Latest News

Latest News
(03/11/2004)

By Roger Leishman, Restoration Director

December 2004

At our work party in early November the bund at the end of Phase I was completed. I do not think that all of us who had laboured so hard since 1997 could believe that all that remains, apart from a small snagging list, is the removal of the bund. Many thanks to all who have put in so much time and effort over the seven years.

Phase I The outstanding works are covered in the 'work to be done' column on page 5 but the date for re-watering is provisional as BW have just put a national embargo on all plant working on the banks of waterways under their jurisdiction. There was an unfortunate accident last month on the Kennet & Avon Canal when two contractor's men, both in the cab, were operating a BW machine that fell into the canal and both were drowned.

Our Health & Safety Co-ordinator, Ray Orth, had already carried out Risk Assessments and prepared a Method Statement for the re-watering before this embargo came into operation. We have now sent full details of these to BW with a request that they give approval by the end of January 2005 to our proceeding in March 2005 or the Trust will have to postpone the re-watering until BW give clearance to go ahead at a later date.

Given that re-watering does go ahead in March, the programme is as follows:

Thursday 3rd March 2005

Install stop planks at Tringford Stop Lock and pump out water in new canal bed between the lock and Little Tring Bridge. Once stop planks are in place, pump out the stop lock chamber.

Friday 4th/Saturday 5th March 2005

With an excavator, remove the bund in the stop lock, placing surplus spoil in the new canal bed between the lock and Little Tring Bridge and hardcore in Tringford BW Yard using tracked dumpers to transport the material.

Sunday 6th March 2005

Not before 10am, remove top stop plank and re-water new length of canal including the former winding hole.

Monday 7th March 2005

Replace top stop plank for test of new waterproofing until BW clearance is given to re-open to navigation, hopefully at Easter 2005. Clear hardcore from BW Tringford Yard.

It must be noted that, even if work commences on the above dates, no guarantee can be given that the re-watering will take place on the Sunday as this is an engineering operation that must be carefully conducted and delays can arise due to unforeseen circumstances

In the October Working Party News, I stated that when the new stretch is open for navigation, a working boat and a butty will follow the first two boats through. These will carry work party volunteers but I have been reminded that the maximum number of persons on each of these must not exceed twelve including the crew. Those of you who have seen the pictures of Band of Hope outings on the Arm over 100 years ago when it was still in water will recall that the working boats were packed with people from stem to stern!

Phase II

There is great interest, now Phase I is virtually complete, in the proposals for Phase II so I intend to devote most of this issue to the plans so far developed.

An initial problem that had to be tackled was what to do with the 18" pipe carrying the water from Wendover under the canal bed when it becomes redundant after re-watering. Initial ideas were to fill the pipe in or grout it with cement as restoration progressed from the Drayton Beauchamp end. At one of our Restoration Committee meetings Eddy Evans suggested leaving the pipe alone and capping the trench, that is cut into hard chalk strata, with a reinforced concrete raft to prevent subsidence in the event of the pipe collapsing. This also has the advantage of providing a drain under the waterproof bed of the canal to relieve any build up of hydraulic pressure from groundwater under the canal bed. At present this is the favoured option. Great care will have to be taken not to damage the pipe during our operations especially west of Whitehouses where it is not so deep. Fortunately the line of the trench mainly hugs the offside of the bed so our temporary roadway will be kept tight to the towpath bank.

Various options for waterproof re-lining of the canal have been considered, all based on a layer of Bentomat under the canal bed. Particular considerations are to present an environmentally friendly finish and to minimise the amount of excavated material that has to be removed from site. Ron Pittaway has been researching the practicalities and costs of various options with suppliers and we have had initial discussions with John Kearsey, the BW engineer overseeing our project. Apart from constructing narrows for three bridges, selected mooring lengths, a towpath wall at Little Tring through the old rubbish tip and the capping to the pipe trench, the use of concrete has been kept to a minimum. This is because of the difficult (especially in winter) and lengthy access from Little Tring, up to 1800 metres from the entrance track to the new sump at Drayton Beauchamp.

At Little Tring, because of the ground conditions on the towpath side, it will be necessary to extend the Phase I towpath wall as far as the cart track entrance where bridge narrows will be constructed for a possible swing/lift bridge in the future. The offside will be to the general Phase II specification. We will need some small work parties to inspect and repair the timber formwork that has stood 150 base pours for Phase I !

There are also narrows for two new footbridges, No.4 to replace the former swing bridge No 4 at Whitehouses and No 4a for a footpath crossing west of Whitehouses. These bridges are a priority for public safety reasons when plant is travelling along the dry bed.

Four locations on straight lengths of the Arm in Phase II have been identified as short term mooring sites and it is proposed to provide about 30 metres of reinforced concrete wall for easy mooring. In general it is not proposed to lower the high level of the towpath because of spoil disposal costs but over these mooring lengths the towpath will be lowered to a normal height above water level as in Phase I.

There are also two locations where weirs/sluices will be required. One at Whitehouses to replace the present sluice from the pipeline, the other where the pipeline leaves the canal bed to cut across the fields to Tringford Pumping Station.

For the general run of the canal, this is the proposed cross-section:

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The construction procedure is as follows:

· Excavate to the profile shown by the red line above and 150mm extra for the reinforced concrete slab over the pipe trench. A typical profile of existing ground level is shown by a broken line.

· Cast the reinforced concrete slab over the pipe trench using carefully batched concrete mixed on site with an impervious layer underneath and using poker vibrators.

