AW Rail - Amco Arch Repairs
AW Rail - AmcoGiffen Arch Repairs
AW Rail - AmcoGiffen Arch Repairs
AW Rail - AmcoGiffen Arch Repairs
AW Rail - Amco Arch Repairs Works
AW Rail - Amco Arch Repairs
AW Rail - Amco Arch Repairs
AW Rail - Amco Arch Repairs
AW Rail - Amco Arch Repairs
AW Rail - Amco Arch Repairs
AW Rail - AmcoGiffen Arch Repairs
AW Rail - Amco Arch Repairs
AW Rail - Amco Arch Repairs

AT A GLANCE

Project Railway Arch Repairs
Client AmcoGiffen
Completion Date Ongoing Works
Project Manager AW Rail Team

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Our long term works on the railway arches across the Southeast and London have only been possible with the collaboration of our clients and the strong working relationship that we have built with them. Every week we have several teams carrying out these works and they are highly regarded by the clients that engage us for their professionalism and knowledge.

A varying degree of works is carried out within the rail arches and having worked with Edward Lockett of AmcoGiffen for several years we have compiled with his assistance a short methodology on some of the works we carry out for them:

Each arch is unique and carefully examined by an external surveyor who then submits a defect sheet on Polestar where the works package for that arch is then determined.

There are 3 major defects, which are:

  • Hollow brickwork where the ring 1 is separated from the other rings
  • Transverse fracture
  • Longitudinal fracture.

There now follows a brief description of the works to remedy each of the above:

Hollow brickwork methodology:

  • Temporary works in the form of sprung steel irons are placed following the profile of the Arch fixed in place using 12mm steel threaded stud anchored using injected resin and pull tested.
  • The brickwork is broken out by mechanical means using battery operated breakers ensuring that no more than 1M2 is removed at any time.
  • The area has all loose material removed and is then damped down to ensure good adhesion of the sand/cement/lime mortar (to allow movement) and new to old brickwork.
  • The bricks are laid with each course held in place by a 50 x 50 timber lagging and forced back to the profile of the Arch with timber wedges.
  • The process is then carried out on the next 1M2 patch until the affected area is repaired.
  • The temporary works (irons & laggings) remain in place for 7 days until the repair strengthens and then these are removed.

 

Transverse fracture repair methodology:

  • A transverse fracture is one that runs parallel from front to back and can be as little as 1 L/M or can stretch for the whole Arch. These are the more critical fractures as they can collapse as the integrity of the Arch is compromised.
  • The fracture is repaired by cross stitching the fracture approximately 400mm centres at a 30-degree angle, not in a joint and as near to the centre of a brick as possible.
  • The holes are blown out to remove any debris and the hole is filled with resin, this this ensures that any crevices, lack of muck or fissures are filled.
  • When the resin has partially set (while still green), the hole is re-drilled and filled again. A twisted heli-fix bar is wound into the hole and any excess resin is wiped clean.
  • The final holes should overlap the end of the fracture by 2-300mm to deter further cracking.

 

Longitudinal fracture repair methodology:

  • A Longitudinal fracture is one that simply runs from floor to floor or part thereof across the Arch and is not considered too critical to the integrity of the Arch as all it is doing is forming a construction joint and the Arch is still doing its job.
  • The repair consists of removing any debris, damping down the joint, sand/cement/lime mortar filling the joint and introduce a date tab to show if the gap has widened when it is next examined.

 

Of course, this is just the beginning of a long process of repair works that we are given to undertake, we assist a wide variety of surveying companies with specialist labour to undertake these initial surveys along with highly specialised teams to carry out the repairs. Not only can we carry out these structural repairs to the arches we can also assist with further programmes of works, from strip out, refit, M&E works and more.

We have a passion here at AW Rail for the regeneration and reuse of the arches that form part of the vast rail infrastructure across the UK, aligning with many recycling initiatives that we have formed with our clients for the reuse of essential construction materials, like timber, brick and stone.

If you would like to know more about our arch projects then please do get in touch. Once again, many thanks to Edward and the staff from AmcoGiffen for their assistance and ongoing support to our teams

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