13 December (Part 1) - Abbey Wood station platform gets a roof
During the past week, Abbey
Wood station has seen even more piling, someone from Network Rail told me there
would be 99 to support the southern side of the new station.
Felixstowe Road
still seems a long way from completion, the third rail insulators have been put
in place and wonder of wonder, a canopy is being put over the new platform.
It might be in place already except that possibly too much reliance is being placed on
mechanisation. When I arrived on the station footbridge I thought it would be nice to have a picture of
the Perspex sheet dangling under the crane’s jib. I stood on the bridge 50
minutes before the men managed to attach the rubber suckers to the plastic sheet
and lift it into place.
In Victorian times a couple of blokes would have carried it up a ladder. Even
today in these safety conscious times an orange suit standing on their scaffold
frame could have hauled up the lightweight roofing panel in a canvas sling in a
couple of minutes.
A week’s worth of pictures including the canopy developments
may be seen here.
Note the time stamps. Nearly an hour to get one panel in place.