· Line with Bentomat as shown in red using felt cover under and over as required. Bentomat laid in two halves with horizontal overlap in centre of canal

· Cover the base of the canal with spoil fill

· Lay 2m x 3m x 230mm deep mattress gabions on sloping banks. These have diaphragms every metre across but these will be supplemented with additional diaphragms at half metre intervals up to water level so as to give additional stability to the spoil fill. The base of the mattress gabion is buried and anchored above water level in the bank

. · There will now be 260mm x 500mm horizontal pockets 2m wide that will be lined with Bidium Geotextile on the bottom and up the lower upstand with a flap to cover compacted spoil placed in the pocket. The Bidium is to retain the spoil in the mattress gabion under the mesh lid when it is in place and also to stop migration of spoil down the slope.

· When water level is reached, the spoil is also covered with a layer of Biomac C, sheet coir fibre that is ideal as a planting medium at and above water level.

· When filling is complete, the lid of the mattress gabion is secured in place over the protected spoil and anchored round a horizontal bar with securing pins.

· The spoil on the bed of canal, which will have been compressed by the use of plant over it, is topped up and left at finished level.

This process will be carried out in discrete lengths, probably 100 metres at a time.

It is suggested that re-watering is carried out in stages by installing stop planks and a bund at the footbridges 4 and 4a and breaking the bund at the new sump at Drayton Beauchamp but still allowing the water to go down the sump at Drayton Beauchamp but gradually raising the water level towards final navigational level.

I am sure there will be many queries from our readers and I will endeavour to answer these for all to see in the next issue.

The Trust Council have already authorised the first 50 metres of relining. This will enable us to evaluate both the firm cost and practicalities of the proposed specification.

Donations

We are most grateful for three recent donations.

Nigel Williams' wife has recently wound up her legal firm and generously donated £100 of surplus funds to the Trust. Thank you Mrs Williams.

Dennis Harding of Harding Mini Mix Concrete donated the last pour of ready-mix concrete for Phase I free of charge, equivalent to a donation of £337.50 to the Trust. Thank you Dennis Bill

Gleig of Tring had hoped to join us at our work parties but has been unable to do so. Instead he has sent us a donation of £200 towards Phase II. Thank you Bill.

Web Site

The address of the Trust web site managed by Oliver Revel is:

http://www.wendovercanal.plus.com

General Notes.

All volunteers receive and sign for the Trust's Restoration Manual that includes full Health and Safety requirements covering the restoration works.The Manual is the property of the trust; if you leave the district or leave the work parties for any other reason, please return the Manual to either Ray Orth or myself.

Hard hats for use at all times and high visibility jackets to be worn on sites with mobile plant in use are kept in the store at Tringford and must be drawn/returned there.One first aid kit is kept in the store; another is kept in the VW transporter for use on site. Also available in the transporter are ear defenders and goggles that must be worn when strimming, angle grinders. Concrete breakers and the like.

David Barratt is now our qualified First-Aider. ( And even if he is not on site, lives nearby and can be contacted on 01442 822523 if he is at home.

My mobile phone number at working parties is 07850-170858. It is not always left on continuously but has a message facility that I check from time to time. We normally work from 10am to 5pm (or dark if earlier!) other than times when we are hiring plant or taking delivery of ready-mix concrete early in the morning when some volunteers are asked to start at 9am. There are breaks for morning coffee/tea, packed lunch and afternoon tea/coffee. We take our own food and drinks. However, do not feel bound by these times, as half a day is better than no help at all. We have an electric kettle and tea urn at the hut: also there is an outside tap for drinking water.

THE OCTOBER WORKING WEEK

LAYING BENTOMAT THURSDAY TO SUNDAY	ON SUNDAY NIGHT THERE WAS TORRENTIAL RAIN AND THIS WAS THE SIGHT THAT MET US ON MONDAY MORNING!

The weather was kind to us and, after pumping out some water, we were able to cut, lay and then roll back out of the way for concreting all the Bentomat right up to the end of Phase I.	At 8am on Monday morning there was a hasty re-scheduling of ready-mix deliveries and, after pumping out the water and progressively re-making the bed with all-in ballast, concreting commenced 10.30am. We had hoped to run the ready-mix lorries directly onto the canal bed but had to transfer it to dumpers. Morgans Plant Hire came to the rescue with an additional dumper Monday mid-day. The use of dumpers over the uncovered bed where it was still wet caused heavy rutting

CONCRETING UNDER WAY	THE LAST LOAD OF READY-MIX IN PHASE I

Pouring ready-mix continued through Tuesday but the delay on Monday plus the need to remake the bed under the Bentomat where it was rutted by the dumpers meant an extra day at short notice – very many thanks to the volunteers who were able to come on the unscheduled Wednesday and also Hardings who re-arranged their schedule to supply 8 loads of ready	This arrived at 5.20pm on the Wednesday evening, took 20 minutes to unload and was all finished off by 6pm. Those of us on site could hardly believe this was the last pour of Phase I – the first load was poured on 22nd April 1999 and was for the base of the wall on the right in the picture above.

A ROW OF VERY SATISFIED VOLUNTEERS AT THE END OF THE DAY!

(The missing one only has his shadow in the picture, guess who?)

Phase I Completion

Although we have had some delays from the weather this year, we have been very lucky in that all of our recent work parties have missed the extended wet periods and we look like completing Phase I construction work on schedule in 2004. On 21st/22nd October, a work party placed most of the outstanding spoil on the bed of the new lining but the volume of water that had to be pumped out first and a series of dumper tyre punctures meant that the work could not be completed. The following programme, subject to weather etc, is proposed to complete the major construction work for Phase I.

