Thornton / Wood The Architecture and Legacy of British Railway Buildings

1825 to present day
1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-1-78500-712-5
Verlag: The Crowood Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 192 Seiten

Railway buildings have always had a fascinating character all of their own, despite many no longer being in operational railway service. This book tells the story of how these buildings evolved alongside the development of the railway in Great Britain and examines how architects over the years have responded to the operational, social and cultural influences that define their work. Written for those with a keen interest in architecture and the railway, as well as those new to the subject, The Architecture and Legacy of British Railway Buildings provides an unique insight into the production of railway architecture, both in the context of railway management and the significant periods of ownership, and the swings in national mood for railway-based transportation. As well as tracing its history, the authors take time to consider the legacy these buildings have left behind and the impact of heritage on a continually forward-looking industry. Topics covered include: the context of railway architecture today; the history of how it came into existence; the evolution of different railway building types; the unique aspects of railway building design, and finally, the key railway development periods and their architectural influences.

Robert Thornton and Malcolm Wood commenced their careers as architects at the Regional Architect's Office for the Western Region of British Rail in the 1970s, before contributing several decades' worth of architectural expertise to the railway architecture industry. They went on to be Principal Architect for Network Rail and Company Secretary to the Railway Heritage Trust, respectively. Their shared experience of designing for the railway environment, understanding the value of practical conservation and recognizing the unique power of railway buildings in regeneration, has led both to the appointed to the Railway Heritage Trust's Advisory Panel and both are judges for the National Railway Heritage Awards.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Thornton, Robert

Wood, Malcolm

Leseproben

Chapter Two

The Heritage

Age and Consequences

The underlying formation and infrastructure of the railways generally dates from the middle decades of the nineteenth century. Whilst there are many buildings of later date representing all styles and manners of architecture, the core station buildings serving railway operations tend to date from the later decades of the nineteenth century as many of the original stations required rebuilding as rail traffic grew at an unprecedented pace. Not only is the infrastructure this aged, but it was predominantly laid down within a relatively short period in two recognized ‘manias’ of building between 1830 and 1875. The scale and rapidity of this enterprise is the more astonishing when one considers that it was embracing pioneering technology.

The consequence of this is that much of what is visible today is made up of Victorian and Edwardian buildings with fewer representative buildings of the second half of the twentieth century, although this balance is being redressed to a degree by new projects now on stream or awaiting commissioning. The bridges, tunnels, cuttings and embankments that are familiar to all rail users generally appear as built but, of course, have been modified or maintained in a manner commensurate with twenty-first century operations. It is a testimony to the quality of the underlying engineering that so much of what was created in the railway building boom periods remains in use – albeit not always for railway operations – despite the intensity of the railway traffic that now runs over, under or through it.

Where they remain, the buildings, in comparison, have often been altered or decommissioned whereby their original character or meaning is lost. Nearly all existing railway buildings, certainly stations, have been modified in each of the periods identified and this is reflected in their visual make-up. This is particularly noticeable in the larger premises such as Paddington Station, which encompasses the 1852 building – itself a replacement for the original 1839 station, the 1916 additional vault, the 1930s offices and platform extensions, the 1990s ‘Lawn’ remodelling, the 2015 taxi facility and new Hammersmith and City line interchange, the 2017 further updating of the ‘Lawn’ and the major rebuilding of the former departure side of the station to form the interchange with the newly constructed Crossrail station. Manchester Piccadilly is another such a hybrid and comprises fully operational buildings dating from the 1860s (the three-span shed), the 1960s (the suburban platforms and the tower block) and the 1990s (the concourse and Metro Station).

This diagram provides an approximate guide to the age profile of railway buildings still in operational use. It also indicates where the conservation interests have been focused, bearing in mind that this activity only gained momentum in the second half of the twentieth century. (Credit: Robert Thornton)

Such buildings thus represent and reflect multiple periods of architecture and the cultural context of each of the periods within which they were altered. For this reason, there is a rich ‘archaeology’ to be experienced or explored in most railway buildings.

This engineering and architectural inheritance very much informs the current asset-management policy of the infrastructure owners and operators, which has to take account of many assessments of the remaining useful life of any particular asset, especially where condition and functional capability might impact on operational safety. These considerations do not just relate to buildings and structures but, importantly, the hidden aspects of earthworks, drainage and even lineside vegetation, although any failings here can of course have deleterious impacts on associated buildings.

