Stapleton Road station - various events, incidents and developments (merged topic)

[whole diary]

[bobm]

On the subject of lifts - and without wishing to throw the thread of course and force Chris to have to start splitting it  - perhaps SWT^▸ (South West Trains) and FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have different policies regarding lifts.  I know the relatively new lifts at Twyford are locked out of use when the station is unstaffed.

[chuffed]

Seems if bobm is an expert on 'busted' lifts. I would feel a right tit if I found myself locked in one, when all the staff had gone home, but I guess i would just have to make a clean breast of it.

[Brucey]

On the subject of lifts - and without wishing to throw the thread of course and force Chris to have to start splitting it  - perhaps SWT^▸ (South West Trains) and FGW^▸ (First Great Western) have different policies regarding lifts.  I know the relatively new lifts at Twyford are locked out of use when the station is unstaffed.

I believe it may be a local decision.  Havant's lifts are definitely taken out of use at 22:30.  There is a bridge (without steps) just outside the station entrance though.

[swrural]

I don't see any difference between a lift in a block of flats or an office building, and one on a station.  If you get stuck you press the alarm and most lifts provide you with a phone to ring.  In view of some stations being remote perhaps the phone would be a good provision although Stapleton Road is hardly remote.  I think a continuing alarm would soon bring help.  Vandals?  Well, just make the alarm only operable if the doors are shut.  Other than that, most people have gsms now.

The lift at Axminster is well used.  On my trips the mothers and baby buggies and elderly with suitcases are so numerous that sometimes one has to wait while more than one trip is made.

[TonyK]

Lifts in many of the council blocks in Bristol have CCTV^▸ (Closed Circuit Tele Vision), a loudspeaker so the control room can speak to the occupants, and possible remote operating. Knowing that if you misbehave, the operator can keep you locked in until the police arrive seems to have made vandalism a thing of the past. They don't smell of wee like they used to, either.

[swrural]

Shall I start a campaign and change my username to TLN?

(Three Lifts Now). 

[TonyK]

Don't forget the exclamation mark!

[Chris from Nailsea]

From The Post (Bristol):

Family's garden privacy wrecked by bridge

A couple from Easton say a new railway bridge that towers over their garden has destroyed their privacy and devalued their home. Alick and Laura Davies, both 42, live in St Mark's Grove, with their son Joel, two. Their terraced property runs alongside the train tracks by Stapleton Road Station.


Laura Davies and son Joel in their garden with the new bridge behind them Photograph: Joanne Wakenshaw BRJW2013 0326C-001

Five weeks ago they learned Network Rail would be building a new commuter railway bridge at the bottom of their garden ^ and that there was nothing they could do about it. Network Rail has no legal obligation towards them under permitted development rights but say the company would determine any claim for compensation on its merits.

The couple feel the company should be morally obliged to help them by blocking the view from the bridge or by compensating any value lost on the house in which they have happily lived for the past nine years.

Mrs Davies, who works for the NHS and is studying for a MA in business management, said: "I pulled Joel's curtains back on Sunday morning and just started crying when I saw the bridge towering over the garden. We had been told that Network Rail were building a bridge but we had no idea how big, imposing or intrusive it would be. It looks directly into Joel's bedroom, the kitchen and the dining room. I was so shocked. Since it has happened I have not been in the garden because it's too upsetting and I'm not comfortable with Joel being in the garden. I can't imagine anyone would want to buy this property now. It is really quite devastating. If people wanted they could step off the bridge onto our back wall. We want to move so we can get Joel into a good school so it could have a massive impact on our lives."

Mr Davies added: "We never realised how big or horrible it would be. There is no question in our minds it will devalue our home as it has taken over our back garden."

Mr Davies said he and his wife looked into what they could do but found that they were powerless. He said: "We tried to open a dialogue with them but it fell on deaf ears. I then wrote a strong letter and they responded to basically say tough ^ there's nothing you can do about it. Even if there is no legal obligation where is their moral obligation? We just want to leave now as soon as possible. The feeling that it is our home anymore has gone."

