Final preparations for the big lift

Thursday at Broadway.

The second preparation day for the final part of the canopy. We need to get everything off the end, ready for the new pieces to be lifted in and attached with hot rivets.

On Thursday the right hand side boarding was removed in one piece. This picture shows the left hand side, with the timbers and extension pieces still in place.

It was a beautiful if cold day, and we soon had the forecourt side roof sheets off. The angle iron extension pieces that held the boarding on are still attached to the main framework however.

The left hand corner of brick is also in the way of the new fascia board, so needs removing carefully.

Here is John gingerly removing the valuable, specially made corner brick. It cost £40, and that was 8 years ago! Much of the corner brickwork of specials will be rebuilt, but any that are left over will be put in store for the P2 building.

This picture shows what was removed on the corner. A fascia board will be pushed in here, and then riveted to the end of the truss that you can see.

The steelwork that will be attached to the roof is, from L to R:

Fascia board (forecourt side), purlin, ridge purlin, purlin, and fascia board (platform side). Another truss like the one just visible in the picture will go on the end.

All these pieces were constructed at Toddington two years ago. The Covid crisis has put the erection off by a year, but this year we will do it!

On the platform side the extension piece on the fascia board was also removed, to be replaced by a 6 metre fascia board.

When the main part of the canopy was erected, the extension pieces were only bolted on, not riveted, as we knew that they would have to come off again. They did too, with some persuading. The big angle grinder was for two rivets, mistakenly put where bolts were intended.

As an entr'acte, here is a picture of the P2 side steps as of today. Neal has almost reached the bottom with the boarding on the Malvern side, with the Cotswolds side still to go. We will no doubt resume when the canopy works are completed.

This picture shows Neal removing one of the extension pieces, after removal of the bolts. The top part of the roofing was kept on, and the bottom part reinstated at the end of the day, to protect the Gents underneath from the rain. There will be plenty tomorrow...

Extension pieces in a pile. Most will be reused.

This is our end of the day shot. All boarding, supporting timbers, steel extension pieces and the corner have been successfully removed. Progress has exceeded expectations. The forecourt roof sheets are already back on, and after the picture was taken the end boarding unit was wheeled back into place.

At Broadway all is now ready for the big lift. We're now having two days off. On Monday we will be at Toddington. The job there is to prepare the steel sections ready for our contractor to collect and lift in. We will also be bringing 10 new corrugated iron roofing sheets for this last section. It will have more glazing than the rest of the canopy. The order, again from L to R is: roof sheet, glazing, (Top), glazing, roof sheet. It should feel quite airy underneath then, but also lit by the big replica hexagonal gas lantern that was sponsored by a supporter. This was once the principal entrance to the whole station, remember. The forecourt door in the building today was a non original concession we had to make, in view of the passenger numbers expected.

Tuesday then is the big lift. The weather forecast is good at the moment, so it looks to be going ahead. That will be followed by drilling on site, and then several days of riveting.