By lyndamyer
Considering that the Northumbrian Water project involves laying pipes to link a new £56m underground reservoir with its existing water network, it has preserved a historic railway in Northumberland.
The pass route of this new pipe with 800mm length is beneath the Bowes Railway Company Hauler site which forms part of the wider Scheduled Ancient Monument. Due to usage of a TBM, the require for digging a trench through the railway line of the near-200-year-old site was avoided by Northumbrian Water’s partner, Mott MacDonald Bentley (MMB).
With aim of transporting coal from the pits of North East Durham to the Tyne at Jarrow, this line was inaugurated in 1826 and was a colliery railway which’s earliest section was designed by rail pioneer George Stephenson.
The location of constructing Northumbrian Water’s new reservoir is at nearby Springwell Village, while it is slated to provide water storage for almost 50,000 households in the area and support supplies for a further 200,000 homes in South Tyneside and Wearside by increasing the resilience of the water network.
Pupils from Springwell Village Primary School named the TBM Georgia, in honor of Stephenson’s involvement.
According to Northumbrian Water project manager Richard Johnston: “As with many projects where we are creating a new water pipeline, there are points where the route needs to cross busy roads or other areas that provide a challenge and require sensitivity. A site with the significance of the Bowes Incline Railway SAM is no different, so we wanted to approach it with extreme delicacy and tunneling provided the opportunity to make the crossing without disturbance to this wonderful piece of heritage.”
