Broom Lane Bridge Replacement Project

Friday, 3 April 2026

Wednesday

Today was more finishing off, brick work, preparing for waterproofing, backfilling and back of wall drainage.

A few aerial photos shared by our Contractor Beaver Bridges

It's good to have a different view of the site

Best wishes

Mark D.

Tuesday

It's Tuesday after the Thursday (bridge lift) before!!!

Whilst the biggest visual part of the project has happened we now need to focus on bringing the bridge into use.

First of all we need to address the rear of wall drainage (behind the abutment wall and Cill Beams), if we didn't do this now, we think it will cause issues later and whilst there's a large excavation it makes complete sense.

During the time on site for the bridge lift, our Principal Designer come up with a plan, which we swiftly moved onto a Teams Meeting to get our Civil Engineering Manager's approval, which he very kindly gave.

The question now was, who does this work, as it stood Beaver Bridges weren't down to do it, as previously the Railway said it would undertake the work. It's a big ask of our volunteers so I took the decision to ask Beaver Bridges to undertake the work (for an additional sum), they sprung into action, measuring the area and ordering the required materials.

The next question, how do you get 90 x 1 ton bags to Broom Lane, roughly half each side! - Luckily Clive from Chris Hobden's Wednesday gang was on site and agreed to arrange a train, with 360 driver Mick and works train driver Steve. I am extremely grateful to them for helping at short notice, it's very much appreciated. For the Groombridge side (remember there's no rail bridge), were delivered to site and lifted into place with the telehandler. So works train the East side materials to site.

Plan - Materials get delivered to TWW on Tuesday (PM slot requested), direct load as many as possible from the lorry to train, the works train then delivers to site. I think the second delivery went on Wednesday. Beaver Bridges Contracts Manager oversaw the TWW delivery and escorted the materials down on the train. Whoever said trains can't bring a smile to a man's face is wrong!!!

Some photos of the day below:

Notice the new brickwork, which blends very well with the Existing, great brickwork from Beavers :-)

The start of the drainage with backfill ready to be laid and compacted. In future posts you should notice the hardwork in this area.

Work starting on returning the Scouts field as much as we possibly can. The new seed will take time to grow etc.

Beaver Bridges even donated the material used for the crane pad to the Scouts for use on their site. They could've resold this back. Thank you!

Inside the brickwork, nice and strong to retain the ballast.

Best wishes

Mark D.

Tuesday, 31 March 2026

Day 31 - 29th March 2026

Sunday

The work hasn't slowed down since the bridge deck install, it's just as full on.

This weekend Beavers were working on Grouting, tidying up around the bridge install, whilst their sub contractor Volker Laser were on site applying the waterproofing.

You may have heard that the works won't be ready in time for the Easter weekend, this is something the Project Team are sad about, however we shouldn't rush the remaining jobs.

We need to ensure the rear of wall drainage is correct, as having to dig up at a later date will be very expensive.

In the next few days Beaver Bridges with help from our own Wednesday Team (who have gone the extra mile to help the Project - Thank you!), will be installing the drainage and then suitable material which will be compacted behind the walls.

We now need to focus on demoblising from site and returning the Scouts field to it's previous condition, this is a very important part of the project and must be done correctly. The Scouts have been ever so supportive - Thank you!

In addition, we also need to ensure the driveway to the private house is kept in good condition. The home owners have also been extremely supportive, it's without this crucial engagement with our neighbours (stakeholders in management speak), that has helped the project immensely.

I only have a couple of photos from Sunday!

Best wishes

Mark D.

Saturday, 28 March 2026

Day 28 26th March 2026

Thursday

It's bridge lift day, the pinnacle moment of what we've all been working for, the biggest visual update on progress and a monumental moment for our Railway.

The lift was due to take place just after 09:00, I didn't hide that mornings aren't great for me, but made the effort and arrived on site for 09:00 exactly.

The Railway's photographer - David Staines and Principal Designer - Peter Brown were already on site.

The weather conditions were on our side a nice bright, dry day which was a contrast to the previous day.

They did a few test lifts early to check things out, and did various tasks to prepare for the big event. It became clear that methodology had been tweaked and that the lift was an hour away. I don't recall the exact reason as I write this, it was best to let the Team continue with their work, rather than interupt.

Our Contractor - Beaver Bridges, trusted the client team and were afforded access to the entire area, whilst adhering to the site rules for which I am very grateful.

As it neared to lunch time, a few of us began to get hungry but no one wanted to leave site and miss the lift!!! A slight hiccup made it clear that enough time was available to make a lunch run, so some made the dash for food!

As the afternoon went on two HGV's arrived from Emerson's the crane hire company, to collect the counter weights, but the lift hadn't taken place. The Scouts were expecting visitors from 16:00 and I had visions of the site becoming congested and needing to consider our Stakeholder's requirements. I asked everyone to bunch their cars up to save space, which everyone very kindly did.

The Crane comes with two driver/operators, one in the crane and the other in the support vehicle, which they then take turns. I asked if the support vehicle driver would be able to help with traffic flow in the carpark and he readily agreed, which was a relief. Upto a 150 scouts arriving/leaving could've been an issue.

The next issue for the site team to tackle was, one of the lorry drivers would run our of hours at 19:00 and needed to be back at their depot by that time, which I understand is in Essex. Time is ticking on, it's gone 16:00 now.

The lift actually took place around 16:30 - 16:45, by this time I was very tired and in pain, but equally relived to see the bridge deck being lifted. The process took 15 to 20 mins, the large movement from compound to above highway was quick, it's the alignment work and resting into place which takes the time.

Once in place there's a flurry of activity to check if everything is ok, this also included our very own Principal Designer, who spotted alongside the Contracts Manager a slight issue, which resulted in the bridge being lifted up again and hovering a little over the site.

The crane operation is impressive, with hand signals from the site. I imagine the controls are of a joystick style as the operators skill made it look simple, but I'm sure it wasn't.

I think by the time all the checks had been done and everyone was satisfied, it was close to 18:00 and the light beginning to go.

We all stood for a Team photo, many on the bridge deck but I couldn't climb upto it and I knew my limitations, so stood on the side. The photo is a little dark which reflects the site conditions, but what a relief and a sterling effort by everyone.

Just after the photos, I took the liberty of addressing all those involved, the Beavers Team and site Management and our own Spa Valley Team. I thanked everyone very much for their hard work and how much of a positive impact the work is for us. They'd done a very long day, I didn't drag out, but got a reassuring thumbs up from a Beavers chap, which was very nice.

I signed out at 19:00 a mere 10 hours on site, absolutely worn out/exhausted but equally elated at what everyone had achieved and humbled in the faith everyone had in me. THANK YOU!

A selection of photos from the day below, there are more but have people in and I want to check before publishing.