In 1914, there was a serious landslip on the railway embankment between the Ocean and the viaduct at Beard’s Mill. It was thought that a blockage of the culvert carrying the River Frome under the embankment was responsible for the slippage.
Landslip on Midland railway bank April 1914
An article in Gloucestershire Chronicle dated 2nd May 1914, reported that the landslip brought down “many tons of earth and (diverted) the watercourse” and that “a large body of men will be working for some time to remedy the damage.” As a result of the landslip, the Midland Railway Company could only use the line on the west side of the embankment until repairs had been carried out.
Men working to repair the embankment 1914