Reading Station improvements

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

I got a free, and somewhat unexpected, shower as I alighted from a HST^▸ (High Speed Train) on P7 this evening.



Now I know that Reading is still very much a work in progress, but I can't quite fathom why this downpipe (and others) off the transfer deck roof aren't draining water away from us passengers below. Surely even temporary drainage could be in place.

This one above P7 is perfectly placed to shower anyone boarding or alighting coaches D/E on HSTs. 

[stuving]

The reason it is unfinished is that there is a bit of the ground floor structure missing - to be built once P7 is widened.

Did you look at the other side of the deck? Last time I looked there was a very improvised-looking wooden box catching the water under the down pipe. That works there because it sits on top of the fence around a work site. This side would take a bit more arranging - but you'd think a bit of guttering glued on the side to drop it on the track would be possible.

Maybe it wasn't on the master plan - and no-one is allowed to do anything that's not planned?

[JayMac]

Maybe it wasn't on the master plan - and no-one is allowed to do anything that's not planned?

Agreed.... and I'm sure the buckets catching water on the transfer deck weren't part of the master plan either....



One of three examples on the transfer deck this evening. Again, with the caveat that this is a work in progress... but for a new structure to be leaking like this....

[stuving]

Hmm ... the transfer deck is very poorly protected against wind, which can drive rain, snow, and - wind through the open clerestories and stairways. You can perhaps recall my views on that subject. But it's not been windy, has it? (Just wait until Sunday/Monday, though.)

I did think the leaks from just rain on the roof were "normal" flat roof issues, i.e. poor jointing of whatever forms the weathering surface. But that would be quite easy to remedy - even during a summer with relatively little rain to show up the problem. So maybe this is something more fundamental, too?

[JayMac]

These leaks that I noted this evening were not on account of rain being driven onto the transfer deck. They were most definitely leaks from the roof....

Worth pointing out that the trainshed at Paddington was also suffering from numerous leaks today. There though, Network Rail arguably have an excuse - said trainshed is over 150 years old.

Reading transfer deck hasn't yet reached it's 1st birthday....

Now, I may be being just a little unfairly critical. However, the transfer deck is a very public advertisement for the new Reading station. Doesn't look good when there are numerous buckets dotted around because of leaks.

[stuving]

That flat roof is not the easiest thing to observe - the best I can find is camera01/1. You have to hunt around for the best lighting conditions, as the view is from the North and shaded by the flying canopy, so not always in focus.

It looks as if the roof is very much big and flat, and surrounded by steel members higher than it. This "freeboard" should be enough to prevent the water getting deep enough to spill over the rim, unless all its exits are blocked.

Obviously the water has to be provided with an exit route that is downhill all the way, and that is the first area to look for defects. If there is a small step up to enter the downpipe (or whatever leads to it) the water will form a pool next to it. You can see several things poking up through the flat roof too, and each of these will need sealing. That just adds to the rest of the edges and joints that have to be sealed. Any pooling of water will make the sealing there critical.

There's a lot of electrical equipment and wiring up in that roof - best not to soak it too often (though if you have ever had a bath overflow upstairs, you may have observed that pouring water through light fittings doesn't usually make them go bang immediately). But I suspect the PR^▸ (Public Relations) issue is more likely to push this issue up the project team's things to do list - in fact it's surprising it hasn't done so already. After all, when the problem was first apparent they didn't know it would be a good summer, did they?

[lbraine]

Platform 7 right now !

[lbraine]

And P1 and 2 getting their canopy

[stuving]

Platform 7 right now !

That does seem odd, doesn't it - from RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) this possession of P7/8 ends early on Monday, while next weekend's is longer though only for P7.

[stuving]

Did you look at the other side of the deck? Last time I looked there was a very improvised-looking wooden box catching the water under the down pipe. That works there because it sits on top of the fence around a work site.

If you look at camera 0102/2 you can still see this wooden tray, though not whatever it drains into.

You can also see onto the roof, just.

[Red Squirrel]

Worth pointing out that the trainshed at Paddington was also suffering from numerous leaks today. There though, Network Rail arguably have an excuse - said trainshed is over 150 years old.

The age of a building is no excuse IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion) - it is a lot cheaper to maintain a roof properly than to deal with rust, damp damage and rot that results from failing to do so.

[paul7575]

Nice to see the P1/2 canopy being fitted using a mobile crane from the front, as I predicted a few weeks back.  Also, as the canopy sections for this area seem to be another 'just in time' delivery by lorry, that possibly adds a little more confirmation that those outside the north entrance are for P10/11.

Regarding the current P7 track work, does the team think that by the end of the weekend the new track will be installed on new ballast and sleepers, but still alongside the platform on its existing alignment?   That way all they'll have to do next weekend is bring in the necessary handling gear and slew the whole lot over to the new alignment early in the closure.

PS - Alternatively, could they build a temporary deck out to the new track alignment,  to be used for only one week?

Paul

[paul7575]

The reason it is unfinished is that there is a bit of the ground floor structure missing - to be built once P7 is widened.

I don't think there is any ground floor structure in that area.  There's another one of those massive roof support girders in parallel with the other three that are already there, but there's just an open space shown at platform level. 

As it's drawn, that scaffolded 'temporary wall' covered in white sheeting is removed and nothing replaces it, the extra section of the main swooping curvy roof just extends out as far as the repositioned edge of P7, matching the shape of that on the London side of the transfer deck for P8 etc...

Paul

[stuving]

Having had a bit of fun at the expense of the timetablers and signallers, I ought to say that their Micawberite coping strategy has worked pretty well. That's because the overlap times for the conflicting trains in P4/5 are quite short, so the incoming train only needs to be a few minutes late and the problem does indeed solve itself.

In this specific case, if 2V54 09:51 from Redhill is over five minutes late, then 2C94 09:96 to Waterloo will have already left P5.
If not, it goes into P4, which is empty.
Now the incoming 2C87 from Waterloo is due at 9:55, so only has to be held for about four minutes to allow 2C94 to depart for Waterloo at 9:56.

Most of the day there is no problem, as Waterloo trains only overlap xx:10 to xx:12 and xx:40 to x:42, while North Downs Line trains dwell xx:23 to xx:34 and xx:54 to xy:04. What's odd about the extra trains that introduce the conflicts is their timings:

There's 2C90 Reading 07:24 to Waterloo 08:46, which is the only peak reinforcement into London from Reading.
There are three more from Ascot (or Aldershot through Ascot) arriving 7:59, 8:29, and 9:00.
Two of these run back out to Reading, arriving at 9:30 and 9:55, before returning to Waterloo.
That seem too late even for schools - what demand are they meeting?
(Note - I've linked trains as being addition ones, not as diagrams.)

[stuving]

As it's drawn, that scaffolded 'temporary wall' covered in white sheeting is removed and nothing replaces it, the extra section of the main swooping curvy roof just extends out as far as the repositioned edge of P7, matching the shape of that on the London side of the transfer deck for P8 etc...
Paul

Yes - that is what the plan shows: no wall. So why has someone painted the line of a wall and a pair of outward-opening double doors on the platform there?

More important for rainwater handling, I suspect a new drain has to be constructed in the platform. Plus there may be a little bit of finishing to do round the end of the deck, not done earlier as the temporary wall is in the way.