Reading Station improvements

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

On a rather sombre note, from the Reading Evening Post:

Inquest told of fight to save colleague's life

A 35-year-old construction manager working on the new Network Rail depot collapsed and died while on the phone to a colleague.

The father died just two days before Christmas last year, an inquest heard on Tuesday.

Wayne Forster had been working on the Cow Lane construction site for 11 months and was talking on the phone to friend and colleague Darren Lapping when he said: ^I think I^m tripping out here.^

In a statement, Mr Lapping on another part of the site said he could hear a ^strange breathing noise from the phone^ and called colleague Steve Williams, who has first aid experience.

Mr Williams went to where Mr Forster had collapsed in his van and started CPR and was soon joined by Mr Lapping who also helped.

Coroner Peter Bedford read the statement from Mr Lapping ^ who was at the inquest ^ which said Mr Forster had seemed ^his normal self^ but had complained of a rectal bleed that day. Mr Forster^s fianc^e Karen O^Toole had told police she had spoken to him on the phone earlier that day and he had mentioned ^flu-like symptoms^ and the bleeding.

Pathologist at Royal Berkshire Hospital Dr Colin McCormick told the inquest a post mortem examination revealed a frothy fluid in the lungs which indicated cardiac arrest. Exhaustive tests for various causes of death all came back negative so he gave the cause of death as ^unascertained^.

However he said the cause of death was almost certainly cardiac arrest, explaining heart damage only showed if the patient lived for some time after the heart stops.

^If the patient died immediately there would be no sign of damage.

He said it was possible to have heart arrhythmia without knowing it and even be put on a heart monitor for 24 hours without it showing up.

Dr McCormick said: ^It is well recorded that an individual can co-exist with such an arrhythmia and it is not symptomatic until the fatal event when the heart stops beating for just too long.^

Ms O^Toole told the doctor she and Mr Forster, from Stannington in Northumberland, had a son and asked if it was hereditary.

He said he had looked for the obvious hereditary heart conditions which were not present, but suggested Mr Forster^s father who was at the inquest should have tests.

The coroner recorded a verdict of natural causes and praised Mr Forsters^ colleagues for their attempts to save his life.

[lbraine]

I was reviewing the artists/architects pictures of the new station and comparing them against the emerging reality.

One thing I have noticed is that on these pictures there are glass panels running the length of the escalator/stairs wells - presumably to provide cover against weather. I did think some time back that the escalators seemed exposed - and as the new awning rises to the new deck roof, it's even more so.

Are these panels going to be fitted ?

I only raise it because with most of the work done squeezing / lifting large glass panels into place would seem to perhaps have been easier earlier on in the works.

Or perhaps this feature has been dropped ?

[SandTEngineer]

Some latest(ish) photographs here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1945836@N21/pool/with/8528453394/#photo_8528453394

Not sure about the fancy new tiling in the subway (plenty of places to prop cigarette ends etc )

[paul7575]

Are these panels going to be fitted ?

I only raise it because with most of the work done squeezing / lifting large glass panels into place would seem to perhaps have been easier earlier on in the works.

I think it's probably a question of 'wait and see'.  They seem to have had scaffolding rigged under the sloping roofs for some time, presumably to work on the ceiling cladding, which logically wouldn't be fitted until the outside was made watertight.  It doesn't look like there are any suitable fixing points to extend upwards from the sides of the 'staircases', so by default any side glazing would have to hang from the underside of the roofs.  So they might have been planned to be fitted later all along.  (As we discusssed earlier in the thread they are also the sort of areas that are non-essential in terms of getting the new platforms into use, and could feasibly be progressed later.)

By the way, and on a vaguely similar point, has anyone else noticed that, (as far as the webcams appear to show), the main north and south glazed walls of the new entrances do not continue all the way to the underside of the roof?

Also, the 'inside' glazed wall above P7 cannot be fitted yet as another roof section is still to be fitted.  This would be above the running line until the platform is widened later in the year, so that will explain the temporary white sheeting on the present north facing side of the southern stairs area.

Paul

[lbraine]

I was a Reading this morning to see Tornado come through.

I spotted the gap in the glazing on the new ticket hall and wondered what that was all about.

