This was the follow-up visit from Friday the 10th to replace the rotted, lower section of a flight of steps, leading from the path atop the embankment, down to the path that follows the old railway line. A map showing the actual location is on the previous Blog. Again, this work has been funded by the "Ripponden Community Crowd Funder", organised by Rebecca Dixon. A huge thankyou to Rebecca and all who donated.
Getting to the site was a bit of a long carry of materials and equipment for Jak, Jerry, Graham, Rich, Angus and new volunteer Sean (on his first taster session). However, many hands make light work!
With everything on site, Jerry, Graham and Angus set about dismantling the lower section of the steps, Jak did some cutting back along the footpath, whilst Rich and Sean inspected a drainage issue along the side of the old railway bed.
The flight of steps showing the damaged bottom section.
The problem was that the bottom four steps, along with the lower sections of the supporting stringers had succumbed to years of bad weather and the build-up of mud, moss and vegetation had eventually rotted-out the timbers. On the first visit, Jak and Jerry had cleared the worst of the rotten steps and put temporary 'stepping stones' in place, along with a couple of grab posts to help walkers traverse this section.
Today, we removed the lower section completely, unearthed the buried bottom step, fitted two new lengths of wood to the end of the stringers and installed four new steps. This should extend the life of this flight of steps for a few more years . . .after which a complete replacement will be needed.
Lower section now removed.
New stringer sections in place and attached to the original construction.
With the stringer extensions in place, we set about measuring and fixing the new treadboards. These were set at 250 mm spacing (rather than the original 300 mm) so that the descent became easier - especially for youngsters, the elderly . . . and dogs with short legs!
New section starting to take shape. There's plenty of measuring and cutting.
The finished steps and the first canine user withy his human!
While the work on the steps was in progress, Rich, Sean and Graham uncovered several sections of the old drainage ditch running along side the original railway bed. There are several points along this section which becomes waterlogged during the winter, so this was a good opportunity to carry out preventative maintenance.
Following the line of the Riverside path, this is a great walk along what must have been (before the 'Beeching Axe') a spectacular railway line. There are still several examples of impressive bridge construction and deep cuttings through the rock along this line from Sowerby Bridge to its termination at Slithero Bridge.
Before and after images of the drainage channel, plenty more to do!
All in all it was a successful session. Sean seemed to enjoy his first day with CROWS. He will work with other teams at Todmorden and Mytholmroyd as part of his induction. Hopefully, we will see a lot more of him.
