Network Rail entrusted Frankham with the protection maintenance and enhancement of the imposing and ornate entrance structure at the front of Marylebone Station.
The Porte Cochere is a Grade 2 listed structure and a Network Rail ‘Golden’ asset, and as such required particular and intensive investigation works all undertaken by the Frankham rail focused building surveying team.
To be sure of capturing sufficient and detailed information to inform a report and works specification, and to guide Network Rail in the proposed maintenance of the structure, an intensive series of inspections was undertaken.
To form a base line for all other surveys, a desktop review of historic and record information was undertaken to establish the core forms of construction and the materials used, and also to identify later modifications and structural alterations. This helped us prepare for the on-site inspections and informed our risk assessment for those surveys.
Obtaining highways licences and suspensions proved very time consuming, and coinciding with delays arising from the Covid pandemic, introduced a 6-month delay for the MEWP element of the survey. We had to carefully arrange all of our other surveys to coincide with that part to ensure continuity.
The MEWP survey had to be undertaken at night and lighting was identified as a potential problem for the inspection. Specific handheld high powered flood lamps were hired to assist and support the inspection. In the end however the MEWP allowed such good and close access that normal hand and head torches were more than sufficient to allow detailed inspection.
FRICS