The new subway is very functional. If not a little dull. For some reason I thought it would be wider. Seem to recall something saying it would a third wider that old subway as the dividing wall splitting the length of the old tunnel was being taken down.

Maybe it is wider - just didn't see it.

And Yes - plenty of dented roof tiles in the subway already

I didn't check the canopies over the escalators/stairs to see if any thing could be hung - but certainly there are no fastening on the concrete to hook on a huge sheet, of what I can imagine is, very heavy glass.

I suppose its a wait and see to see if they appear later on in some final fix stage.
Going to be a tad draughty up on the deck with out some kind of windbreak.

Tornado was awesome BTW^▸ (by the way).

[paul7575]

The new subway is very functional. If not a little dull. For some reason I thought it would be wider. Seem to recall something saying it would a third wider that old subway as the dividing wall splitting the length of the old tunnel was being taken down.

Maybe it is wider - just didn't see it.

The old subway was split roughly 50/50 public and staff side, the new layout is supposed to have increased this ratio to about 75/25 in favour of the public side according to the planning drawings, as there is still a resited dividing wall for a smaller building services corridor (for 'private' access to electrical services rooms under the platforms) along the west side - aren't there various doors along that side as well?

Paul

[ellendune]

By the way, and on a vaguely similar point, has anyone else noticed that, (as far as the webcams appear to show), the main north and south glazed walls of the new entrances do not continue all the way to the underside of the roof?

I had not realised it was like that both sides.  Tabs seem to have been fitted and I assumed that something  was due to be fixed to them to block the hole.

[ellendune]

...and a much bigger mobile crane has arrived this morning.  Rest gone by Monday as someone else predicted?

Paul

Lack of apparent activity yesterday and today lead me to think that you might be wrong there, but sudden activity with crane started at 15:20 (camera 1 tab 3) seems to suggest you and they might be bang on!

[paul7575]

I think the relief side has routinely been blocked to trains on Sundays recently, so not planning anything on the Saturday may have been predictable in hindsight.  Edited to add:  Another point I just thought of is that if 'part 1' is still sat on the floor being cut up in situ there's nowhere to put part 2?

Looking back through the webcam images (as of 1750) the lifting wires seem to have been in position and 'taut' for the last  hour or so, I suppose they get everything set up and take the strain on the crane wires, and then spend quite a time undoing bolts and/or cutting the steelwork.  That's roughly what seemed to happen on Friday, when it appeared 'about to go' for a couple of hours...

PS, while I was writing this the 1800 update now shows the bridge section moving away at the station end...

PPS, then not much happened all evening - just keeps going up and down a couple of feet now and again.   

Paul

[SandTEngineer]

....well the caption to this photograph states that the lift will not take place until 0215 Monday morning 11/03/2013.....http://www.flickr.com/photos/52834510@N00/8544070125/in/pool-1945836@N21/
....but its on the move at 2120.....

....and I hope its not as windy at Reading as it is in the far South West at the moment......think there will be few trees down tonight.....

[ellendune]

21:20 Camera 1 Tab 3 - Bridge is mid air at the moment.

[Jason]

From what I can make out on the webcam the crane stuck around long enough to remove the visible supporting structures too.
I'll be passing through this evening for a closer look.

[paul7575]

Just noticed the new western entrance had its ticket barriers installed over the weekend.

Something else that I noticed for the first time is that the far west end of the 'wall' on that side, (the section that was scaffolded beside the furthest steps for most of last week) includes the word Reading (vertically) as an architectural feature in the brickwork. 

I thought they were just a few odd dirty marks at first, back in mid February when they hadn't extended the section to full height...   

Paul

[IndustryInsider]

Something else that I noticed for the first time is that the far west end of the 'wall' on that side, (the section that was scaffolded beside the furthest steps for most of last week) includes the word Reading (vertically) as an architectural feature in the brickwork. 

I thought they were just a few odd dirty marks at first, back in mid February when they hadn't extended the section to full height...   

Well spotted!  I certainly hadn't noticed that.

[Jason]

On platform 7 yesterday evening I noticed a couple of the temporary roof support style girders (wrapped around with the standard issue black corrugated plastic tubing) that I don't recall seeing before and certainly not doing anything useful yet.

These now have framework attached at the top and some cabling hanging off the most easterly one. Is this prep work for the rest of the old bridge being removed in the coming months, I wonder.