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Report - - Loddington Culvert, Northamptonshire, July 2020 | UK Draining Forum | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Loddington Culvert, Northamptonshire, July 2020

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chills

Queller of the uprising
Moderator
History:

Loddington Culvert is situated in the village of Loddington; located about 3 miles west of Kettering.

The brick and stone construction of the culvert was developed to carry the existing tributary of the Eye Brook under the GNR & LNWR joint railway line that ran from Nottingham via Melton Mowbray, and on to Market Harborough & Northampton, built around 1879. Passenger services were only around six per day in each direction, although it was more heavily used by goods traffic. The line ran on a high embankment passing Loddington.

I’m unsure why the culvert was constructed in this way as it’s unique and @Punk and I debated that it may have been due to cheaper materials during construction.

The explore:

After a full packed plan for the weekend, @Punk and I hit the culvert. Pulling up on a damp day, we donned our gear and as cars passed giving you that usual look of “WTF are you doing?” we headed towards the direction of the Brook.

Punk said he hadn’t visited this in a while, and the undergrowth was thick with stinging nettles and brambles. “Well this has grown” and picking up a stick, Punk led the way hacking at stinging nettles to forge a path. After a little while of trudging through boggy ground, we paused. “I’m sure it was around here somewhere” said Punk.

Well, after walking back on ourselves through more stinging nettles and being stung a few times, we saw the brick structure appear. Dropping into the Brook, I could tell this was going to be good. I like brick.

Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos of the entrance but there has been previous reports so if you are interested, please do check them out!

Looking back towards the entrance.

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We headed into the brick section.

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Soon side pipes featured calcite formations that Punk so elegantly described as “it looked like the pipe jizzed”.

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Heading further into the culvert the section changed from brick to stone. I’ve never seen an example of this, and as mentioned earlier, unsure as to why. You can see a angled clear split as the tunnel changed.

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The stone underfoot became uneven and had chunks missing from years of use carrying the water creating pools along the culvert.

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Pushing further in we started to see the light and the material changed back to brick again.

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After kicking up the water I got this shot to show the ageing state of the structure. Not only are the bricks shifting on the left, in the centre of the flow, a piece of the lip of the archway sits where it fell.

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Heading back through I grabbed another shot of the calcite formation.

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Obligatory posing shots..

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And out into the wilderness and onto the next!
 

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Down and beyond

The true source of englands wealth is coal
Regular User
Very nicely captured mate good job, back then we had a lot of local brickworks all around this area it’s surprising those bricks where probably only made a few miles away , now days standard of brick would not last no where near that long
 

tallginge

more tall than ginger tho.....
Regular User
Nicely done lads and nice pics. That's a lot of jizz lol. Wonder why the change from stone to brick - maybe another track was added so the culvert needed extending?
 

Down and beyond

The true source of englands wealth is coal
Regular User
I am guessing the stone is a lot older and original I suspect the hole tunnel was all once stoned lined possibly the brick is a rebuilt section , the stone floor in the photos shows a lot more wear than the brick floor so I am guessing some has been re built , on the join line the different materials
Have not been keyed in if was built at same time I would imagine they would of tied them in great overall construction
 

chills

Queller of the uprising
Moderator
Nicely done lads and nice pics. That's a lot of jizz lol. Wonder why the change from stone to brick - maybe another track was added so the culvert needed extending?

Thanks Ginge.

Potentially? The stone section is much older as shown by the ageing and wear as @Down and beyond stated. I would assume that is the most viable reason with the change in build materials resulting in price and availability?
 

tallginge

more tall than ginger tho.....
Regular User
Marefield culvert 20 odd miles away also has a change from stone to brick. Can't be bothered to figure it out myself lol but if the lengths of stonework / brickwork are similar and the same way round it would suggest the culverts were extended rather than relined. Maybe nearby bridges were also widened? It gets confusing tryna work out what lines were added to / closed down / reused or bought by various railway companies from years ago
 

Down and beyond

The true source of englands wealth is coal
Regular User
that’s make sense ! Does this go under a bridge then ? Have never been here a lot of bridges in Northamptonshire have been widened . Worked in that many drains in Northamptonshire and other places , the old ones the coolest though by far
 

chills

Queller of the uprising
Moderator
Marefield culvert 20 odd miles away also has a change from stone to brick. Can't be bothered to figure it out myself lol but if the lengths of stonework / brickwork are similar and the same way round it would suggest the culverts were extended rather than relined. Maybe nearby bridges were also widened? It gets confusing tryna work out what lines were added to / closed down / reused or bought by various railway companies from years ago

I’ve been in Marefield myself but didn’t notice the significant change, it is however of a same age, construction and is also starting to crumble.
 

chills

Queller of the uprising
Moderator
that’s make sense ! Does this go under a bridge then ? Have never been here a lot of bridges in Northamptonshire have been widened . Worked in that many drains in Northamptonshire and other places , the old ones the coolest though by far

It’s not under a bridge as far as I’m aware but is in a dense area not too far from disused railway portals from the old line; a report on one of these portals will be uploaded in the next few days, I had a busy weekend.
 

Calamity Jane

i see beauty in the unloved, places & things
Regular User
Nice, I like the fact you are standing most of the time, dont know if that was the case the whole explore? really love the reflection shots too.
 

chills

Queller of the uprising
Moderator
Nice, I like the fact you are standing most of the time, dont know if that was the case the whole explore? really love the reflection shots too.

Thanks Calamity! This was one you could just walk without worrying about stooping down. There will also be a report coming on a drain that’s got a bit of a stoop in the next few days; as I said in a previous comment, it was a busy weekend!
 

Calamity Jane

i see beauty in the unloved, places & things
Regular User
Thanks Calamity! This was one you could just walk without worrying about stooping down. There will also be a report coming on a drain that’s got a bit of a stoop in the next few days; as I said in a previous comment, it was a busy weekend!
Nice, I will look out for it.
 

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