Changes

Sterns is a location between [[Hampton Loade]] and [[Bridgnorth]], at the foot of Eardington Bank at approximately MP 147. It is the point at which the [[River Severn]] is closest to the railway, and is notorious as a maintenance trouble spot, due to the ground regularly slipping towards the river many times over the history of the railway, especially after periods of heavy rain. The line of telegraph poles adjacent to the railway vividly illustrates this, with one post having been carried away from the line by the ground movement, now only just visible in the trees towards the river.  SVR News regularly refers to repair work at Sterns. Some examples are as follows:*Over the winter of [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1970-1979#1977 | 1976-77]], intense cold followed by heavy rain resulted in the line dropping 2ft 6" and moving 4ft nearer the river. *In [[Severn Valley Railway Timeline 1990-1999#1995|1994-95]] ten feet of river bank was washed away, triggering further slippage. 3,000 tons of rock was deposited on the river bank as a temporary measure. *In the [[2007 Storm Damage|Summer 2007 storm damage]], the first severe thunderstorm did not affect Sterns, but further slips began in the following weeks as the wet weather continued. Part of the solution involved building a 150 foot long piled concrete retaining wall alongside Sterns Cottage.*In February 2014, evidence of further subsidence appeared with a significant dip in the line. Pictures of the repair work in progress can be seen in this news archive page on the [http://www.svrlive.com/Pages/News0414.aspx SVR Live] web site. The section of line through Sterns was for many years under a strict 5mph speed limit, with drainage improvements and earthworks in 2013/14 finally allowing for the limit to be increased to 15mph (although further ground movement led to the reinstatement of a lower temporary speed limit soon after). A consequence of this speed restriction is that northbound trains are made to work harder as they are prevented from ‘taking a run’ at Eardington Bank. <gallery>File: Sterns_1_20150228.jpg|The displaced telegraph pole (highlighted)File: Sterns_2_20150228.jpg|Evidence of 2014 repair work is still visibleFile: Sterns_3_20150228.jpg|The cap of the 150 foot retaining wall alongside Sterns Cottage</gallery>