2015

SP3760 : Site of landslip, 31 January 2015, north side of Harbury Cutting

taken 10 years ago, near to Harbury, Warwickshire, England

Site of landslip, 31 January 2015, north side of Harbury Cutting
Site of landslip, 31 January 2015, north side of Harbury Cutting
The wedge of dark grey material furthest away is what appears to have moved. It is being recovered by two or three machines. Soil stabilisation works have been in progress at least since a landslip in mid-February 2014, that also closed the railway for a few days. Some local people have questioned the wisdom of cutting down all the trees because their roots must bind the soil. However as long as they are not dead they will regrow and the roots will maintain that function.
The material that moved has come from the top of the slope, close to the contractor's compound and perhaps assumed to be stable. It was rumoured that the tunnel lining had cracked. The incident was reported: LinkExternal link Today, 1 February 2015, a yellow helicopter circled the site a couple of times.
Harbury Cutting

Interim information, subject to revision
The deep, curving cutting, about 2·5km long, has the 73 yard Harbury Tunnel at its heart. It was built for the Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway to broad gauge proportions between 1847 and 1852, reportedly by I.K.Brunel. Originally it was intended to build a longer tunnel, but unstable ground resulted in a cutting 110 feet deep being constructed instead – the deepest man-made cutting in the world at the time. The cutting itself was widened around 1884 because of soil slippage – a problem that has not been entirely solved to this day. Information taken from the Warwickshire Railways website: LinkExternal link


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Robin Stott and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Lowlands Geological interest Railways Construction, Development Place: Harbury other tags: Cutting Chiltern Line Closed Railway Soil Stabilisation Landslide Landslip Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
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1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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Grid Square
SP3760, 54 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Robin Stott   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Sunday, 1 February, 2015   (more nearby)
Submitted
Sunday, 1 February, 2015
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 3779 6029 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:14.3705N 1:26.8804W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 3731 6036
View Direction
EAST (about 90 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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