> Thursday 4th and Friday 5th November 2004. Complete placing the spoil fill over the bottom of the bed.

>Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th November 2004. Construct the bund (dam) at the end of the Phase I lining. The bed has 6” of concrete cover right across for the last 9 metres and spoil will be placed in this length with a core of Bentonite sealed with Bentonite granules to the concrete base and walls.

As well as the major works, there are some minor works still to be completed:

> Level the towpath between the lock and the bridge, placing surplus spoil behind the new toe wall at the bridge; lay paviours on the towpath under the bridge; clear the towpath steps at the bridge and improve the footpath on the offside at the bottom of the brick steps.

>New hedge plants to be planted where there are gaps in the old towpath hedge and where there have been a few failures in the new towpath hedge. Ken Graves has ordered 150 plants for planting over the December work party, Saturday 4th/Sunday5th December 2004.

>Brickwork and capping for the Tim Wilkinson plaque.

Phase I in water

This brings us to the actual re-watering that has been scheduled for the March work party but it must be noted that it is provisional in that it cannot be guaranteed that the actual re-watering will take place on the Sunday: Ray Orth has drafted a Method Statement for the removal of the bund and copies of the final version will be given to BW and all volunteers on site for the operation.

>Thursday 3rd March 2005. Install the stop planks at Tringford stop lock. Those of you who were present when the bund was reinforced in October 2000 will remember that this is a difficult task, as the bottom of the lock has to be cleared of silt using water jets so that the bottom plank sits firmly on the concrete base. The water will also be pumped out of the new channel to facilitate the placing of spoil from the bund.

>Friday 4th/Saturday 5th March 2005. Pump out the lock, remove the bund and steel piling at the end of the stop lock placing spoil in the bed of the new lining towards Little Tring Bridge and hardcore in skips in Tringford Pumping Station Yard. During these two days the shallow shelf in the winding hole will be planted with aquatic plants previously sourced from the Wendover end of the canal.

>Sunday 6th March 2005. The top stop plank will be removed to allow water to weir over into the new length of canal. This will not commence before 10am and filling should be completed during the day. When filling is complete, the top plank will be replaced so that BW can monitor for leakage over the next 30 days or such period satisfies them that there are no leaks.

The new stretch will be open for navigation when BW give their clearance and it has been arranged that the Vice-President, Roger Lewis and myself will take our boats through first followed by a working boat and a butty. These will carry all work party volunteers (including WRG BITM, WRG Essex, KESCRG and Newbury Work Party), WAT Council members, Festival and all other WAT helpers who are attending and not bringing their own boats for the event. This is not an official opening but is bound to be a red letter day as far as WAT and its supporters are concerned.

Phase II

The level survey for Phase II was finally completed at the September six day party. A level peg has been concreted in every 100 metres from Little Tring to Drayton Beauchamp. After careful checking and rechecking the closing error between the Ordnance Survey benchmarks at Little Tring Cottages and St Mary’s Church at Drayton Beauchamp was 18mm (3/4”).

Discussions are currently in progress and it is hoped to agree a specification with BW for the first 50 metres at Drayton Beauchamp that has been authorised by the WAT Council. The agreed cross-section will be published in this Newsletter. Typical cross-sections have been surveyed and it is hoped that the amount of surplus spoil will not be as great as was once feared.

As previously reported in Issue 43, June 2004, it is proposed to install timber footbridges at the two footpath crossings over the present dry bed. These will be an early priority in Phase II and are scheduled for completion in 2005 as soon as agreement has been reached with BW and the Footpath Authority (Herts County Council represented by the Dacorum Borough Council Footpaths Officer).

BW is also going to flail the dry bed during the winter so avoiding a long and arduous manual strimming of a mile of dry bed. There is still a loose stump to be moved up to Little Tring and it is intended to do this on 4th/5th November next as well as some general levelling of the canal bed.

Web Site

The address of the Trust web site managed by Oliver Revel is:

http://wendovercanal.org.uk/

General Notes.

David Barratt is now our qualified First-Aider. ( And even if he is not on site, lives nearby and can be contacted on 01442 822523 if he is at home.

AUGUST WORKING WEEK

THE NINE DAY AUGUST WORKING WEEK	During the week a team worked hard constructing the shallow shelf at the winding hole.

POURING SOME OF THE 470 TONNES OF READYMIX	DRY STONE WALLERS HARD AT WORK ON FILLING THE GABIONS

As I write this looking at the present indifferent and often wet weather I marvel at our luck during the August working week (nine days!) when we had extremely hot weather only broken on the Tuesday evening by a torrential thunderstorm.

BY TUESDAY THE CONCRETING WAS WELL AWAY FROM THE BRIDGE AND THE BENTOMAT LAYING TEAM WERE NEARING THE WINDING HOLE	Excavating in the winding hole.

The completed work by Sunday afternoon after nine days of hard work exceeded everyone's expectations. Having started at the bridge narrows, Bentomat was laid right up to the nose of the winding hole and covered with ready-mix concrete to within 15 metres of the nose of the winding hole. The shallow offside underwater shelf was completed with gabions over the Bentomat and covered in soil ready for planting just prior to re-watering.

REAL PROGRESS - THE END OF A NINE DAY WEEK!

