Section repairs have been taking place recently in preparation for the Exeter Trial 2020.
Phil Tucker (Section Repairs Officer), Rick Howell and Alan Clark (Section Chief Official/Marshal for Tillerton) have surveyed the hills and produced detailed repair specifications for Tillerton, Simms, Tipley and Slippery Sam.
Geach Plant Hire Ltd Exminster was cleared to carry out the works by Devon County Council after inspecting the companies competence certificates and liability insurance etc. Dave Geach is a 4x4 trailer and loves to spectate at Simms; he’s planning to prepare a Morris 1000 to compete in our events. His 4x4 mount is a Unimog powered by a 2 lite air-cooled VW motor!
The current work has been carried out at Tipley where the culvert was completely blocked, causing nearly all of Liverton Brooks water to flow aggressively over the track to gouge a two foot gully across the access to the section.
The blocked culvert
Phil and Chris Musselwhite (full time passenger for Phil) attempted to clear the blockage with a long pole, but it wasn’t until Dave attacked the debris with his 3 ton digger that the water level started to drop. After some fishing by Richard (Dave’s teammate) with a hook on a long chain attached to the machine’s bucket, Dave produced the steel sluice gate complete with adjusting screw.
Gate removed
Richard checking for any remaining detritus
Water running where it should
Dave’s team has since cleaned out the section from top to bottom, concentrating on the massive pits and nasty steps in preparation for the concrete, weather permitting.
Next up, Dave hopes to move on to Simms, which presents a different set of challenges.
