Testing Times for West Country Sea Wall
13 Sep 2005
The famous sea wall protecting the stretch of rail line between Dawlish and Teignmouth is being given a check up by Owen Williams Railways.
The civil engineering group’s experts will be examining the ten mile wall on behalf of Network Rail for any signs of distortion, perished mortar joints, spalling and settlement caused by years of pounding from the sea. A high wall between two tunnels outside Dawlish will come in for particular attention, with engineers having to abseil down it to do their examinations.
One of the most photographed stretches of railway in the world, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the 1840s, the line is part of the Exeter to Plymouth route. Owen Williams will provide Network Rail with a full report and recommendations once their work is complete.