During the nine days, hoggin removed from the ramp in the winding hole was used to fill pot holes along our temporary entrance road. (This hoggin was originally infill to the demolished Little Tring Bridge and was part of the spoil from the bridge that was to have been carted off site at a cost of around £8,000; The Trust saved this cost by having the spoil dumped on site.)

As much excavation as possible was completed in the winding hole just leaving the temporary ramp for the ready-mix lorries. The toe wall by Little Tring Bridge was completed and a base cast for the plinth for the Tim Wilkinson plaque. Another ten rolls of Bentomat were delivered and stored. For those of you with a passion for statistics:

.We laid nearly 2,000 square metres of Bentomat lining.

· We laid 213 cubic metres of ready-mix concrete, 470 tonnes in weight and delivered in 47 loads, on two days 10 loads were delivered.

· We completed the lining of 180 linear metres of canal bed; from the bridge narrows to the winding hole

· From the towpath wall to the nose of the winding hole is 100 feet

On Monday 2 August we also installed milepost zero at Bulbourne Junction and this was followed by a short ceremony and a BBQ in the evening - see the Wendover Arm News for the flull story.

For this magnificent effort we have to thank not only the Trust's restoration volunteers but KESCRG who came for our July weekend and cut and rolled all the Bentomat for our nine day stint in August and BITM who held the week long camp in August as well as a BITM weekend on the second weekend. There were over twenty volunteers on site every day, half from the Trust and half from BITM. My personal thanks to everyone who made this extended work party such a success; such was the pace of work that it was not possible for me to spare time to complete the longitudinal levels through Phase II that was part of my programme.

Proeramme for completion of Phase I

It does not seem seven years since we started work on Phase I in 1997, exactly 200 years after the Arm first opened in 1797 but at last the end of this Phase is in sight. The following programme of work depends very much on the weather but we will make every effort to complete the lining before the winter weather.

September weekend ( Friday 3rd September to Monday 6th September 2004

On the Friday, if the ground conditions permit, unroll the Bentomat already fixed in the winding hole and cover with ready-mix, carrying on into Saturday morning if necessary. Also on the Friday carry on with profiling the winding hole yet to be completed apart from the ready-mix lorry ramp. Once all the ready-mix has been delivered:

> Complete the excavation and profiling to the end of Phase I and form a new ramp at least 40 metres into the present car park area. The road behind the winding hole wall will also be linked to this ramp.

> Cut and roll all the Bentomat pieces required to complete Phase I

If the ground conditions are unsuitable for ready-mix lorries on the Friday and using a dumper for transporting the ready-mix is not practicable, this work will be abandoned and excavation, profiling and cutting/rolling Bentomat will start on the Friday leaving the ready-mix for another day. You will see from the dates for working parties that Pete Bowers has planned several days that will be used to catch up on laying ready-mix if necessary.

Sunday September 12th (sponsored walk) and Monday13th September 2004

Carry on with excavation and profiling to completion. Cut and roll Bentomat not already done.

Concreting Work Party Thursday 30th September /Friday 1st in October 2004

Weather permitting, all outstanding ready-mix will be laid to the end of Phase 1

October weekend (Saturday 2nd/Sunday 3rd/Monday 4th October 2004)

If everything has gone according to plan, the final lining and bund at the end of Phase I will be completed; if not this work will carry over to the November weekend.

November weekend Saturday 6th/sunday7th November

If everything has gone according to plan this weekend will be devoted to general clearing up including backfilling the ramp behind the new bund, tidying up the spoil tip and any towpath work required before the winter.

Phase I in water

There are several factors that will determine when we re-water Phase I.

>The best time for BW to release the volume of water required.

>The need to plant the shallow underwater shelf just before re-watering

>Stoppages affecting those who wish to have their boats ready to be among the first through the Look after re-watering.

The Trust's Restoration Committee will be meeting on September 21st the October Working Party News will have up-to-date information on this subject.

Phase 1 Towpath hedge

There are some gaps in this hedge and a few of the plants have died and require replacing. Ken Graves is arranging for plants to be ready for a planting session at our December Working Party.

It is planned to remove the spiral protectors and trim top growth in the Spring at the March 2005 Working Party.

Phase 2

It is hoped to complete the level survey on the 5th/6th September 2004 so that designs and estimates can be prepared. The Trust Council have given financial authority to proceed with 50 metres of Phase 2 relining from the new sump at Drayton Beauchamp and it is hoped to commence work in the spring of 2005. The Bentomat just delivered includes enough for 50 linear metres of canal bed. Completion of this length will confirm or otherwise the validity of the design/estimate proposals.

Phase II also includes the provision of two footbridges where public footpaths cross the canal bed and it is essential that these be erected as soon as possible so as to keep the public clear of our operations rather than have to provide safety staff at both locations when we are working. Ron Pittaway is actively in discussion with two firms that supply timber bridges of this type. Initial enquiries suggest costs in the order of £10,000 for each bridge, including forming narrows and foundations, with the bridge supplied ready to assemble.

Web Site

The address of the Trust web site managed by Oliver Revel is:

http://www.wendovercanal.plus.com

I regularly receive praise of our web site, usually by e-mail. Well done Olly.

Tring/Wendover Festival 2004

I am pleased to report that the figure of £45,000 that I reported as this year's profit has been amended by our Treasurer, John Brooman, to somewhat nearer £47,500.