A Network Rail spokesperson said: "We sympathise that the reconstruction and relocation of Stapleton Road footbridge has impacted visually on some neighbouring properties, however we do have the right to maintain or replace our property. We are aware of Mr and Mrs Davies' concerns and will be discussing these with them. Any party wishing to make a claim for compensation is entitled to do so, and each case would be determined on its own merits."

[JayMac]

Some irony that the Davies' have allowed their privacy to be invaded by inviting local journalists into their home.

I wonder how they are going to feel when the wires go up? That will no doubt also impact on the price of their property. Well at least in their eyes. I suspect that the market value will already reflect the fact that the property is next to a working railway. And no doubt they took advantage of that when they purchased the property.

The railway was there first and it can't be preserved in aspic. It will require periodic maintenance and upgrades and anyone living next to it should understand that.

[TonyK]

I can't help but notice that the former bridge, still visible in the photograph, also offers a view into their garden, albeit not from so close a distance. I assume their neighbours are quietly delighted at the increased privacy they now enjoy. Anyone know how many more footbridges in the area will need raising? There must be several too low for safe passage of 25Kv OHLE.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Mrs Davies, who works for the NHS and is studying for a MA in business management, said: "... If people wanted they could step off the bridge onto our back wall."

I obviously hesitate before questioning Mrs Davies, but I would say that any person who even contemplated undertaking such a feat (for whatever reason they might have) would have to be a fairly proficient freerunner to have any chance of success ... 

[TonyK]

In the finest tradition of investigative journalism, I decided to view this alleged monstrous carbuncle for myself.

The old bridge, seen here, has been completely dismantled, and work was continuing to make good the platform where it had stood.


The new bridge is indeed a bit taller, . IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion), it affords aa slightly better view into the garden in question than the old bridge did, and not quite as good an aspect of the garden 3 doors down from Mrs Davies.



The bridge is more robust in appearance than its predecessor, with filled -in sides to stop little fingers getting at the 25KV cable, and steep coving to discourage sitting on it. It is, as Bignosemac correctly assumed, of modular construction.



You can see the row of holes in the plate securing the end piece to the floor. There is an identical row of holes on the other side, awaiting another deck across two shiny new tracks. What did surprise me, though, is that with the deadline for disabled access looming, a brand new bridge has been built with no chance of getting a wheelchair over it. I can, however, confirm that any attempt by a drunken reveller to jump of the end into the lady's garden would probably be regretted in mid-air, and would end in disaster. Don't try it.

The ambience of SRD has changed hugely since the last time I was there at 8.30 am. There were many people waiting, both platforms, rather than two or three of olden days. A Severn Beach train had just pulled in, which took about half of the peope waiting on Platform 1. A train to Parkway was a couple of minutes behind. In total, 5 trains were expected within the next 30 minutes. It used to be a forlorn little stop, but now looks very much like a railway station. Roll on Four Track, Now!

[TonyK]

Scaffolding has gone up at Stapleton Road. This is against the "live" bridge, on the spare ground to the M32 side of the road. There is fencing around the the whole area under the "dormant" bridge. Bristol City Council's website gives a link to Roadworks.org. This tells us that there is

High impact, delays likely
 Location :  Berwick Road to number 358 Stapleton Road
 Description :  Structural and masonry repairs to railway bridges. Road closure for 1 week within this period.
 Current status:  Advanced planning
 Traffic lights, etc:  Road closure
 Queries should be addressed to Bristol City Council quoting reference QF010TC1266
 Work info last modified 13:00 on 23/05/2013
 Last updated on roadworks.org 17:05 on 18/10/2013
 Data source Bristol City Council

Other posts include the closure of the cycle path in two places for up to 6 weeks each. I'm loving the plural "bridges".

Edit: Since the work on the stone bridge started, the road has closed and reopened. There are now a number of shiny new truss rods through the structure, missing masonry has been replaced, and there has been considerable re-pointing.



Apologies for the snatched snap. Not from the same angle, but comparison with the pre-closure view is possible:



Nothing has been done to the metal bridge, although I did see someone on it.