Reading Station improvements

[whole diary]

[broadgage]

Concrete cures more slowly at low temperatures, and does not cure at all at very low temperatures.
Large masses are often OK since the curing process produces a certain amount of heat. Small masses of concrete such as thin floor slabs laid onto a frosty subsurface may fail to cure properly or at all.
Conditions at Reading at present though snowy are probably not that cold, maybe just below freezing.

To a certain extent, matters may be improved by storing the materials in a warm building and by use of warm water to mix the concrete.

[TonyK]

I saw this picture on twitter. I assume the tweeter wants it published to the entire universe, and that he / it /she holds the copyright, because I have not received an answer to my question re the same. Viewer advisory is discretionary, and let me know if you don't want it posted here.

So busy with the legals, I forgot where I was. Here's a picture from Reading:

[Ollie]

I'm sure Mark won't mind. I retweeted on both my account and the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) account and it got several retweets from that.

[eightf48544]

Must get down to Reading soon there's a lot going on which I need to catch up with.

Can couple it with a visit to the Hobgoblin and the Pie Shop.

[bobm]

the Pie Shop.

Are you referring to Sweeney & Todds in Castle Street?  Excellent tucker there.  Meanwhile the Hobgoblin is now known as the Alehouse.

[swrural]

I'm sure Mark won't mind. I retweeted on both my account and the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) account and it got several retweets from that.

Ollie, when i wrote here to you about your photos, as a newbie, I had no idea you were an employee, so just to say how grateful I was for the captions, and thank you for taking all this trouble to keep us informed. 

[IndustryInsider]

I'm not sure if we've discussed it, and I personally only spotted it when the physical signal was installed the other week, but there is a turnback signal being installed on the down relief at Tilehurst station (TR1760).  An interesting addition to the signalling flexibility - I'm guessing it is to facilitate the easy reversal of services to allow trains via Southcote Junction that want to call at Reading, to do so at weekends whilst the dive under and track layout is altered over the coming years?  Can't think of any other purpose to it (though it might be useful when things are not going to plan!).

[Southern Stag]

There's four service a day reversing at Tilehurst from the 2nd-5th April, the week when only the new Relief line platforms are open at Reading. Will these perhaps use it? Service btw are:
1K71 0520 Bristol Temple Meads-London Paddington
1A72 0604 Frome-London Paddington
1C91 1703 London Paddington-Paignton
1C94 1800 London Paddington-Exeter St Davids

[Ollie]

I'm sure Mark won't mind. I retweeted on both my account and the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) account and it got several retweets from that.

Ollie, when i wrote here to you about your photos, as a newbie, I had no idea you were an employee, so just to say how grateful I was for the captions, and thank you for taking all this trouble to keep us informed. 

No problem. I know I still haven't fully captioned them, one thing after another gets in the way. Hope you liked the photos though

[grahame]

1K71 0520 Bristol Temple Meads-London Paddington
1A72 0604 Frome-London Paddington

Taking over an hour each, I note, from Reading West to Paddington, with just one intermediate public stop at Reading [General].

[IndustryInsider]

There's four service a day reversing at Tilehurst from the 2nd-5th April, the week when only the new Relief line platforms are open at Reading. Will these perhaps use it? Service btw are:
1K71 0520 Bristol Temple Meads-London Paddington
1A72 0604 Frome-London Paddington
1C91 1703 London Paddington-Paignton
1C94 1800 London Paddington-Exeter St Davids

Yes, I'm sure they will.  Thanks for providing those details.

[Oxman]

February issue of Modern Railways has just arrived and in it there is an excellent article on the Reading redevelopment.

[lbraine]

The new platforms yesterday. No escalators in situ yet (note the lack of stair access to the new platforms.

Platform 11 edge profile half completed, due to current lift shaft working being in the way (does any one know how the is going to be resolved ? You can't complete P 11 without access to P 10 being removed. In fact track at London end of P12 cannot be laid as current P 11 terminating bay is too close to P12 alignment. Given P10/11 are the main lines platforms to London (eventually) these works do look like the potential bottleneck.

Platform 12 surface not completed. No light fittings on any of the new platform fittings or structures.

It's going to be a race over the next half a dozen weeks to complete this work!! And the remaining lack of escalators (8 for sure, 12 including P10/11) and the required commissioning time....

My bet will be that platforms open with just one side being open with escalators

[SandTEngineer]

Platform 11 isn't opening at Easter so no problem with it not being completed.  The old bay Platform 11 closes at the start of the blockade so (with the footbridge span going four weeks before) that gives time to demolish the existing Platform 10/11 access and lay the new track through Platform 12.

[Gordon the Blue Engine]

FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have made a few changes to their walking route plan we discussed a few pages back.  It's now showing the new footbridge fully open from 29 March with all platforms accessible from both entrances - before it appeared to show no access across the footbridge between P7 and P8.  And it would be clearer if the text block on the 29 March onwards Drawing stating "New west entrance with access to all platforms" was below P1/2 and not next to the subway entrance.

Still, it's better than it was before.  I now know how I get from P6 (which seems to have its tracks removed) to P12 over Easter.