Site Security

We have had more unwelcome visitors to the site, who broke into a car and stole a key for a dumper. We have also found a BW padlock on the outer gate was sawn through and the inner gate chain was missing. Nothing was taken from site. Please inform the Police of any incident, no matter how trivial. The police have asked for this. We have removed the BW lock from the inner gate and replaced it with one of our new padlocks. Duplicate keys have gone to all volunteers who hold a tringford hut and gate key. We have also had more people dumping at the entrance gate. For car safety and such, please now park you cars up behind the winding hole. We also had an invasion of the festival site by travellers. We have now excavated trenches at both entrance gates and the gap in the hedge. Let's hope that this will prevent further trespassing.

General Notes.

David Barratt is now our qualified First-Aider. ( And even if he is not on site, lives nearby and can be contacted on 01442 822523 if he is at home.

JUNE 2004

First and foremost we have to congratulate the Trust's Festival Committee and all their helpers for yet another record breaking result. John Brooman tells me that the net profit from this year's Festival will be in the order of £45,000, yes forty five thousand pounds! It does make all the effort worthwhile. I enclose a copy of a letter from the Trust Chairman, Bob Wheal, to all of you who joined the work parties over the Festival.

Our 'other halves' running the Lock Cafe' again took over £1,000 with a net profit of £912, up on last year. Adrian Bull(ied) just over £500 from unwary visitors, amongst other items selling an old lock paddle found in the bed of the canal for £25. He also sold 26 copies of Water from Wendover, a further £104 for the Trust.

Restoration progresses according to plan but the programme to completion is still subject to the weather.

Ron Pittaway and his weekday volunteers have lined and concreted the bridge narrows well past Little Tring Bridge despite adverse weather conditions during April/May.

During the Festival three excavators and four dumpers, to paraphrase Waterways World, 'danced' their way from the bridge with excavation to base of wall level as far as the winding hole and completed profiling for laying the Bentomat liner well over halfway to the winding hole. Another excavator and dumper operated on the shallow shelf between the end of the offside wall and the winding hole wall and over half the length of the shelf up to the temporary access road to the spoil tip was lined with Bentomat, the underwater gabions laid and filled with stone and the shelf and bank above filled with spoil and topsoil. Trevor Dodge, our retired bricklayer, with Pete Bowers completed over half the toe wall by the towpath steps at Little Tring bridge using Ember Blend bricks to match the bridge with lime mortar to the BW specification. They intend to complete the work and, subject to IWA Restoration Comrmittee design approval. build the plinth for the Tim Wilkinson plaque during the first week of August.

JuIy weekend (Friday 2nd Jully to Sundav 4th July 2004)

Ray Orth is looking after this weekend in my absence cruising and the aim is to complete the profiling ready for laying Bentomat right up to the winding hole ramp to the spoil tip. KESCRG are helping us on the Saturday and Sunday and it is the intention to cut lengths of Bentomat ready for the August working week; Ken Graves, with help, to erect the three new information boards (if delivered in time) and Eddy Evans will be breaking up/laying concrete for surfacing the road behind the winding hole wall.

It will be a great help if all volunteers able to assist during this work party let Ray know in advance if they have not already done so.

August working week (Saturdav 31st July to Sunday 8th August 2004)

BITM are joining us for a nine day 'week' at the beginning of August and the main aim is to lay and cover with concrete and/or spoil all the area prepared from the bridge narrows to the winding hole. I have already booked two 4½ cubic metre ready-mix lorries from the Monday onwards to provide a turn-round supply of ready-mix concrete so it will be all hands to the shovels. If the weather is dry, the lorries can discharge directly onto the Bentomat but if weather conditions make the ground too slippery, we will have to resort to transfer by dumper and this slows things up.

Another team will be required to fix rolls of Bentomat to the walls ready for unrolling across the bed as the concreting progresses. A delivery of another 10 rolls of Bentomat has been ordered for Monday 2nd August.

A third team will be operating an excavator and dumpers to remove the temporary ramp across the winding hole; profile the winding hole ready for Bentomat and complete the shallow shelf including gabions and backfill.

Finally, I hope that there will be enough volunteers on site to assist me with the longitudinal and cross section level survey for Phase II. This will enable us to agree a trial design for the first 50 metres with BW and finalise the Phase ll estimate.

It will be a great help if all volunteers able to assist during this work party let me know in advance s/they have not already done so. Please contact me on my mobile 07850 170858

On the Monday evening (2 August) at 7.3Opm there will be a short ceremony at the junction of the Arm with the main line at Bulbourne to install the missing milepost that once stood at this spot. It is inscribed "BRAUNSTON 55 ¼ MILES WENDOVER 6 ¼ MILES" You will probably already have read the story of how it was lost and found and it is going to be reinstated at this ceremony by Canon Roger Davies who has restored it to its former glory. Afterwards it is suggested that we have a BBQ at the adjacent BW picnic site.

September weekend (Friday 3rd September to Monday 6th September 2004)

If everything to date has gone according to plan, this weekend (four days Friday to Monday to allow for ready-mix deliveries) will see the completion of excavation ready for lining right through to the end of Phase I and as much concrete/spoil cover as possible.

September12th sonsored waIk

We have been asked to arrange a work party on this day for the benefit of those taking part in the sponsored walk in aid of restoration funds. We will be cutting/laying Bentomat for the final area of Phase I and completing any outstanding excavation.

October weekend Saturday 2nd/Sunday 3rd October 2004+ ?Friday /?Monday

If everything has gone according to plan, the final lining and bund at the end of Phase I will be completed; if not, this work will carry over to the November weekend.