Building Condition

Following the significant building repair and improvement work undertaken over the last twenty-five years, it is perhaps difficult to appreciate that the poor condition of railway buildings and the widespread experience of their down-at-heel appearance, particularly after World War II, was leading to a nationally felt desire for significant renewal, particularly by those responsible for their safety and maintenance. This motivated some improvements in the British Railways modernization plan of the 1950s but also informed many of the closures and the demolitions that followed the failings of this initiative during the 1960s and early 1970s.

Waterloo concourse in 2019 with (inset) a similar view from the 1970s. The light-coloured paving installed in the 1980s heralded a major change in the visual quality of station environments. At Waterloo, this included a fully restored roof in the 1990s and the later addition of a gallery to provide more space and facilities for passengers.

The overall impression of railway buildings and particularly stations now is of an architecturally interesting, generally well-maintained infrastructure. Of course, there are poor examples but if one compares images of, for instance, the major stations struggling through the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s to the same examples seen now, the comparison is startling.

One aspect of architectural appreciation that our current generation is largely unaware of, but which had a significant impact on the assessment of Victorian and Edwardian architecture in later periods, is that the industrial developments that accompanied and sustained the growth of the national economy, and indeed the transport system in these periods, were fuelled by coal. This led to the settlement of thick layers of carbon over many edifices, particularly in urban areas. This deposit was so thick that fine details of architectural expression could be completely hidden, and essential building qualities lost to view. Whilst the architectural qualities of strong forms such as Huddersfield or Monkwearmouth stations could still be discerned, it was perhaps more difficult to appreciate the qualities of lesser railway buildings.

This aspect of architecture, which is little discussed now, was partly responsible for the widespread public view that most Victorian architecture existing after World War II represented an out of date and ugly response to our building needs. This attitude culminated in a tidal wave of renewal, slum clearance and general freshening up of the urban environment after post-war austerity.

Whilst many visual improvements came about from the mid-1970s onwards and gained momentum in the business-sector-led railway of the 1980s onwards, one of the biggest changes in the fortunes of railway buildings came about after privatization with the government-funded Station Regeneration Programme (SRP) which saw, over a six-year period, significant improvement to over 2,000 stations. This in itself had been preceded by a ‘Backlog Maintenance’ programme which was intended to address the underlying causes of many buildings’ failures and poor performance such as broken drainage systems, failing building services systems and urgent roof repairs.

The work undertaken as part of the SRP kick-started a number of other projects at the premises in the confidence that the underlying infrastructure would not let the project down at a later date. It is easy to now take for granted the massive improvement this project made to the overall impression of the station environment but perhaps more than any other single project it brought into sharp relief the quality of the architectural inheritance.

Despite the widespread good done by the SRP project there were still a number of station premises that fell through the net, either as a result of ‘planning blight’ or the promise of a replacement project that would solve all ills but did not happen for one reason or another. Some of these were highlighted in the 2009 report to government entitled . Fortunately, the very worst station identified in the report, Wakefield Kirkgate, has now been brought back into line, with a multi-stakeholder package of improvements, a model that is now becoming more commonplace as local communities take more of a part in the planning and development of their local stations.

Wakefield Kirkgate Station, transformed by SBS architects in 2014 in conjunction with a community partnership of Groundwork Trust, Normanton, West Yorkshire with support from Network Rail, the Railway Heritage Trust and local community groups. (Photo: Gary Seed)

Fitness for Purpose

The age, design and condition of the existing buildings in the railway estate has a major impact on the management and development of it to meet the current and future needs of railway companies, especially where the existing buildings affected by proposals have statutory protection or where local community or national interests play a part.

Unlike the situation during the 1950s and 1960s where the buildings were often worn out, rotting or surplus to requirements, the biggest challenge to those developing the estate now is not one of condition but one of fitness for purpose and, of course, commercial and operational performance.

Whilst the core purpose of the railway system in terms of the transportation of goods and people remains as originally intended, the organizational and logistical structure that placed specific building requirements on it has changed significantly over time. For example, the changes in the methodology of maintaining and repairing trains, the storage and trans-shipment of goods such as coal and corn, the development of different means of signalling and so on, have all premeditated the redundancy of many building types such as engine sheds, warehouses,...