is no funding available to Network Rail in their current planning period which runs from 2019 to 2025 and we have committed to work with them to support the case for investment in readiness for the next window of opportunity from 2025. We will continue to monitor the performance of the bridges and have agreed to a further meeting with Network Rail’s engineers in August.

[keifsmate]

there is no fresh water supply available at Somerleyton.

Should not be beyond the wit of man to pipe in fresh water from Somerleyton station or the Marina.

Sounds more like a case of can't be bothered to rather than cannot.

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

Even some of those will struggle at Somerleyton right now.

I'll bet i don't  the gauge shows just over 7' 

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, keifsmate said:

there is no fresh water supply available at Somerleyton.

Should not be beyond the wit of man to pipe in fresh water from Somerleyton station or the Marina.

Sounds more like a case of can't be bothered to rather than cannot.

That's all right if lord somerleyton allows it .

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, keifsmate said:

there is no fresh water supply available at Somerleyton.

Should not be beyond the wit of man to pipe in fresh water from Somerleyton station or the Marina.

Sounds more like a case of can't be bothered to rather than cannot.

So what do the bridge operators drink and wash in, river water?

[Bound2Please]

If only railway signaling was as easy as some make it out to be on here. Never having worked with swing bridges added into the equation, I have with just level crossings, remember we are talking of hundreds of lives at a time on a train. So safety is a huge factor in all of this.

[Bound2Please]

3 minutes ago, Philosophical said:

So what do the bridge operators drink and wash in, river water?

They will bring it in cans each shift, as do signal operators in out of the way boxes away from rivers

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Bound2Please said:

If only railway signaling was as easy as some make it out to be on here. Never having worked with swing bridges added into the equation, I have with just level crossings, remember we are talking of hundreds of lives at a time on a train. So safety is a huge factor in all of this.

We don't really want to know how the clock works or the difficulties in keeping it working.......we just expect it to tell the correct time when we look at it. As I believe it did when first installed.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Bound2Please said:

They will bring it in cans each shift, as do signal operators in out of the way boxes away from rivers

Isn't that in contravention to the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992

[grendel]

so if the bearings have a wobble, how is that not down to lack of maintenance, if a bearing in the wheel of my car develops a wobble - it gets replaced (or even possibly with some types, tightened to remove the wobble). hopefully the incipient wobble is detected before it is bad enough to become a safety issue (by the MOT tester). granted everything will be a lot bigger on the bridge, but surely that means it will be easier to detect the start of a bearing issue.

[Guest]

Getting rather silly here now with boats having to double moor can't see James form NYA being too pleased as that's his sun seeker having to turn around . 

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, grendel said:

so if the bearings have a wobble, how is that not down to lack of maintenance, if a bearing in the wheel of my car develops a wobble - it gets replaced (or even possibly with some types, tightened to remove the wobble). hopefully the incipient wobble is detected before it is bad enough to become a safety issue (by the MOT tester). granted everything will be a lot bigger on the bridge, but surely that means it will be easier to detect the start of a bearing issue.

Seems a logical analogy to me.

[ranworthbreeze]

My understanding from one of our owners currently aboard Ranworth Breeze is that a small number of the NYA flotilla managed to pass through Mutford lock earlier today with the rest now stuck upriver from the bridge. 

The reason for going through Mutford lock is because Haven Bridge is also not operational.

We can just scrape under the bridge at low water (airdraft 9 ft 8 inches with canopy and masthead down), our owner will be waiting until Sunday to have passage under the bridge if needs be at low water

Regards

Alan

[ZimbiIV]

I think something is happening this weekend that requires a lot of trains to run on the system!

Don't want them to risk any hiccups anywhere about the broads rail system do we?

Just seems too coincidental to me.

paul

[StillCruising]

Didn't they replace the bearings a few years back, I'm sure that I have a photo of the bridge being opened and closed by a boat permanently stationed at the end of the moorings.