Phasse 1 in water

There are several factors that will determine when we re-water Phase I

>The best time for BW to release the volume of water required

>The need to plant the shallow underwater shelf just before re-watering

> Stoppages affecting volunteers who wish to have their boats ready to be among the first through the lock after re-watering

The Trust's Restoration Committee will be meeting in September so the October Working Patty News will have up-to-date information on this subject.

Phase II As mentioned above, ft is hoped to cpmplete the level survey during August so that designs and estimates can be prepared. The Trust Council have given financial authority to proceed with 50 metres of Phase II relining from the new sump at Drayton Beauchamp and it is hoped to commence work in the spring of 2005. The order of Bentomat this August includes enough for 50 metres of canal bed. Completion of this length will confirm or otherwise the validity of the dcsign/estimate proposals.

Phase II also includes the provision of two footbridges where public footpaths cross the canal bed and it is essential that these be erected as soon as possible so as to keep the public clear of our operations rather than have to provide safety staff at both locations when we are working. I recently saw a timber footbridge that I felt was appropriate for our rural location and Ron Pittaway is actively in discussion with two finns that supply bridges of this type. Initial enquiries suggest costs in the order.of £7,500 to £12,500 for each bridge depending on whether we erect from raw timber or have the bridge supplied ready to assemble.

This is the bridge that I saw on the Welford Arm of the Leicester Branch of the Grand Union Canal.

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One of these bridges will be the Pat Saunders Bridge at the Whitehouses crossing, replacing what was once swing bridge No.4, the other further towards Drayton Beauchamp is where a public footpath has been designated since the canal was de-watered and will be Bridge No. 4A. I have already asked Dacorum Borough Council for a financial contribution towards No. 4A but they require firm estimates before making a decision to help the Trust.

Web Site

The address of the Trust web site managed by Oliver Revel is: www.wendovercanal.plus.com

IWA Chiltern Branch Weekend to the BCN Friday 24th /Sunday 26th September 2004

If anyone still wants to join this weekend excursion please contact Colin Bird on 01932 248178

General Notes.

David Barratt is now our qualified First-Aider. ( And even if he is not on site, lives nearby and can be contacted on 01442 822523 if he is at home.

Letter from the Trust Chairman,

Monday 7" June 2004

Wendover Canal Fesival 2004

I know John B is busy counting the proceeds from the Festival, so I am taking this opportunity to offer a simple (but big) thank you for your help and contribution at this years event. For once the weather was kind proving again you cannot blindly believe the forecasts. Gate receipts may not have hit the dizzy heights of last year but were well up, with the car park full on occasions on both days. It would be unfair to single out specific people who helped, but it was obvious that the Bar, Tea Tent, Boat and Site Management each performed with accustomed professionalism. With many other individuals working hard, the net result was yet another successful Festival. In particular, please pass on the Trust's thanks to the restoration Team and to the Lock Cafe Team for their hard work and support over the weekend. Thank you once again for your support.

Yours faithfully, Wendover Arm Trust

Bob Wheal

WAT Chitiarnan

April 2004

Two more milestones have been reached in the progress of our Wendover Arm Restoration.

The lining between the stop lock and Little Tring Bridge is now complete. This work, funded by the IWA Grand Junction Region Branches, only needs the final touches to the towpath and a small toe wall to the bank by the bridge.

While we had to suspend lining work during the winter due to weather conditions, the work of clearing the 1 ¼ mile dry bed for Phase II has now been completed apart from a few ash trees that had to be left because of high winds and deep roots. It is now possible to drive plant all the way from Little Tring to the new sump near Drayton Beauchamp Bridge.

Recent wet weather has slowed down the lining work, mainly due to the state of the temporary access road making delivery of ready-mix concrete difficult. Deliveries have had to be taken by dumper from the car park area right through to Little Tring Bridge. Nevertheless Ron Pittaway and his Tuesday work parties are aiming to place and cover lining as and when the weather permits. At the work party weekend at the beginning of May we are going to concentrate on excavation towards the winding hole, profiling the bed for more lining during May on weekdays.

At the same time as working from the stop lock, profiling of the shallow shelf adjacent to the winding hole, about 60 metres long, is proceeding well mainly thanks to Phill Cardy of BITM who has given up several long weekends to help us on an excavator. At the early May weekend we hope to complete all the profiling between the offside wall below the footpath through to the temporary ramp up to our tip.

Because of delivery and price problems, we have agreed with John Kearsey, our SW project liaison engineer, to change the design of the offside shallow shelf from 450mm diameter rock rolls to 500mm x 500mm stone filled gabions. We will be laying Bentomat and these gabions as well as backfilling the shelf with suitable material in parallel with the lining work from the bridge.

The excavation and profiling from the bridge to the winding hole is a major exercise and we have already ordered 4 excavators and 4 dumpers for the Festival weekend when we hope to break the back of this work. To ensure a full roster of excavator drivers, BITM have agreed to supply two drivers and we.will replace them with two of our volunteers to help them with car parking etc. if this leaves them short handed. Ray Orth will continue this excavation at the early July work party.

Eddy Evans has completed the safety barrier along the top of the winding hole wall ready for use as access to our tip when the temporary ramp across the shallow shelf has to be removed. Only the final surfacing work is required.

Hopefully, by the end of July when BITM come for their week's camp with us, excavation will be far ahead enough to allow a mass onslaught on laying Bentomat through to the winding hole. We will be booking a continuous supply of ready-mix concrete and hope that the weather will allow us to shoot the concrete directly on to the lining where it is wanted.

