Harmans Cross Slip Appeal

What is the appeal for?

Geological conditions, combined with historic construction work, have led to a significant earth slip at the east end of Harmans Cross Station. If left unaddressed, this ground movement could eventually sever the railway and force services to be suspended.

When the line was built around 140 years ago, a deep cutting was excavated at this location. This altered the stability of the soil on the hillside above the railway. Over time, water running down from the surrounding fields, together with changes made to the cutting slope around 40 years ago, has contributed to two adjacent soil slips. These continue to move material towards the track.

Monitoring boreholes installed six years ago have shown a recent acceleration in movement. As a result, the Company Board agreed that remedial works should be tackled proactively and in a planned way, rather than waiting for a failure that could close the railway for an unknown period.

The impact of the movement is already visible:

The public footpath between the road bridge and the up platform shows clear distortion.
Gabions installed around 20 years ago, along with a short retaining structure, are now visibly deformed.
Upward pressure from the soil is affecting the track at the east end loop point, requiring frequent corrective maintenance.

Remedial work has now started on site to stabilise the area and protect the railway for the future.

What is the solution?

The ground here consists of an upper soil layer over a firmer clay base. Our consulting engineers have designed a solution involving sheet piling for approximately 40 metres from Haycrafts Lane bridge towards the station.

Interlocking steel sheets will be driven around four metres below ground, down into the stable clay layer.
The sheets will extend to around two metres above rail level.
This will arrest the soil movement and allow the area between the piles and the track to be safely cleared.

How else will this benefit the railway?

Stabilising this section will widen the available track formation and enable two important longer-term improvements:

1. Reduced SPAD risk
The current layout requires locomotives travelling westwards to slow significantly for the tight-radius trap point, then apply power to climb into the platform. This is a demanding manoeuvre.
Re-profiling the track base, easing the trap point radius, and moving the point slightly towards Swanage would allow a smoother, more consistent approach and reduce the risk of a Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD).

2. Future platform extensions
Harmans Cross platforms are currently short. If there is a future business case for longer trains (for example, six-coach services), the widened formation would make platform extensions towards Swanage possible.

What is the cost?

The total cost of the Harmans Cross Slip works is estimated at £180,000, based on detailed preliminary investigations and advice from our consulting structural engineers.

How can I help?

The Swanage Railway Trust has pledged to match fund all donations, doubling every pound given until the £180,000 target is reached.

Every £1 donated becomes £2
UK taxpayers can increase their donation by a further 25% through Gift Aid

Donate here:
https://swanagerailwaytrust.enthuse.com/slip-appeal

This appeal is made by the Swanage Railway Trust (Company No. 04115126, Registered Charity No. 1087318). Funds raised are intended to support the Swanage Railway Company (Company No. 01412568) and the Harmans Cross Slip Project. If this is not possible, the Trust reserves the right to apply donations to its wider charitable aims.