When BITM visited us in March (due to a cancellation of their booked weekend elsewhere) apart from completing work on the Phase II clearance, they laid the foundation for the toe wall at Little Tring Bridge. The bricks for the wall have been ordered and are due to be delivered on Tuesday 27th April next.

Ray Orth has now ordered the three information boards for installation by Ken Graves along the towpath of the Phase 11 length. Brian Ing and Bert Matraves are refurbishing our restoration display stands using the steel supports that Ken Graves had previously put in the store in case they came in handy for something useful.

The Trust Council have given financial authority to proceed with 50metres of Phase II relining from the new sump at Drayton Beauchamp as soon as Phase I is completed. Discussions are being held with John Kearsey over the design to be used and this length of lining will enable us to test the design and working methods as well as verify the initial shot estimates for Phase II.

Phase II includes the provision of two footbridges where public footpaths cross the bed of the canal and I recently saw a timber footbridge over the Welford Arm of the Grand Union Canal that seemed ideal for our purposes. It is all timber and comes in a kit form and can easily be erected by our volunteers. Ron Pittaway and I have given it a detailed inspection and I have taken photos (one for the next edition of this newsletter). The provision of these footbridges will be a top priority when Phase II starts in earnest in order to segregate members of the public from our access route along the bed of the canal. Ron is investigating the supply of these footbridges, one of which will be the Pat Saunders Bridge, and we hope to have design and estimates ready later in the year.

Priority Jobs are all covered above

Non-Prioritv or 'Hospital' Jobs

Lay hardcore to road behind winding hole wall.

Plinth for the Tim Wilkinson plaque.

Paving under the bridge and dwarf wall for towpath at Little Tring Bridge.

Level off the old tip from entrance to car park.

Safety

Eddy Evans has sourced a supply of Dunlop Steel Toe-capped Safety Wellingtons at around £5 per pair but only in white, green, yellow or blue: Despite the colour range this is a very good deal so, if you want one or more pairs, please let Eddy know as soon as possible, certainly by the end of April.

Web Site

The address of the Trust web site managed by Oliver Revel is: www.wendovercanal.plus.com

Wendover/Tring Canal Festival 2004

The Festival Committee is very busy arranging this year's Festival; it does seem to come around again only too quickly. If you are a work party volunteer coming to the Festival with your boat and wish to moor at the lock as usual, please endorse your boat entry form accordingly. If you need a form and have not yet received one, you can print one from the Trust's Web Site by clicking on Canal Festival 2004 and book for the Festival as a boater. Restoration volunteer work schedules for the Festival are elsewhere in this newsletter. The programme will commence with putting up fencing on Thursday 27th May and run through to packing away equipment and fencing in the oil store at Tringford Pumping Station on Tuesday morning, 1st June. To make the most of the hired plant, there will be a scheduled roster for all plant operators and banksmen. Please let me know if yon are coming to the Festival as soon as possible.

Will all volunteers coming to the Festival please bring their Restoration Manuals for updating and take them to Rav Orth on his boat Madrigal at the stop lock sometime over the weekend. If you are not coming to the FestivaL please show your manual to Ray as soon as possible after the Festival

General Notes.

David Barratt is now our qualified First-Aider. ( And even if he is not on site, lives nearby and can be contacted on 01442 822523 if he is at home.

February 2004

The Trust expresses its sincere thanks to two of our work party volunteers for contributions to Trust Funds. Dianne Edwards, who was a regular volunteer at scrub bashing until stopped by ill health, has given £100 towards restoration funds and Nigel Williams has sponsored the postage costs of our Work Party News, around £50, for 2004. Many thanks to you both.

While the present wet weather continues we have effectively shut down the Little Tring site as plant movements will only ruin our temporary road surfaces and laying Bentomat would be foolhardy even if conditions permitted ready-mix lorries through the site.

In the meantime we are completing the clearance of the dry bed ready for Phase 2. There are only about 100 metres of total clearance left thanks to a visit of 100 RAF recruits and supervisors on the morning of Sunday 25th January. The Newbury Work Group will be reinforcing our usual monthly work party in February so the work, including stumping and levelling, should be complete by the end of March 2004. The banks are being graded to a smooth slope to make mowing easy and the area between the banks levelled off as a temporary roadway. It should be noted that this is not the final bed level of the canal as there is still some excavation required to reach down to this level. BW have agreed to use their tractor and flail to mow the bed every Autumn, something that will be possible when we have road access from Little Tring right through to the new sump at Drayton Beauchamp. This will replace our annual strimming.

Harking back to Little Tring and Phase I, it is the intention at the March work party to have 2 excavators and 2 dumpers on site, one pair working to prepare the bed at Little Tring Bridge, the other pair to commence work on the shallow shelf on the offside between the old farm crossing and the winding hole wall. If the weather makes it impossible to use the road to the bridge without churning it up too much, all plant will work on the offside shelf.

BW are supplying 100 metres of steel whaling (normally used horizontally along the top of standard steel piling) for use as a safety barrier for road traffic along the top of the winding hole wall when this has to be used to access our tip. Eddy Evans has been obtaining suitable angle iron to use as posts and a start on installing the barrier should be made in March. Trevor Hodge, our retired bricklayer volunteer is looking into the brickwork needed for the plinth for the Tim Wilkinson Plaque (which we now have in the store hut), the toe wall required below the towpath steps at Little Tring Bridge and the paving for the towpath under Little Tring Bridge.

Trevor is also looking at the old Whitehouses Pumping Station outlets and bank protection opposite with a view to restoration as part of the Trust's aim to preserve the heritage of the Arm. BW have also been asked to inspect this site from an heritage point of view and give their views on what should/could be preserved. If the work is going to be very costly, the Trust/BW could apply for a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

As I mentioned in the last newsletter, Ron Pittaway is organising a one day a week work party with a view to laying one 5 metre wide Bentonite strip across the canal bed each time. He proposes to lay and fix the Bentonite during the morning with a delivery of ready-mix after lunch, about 3.5 cubic metres of concrete to cover this area of Bentonite. He is choosing Tuesday as this gives the opportunity to cancel the ready-mix the day before if the weather is too wet for the work; Wednesday if Monday is a Bank Holiday. See the list of Work Party dates.

Ray Orth and John Savage are arranging for three information boards to be made for installation by Ken Graves along the towpath of the Phase II length. One to be at the footpath crossing (former swing bridge No.4) before Whitehouses old Pumping Station, one at the site of the Pumping Station itself and one at the new sump east of Drayton Beauchamp Bridge. These will no doubt enlighten the passers-by who ask if we are constructing a motorway!

Brian Ing and Bert Matraves are refurbishing our restoration display stands using the steel supports that Ken Graves put in the store 'in case they came in handy for something useful'.

Prioritv Jobs

>Excavate the new canal bed and line with Bentomat with concrete and spoil cover. The details agreed with BW that we are working to are shown in the cross-section below.

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>Excavate for shallow shelf between farm crossing and winding hole wall including laying Bentomat and cover. The details agreed with BW that we are working to are shown in the cross-section below.

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Non-Priority or 'Hospital' Jobs

>Lay hardcore to road behind winding hole wall and erect safety barrier of steel whalings fixed horizontally on vertical angle iron supports.

>Plinth for the Tim Wilkinson plaque.

>Paviours and dwarf wall for towpath at Little Tring Bridge.

> Level off the old tip from entrance to car park. Scrub bashing and temporary road for Phase II between Little Tring and Drayton Beauchamp new sump.

Future plans for Phases II & III

The Trust aims to complete Phase II by 2010, also Phase III in the same timescale if funds permit. Work on engineering plans and estimates are currently in hand but the main obstacle at present is the lack of a permanent Fund Raising Officer since the resignation of David Andrew, As a result of the job vacancy notice in the Wendover Arm News and on the website, a potential volunteer has just come forward and we all hope that this critical vacancy will now be filled.

Safety

There is a safety rule that no one on site must pass close to an excavator until the driver has signalled that he has seen you and taken his hands off the controls. One or two volunteers have been seen ignoring this rule. We have an accident free record and do not want to spoil it. Those of you who were in the scouts will remember the rule that no one must get closer to someone using an axe than two 'axe lengths'. For an excavator do not get within twice the extended jib length unless the operator has signalled that he has seen you and stopped operating his machine.

Web Site

The address of the Trust web site managed by Oliver Revel is: www.wendovercanal.plus.com

Value of volunteer labour

Joyce Smith has given me the figures for 2003, yet another increase year on year! Many thanks Joyce for all your hard work, especially in deciphering some of our timesheets. These figures are invaluable when we are asking for grants for our restoration in that it shows our commitment to restoration and can be used as matching funds where these are required.

* The reason for the apparent discrepancy in the 1998 value is a very high content of professional time for survey and design by Bob Ford and myself at a considerably higher rate per hour.

YEAR	HOURS	HOURS TO DATE	VALUE	VALUE TO DATE
1996	1,016.5	1,016.5	£8,132	£8,132
1997	997.5	2,041.0	£7,980	£16,112
1998	2,696.0	4,710.0	£43,174*	£59,286
1999	3,550.5	8,260.5	£30,799	£90,085
2000	4,239.9	8,479.9	£36,865	£126,950
2001	5,021.5	13,501.4	£40,132	£167,082
2002	5,560.0	19,061.4	£44,480	£211,562
2003	6,721.5	25,782.9	£53,772	£265,334

Phase II Survey & Levels

Marker posts are now in position every 200 metres from Little Tring Bridge to Drayton Beauchamp. They are marked with the approximate distance from Bulbourne Junction, eg. 36 = 3,600 metres from the junction.

Just in front of every marker post along Phase II is a level peg sunk to just above ground level; these are being levelled through from Little Tring to Drayton Beauchamp and will be the temporary level points for setting out the bed of the canal and the two footbridges. It is the intention to add marker posts and level pegs so that there is a post every 100 metres. Cross sections will also be taken to determine the volume of excavated material that will arise from Phase II.

Wendover/Tring Canal Festival 2004

The Festival Committee is very busy arranging-this year's Festival; it does seem to come around again only too quickly. If you are a work party volunteer coming to the Festival with your boat and wish to moor at the lock as usual, please endorse your boat entry form accordingly. If you need a form and have not yet received one, you can print one from the Trust's Web Site by clicking on Canal Festival 2004 and book for the Festival as a boater. Restoration volunteer work schedules for the Festival will be published in the April issue of this newsletter.' The programme will commence with putting up fencing on Thursday 27 th May and run through to packing away equipment and fencing in the oil store at Tringford Pumping Station on Tuesday morning, 1st June.

General Notes.

David Barratt is now our qualified First-Aider. ( And even if he is not on site, lives nearby and can be contacted on 01442 822523 if he is at home.

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