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MEET ME AT ST PANCRAS

  
     
  NEW LIFE IN OLD RAILWAYS  
     
 

Nineteenth Century industrialisation frames Twentieth Century technology at the start of the Twenty First Century. Built to hold town gas made from coal - and then the North Sea methane that replaced it - the ornate but decrepit cast iron St Pancras gas holder remains firmly grounded. The streamlined jet airliner that soars above it is made of the latest light metal alloys, powered by liquid fossil fuel and capable of speeds and distances that would have astounded our Victorian ancestors.

 
     
  Nineteenth Century industrialisation frames Twentieth Century technology at the start of the Twenty First Century. Built to hold town gas made from coal - and then the North Sea methane that replaced it - the ornate but decrepit cast iron St Pancras gas holder remains firmly grounded. The streamlined jet airliner that soars above it is made of the latest light metal alloys, powered by liquid fossil fuel and capable of speeds and distances that would have astounded our Victorian ancestors.

But now the jetliners and their carbon footprints have a rival for the routes to Europe. The railways that once delivered energy rich coal from Midland collieries to St Pancras gas works have been reborn as the 68 mile long High Speed One: linking St Pancras Station - newly upgraded by 1 000 workers at a cost of £ 800 000 000 - with the Channel Tunnel, Paris, Brussels and beyond. The Eurostar trains that run on High Speed One are ten times less damaging to the environment than short haul flights by jet airliners.

  
     
  186 mph electric trains have been running from Waterloo to the Continent since 1994 but High Speed One now lets the Eurostars abandon the crowded third rail dc route west of Fawkham Junction and run under 25 000 volt ac overhead catenary from east of Ebbsfleet in a crescent across north London and the Regent's Canal. The newly extended and improved St Pancras station was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday 6 November 2007 with the first Eurostar to Paris Gare du Nord from St Pancras departing on Wednesday 14 November 2007.  
     
  186 mph electric trains have been running from Waterloo to the Continent since 1994 but High Speed One now lets the Eurostars abandon the crowded third rail dc route west of Fawkham Junction and run under 25 000 volt ac overhead catenary from east of Ebbsfleet in a crescent across north London and the Regent's Canal. The newly extended and improved St Pancras station was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday 6 November 2007 with the first Eurostar to Paris Gare du Nord from St Pancras departing on Wednesday 14 November 2007.

On the afternoon of Friday 16 November 2007 however, construction work just east of the eastern spire of the 1873 Midland Grand Hotel was far from over. Tower cranes - splashed with silver by the setting Sun - continued in the task of redeveloping the land between St Pancras and the double arch of Kings Cross station. At one point I was the only person in the nearby streets not wearing a fluorescent vest and a builder's helmet!

  
     
  NEW LIFE IN A CLASSIC STATION  
     
  Moving west inside the original 243' wide train shed - with the eastern tower of the frontage now visible in the top left hand part of the picture through the self cleaning glass roof supported by sky blue ironwork - a replica of the original St Pancras clock marks the northern limit of Sir George Gilbert Scott's Midland Grand Hotel, added to the station in 1873 but turned into London Midland Railway offices in 1935. The Victorian gothic hotel is due to receive guests again by 2010 but in the foreground a glass wall denies easy access to the centre of William Barlow's arch covered space: the World's largest single span structure when opened in 1868.  
     
  Moving west inside the original 243' wide train shed - with the eastern tower of the frontage now visible in the top left hand part of the picture - a replica of the original St Pancras clock marks the northern limit of Sir George Gilbert Scott's Midland Grand Hotel. Based on a rejected design for a new Foreign Office building in Whitehall and added to the station in 1873, the Midland Grand Hotel was turned into London Midland Railway offices in 1935.

Now known as St Pancras Chambers, the red brick edifice played the part of Arkham Asylum in the film "Batman Begins" and in 1997 was the setting for The Spice Girl's "Wannabe" video." The more flamboyant frontage of St Pancras Chambers also stood in for Kings Cross in the Harry Potter films. Part of St Pancras Chambers is set to become a five star Renaissance Marriot hotel by 2010 while the upper floors will house private apartments.

In the foreground of the picture a glass wall denies easy access to the centre of William Henry Barlow's arch covered space: the World's largest single span structure when opened in 1868 at a cost of £ 117 000. The roof now contains 18 000 panes of self cleaning glass supported by 9 000 tons of ironwork - now restored to the original sky blue with 20 000 litres of paint after 18 other coats - ranging in hue from oxblood to racing green to yellow - from the intervening 14 decades had been stripped off.

  
     
  Turning from the south to look north now, the central glass enclosure can be seen running past the 140 year old northern glazed frontage and under a new transparent flat roof. Even more radical is the way that St Pancras has now become a two tier station. In addition to the upper level - built high enough to allow Midland Railway trains to pass over the Regents Canal rather than tunnel under it as at Kings Cross next door - the basement has been opened up for the use of shops and restaurants. This area is accessed from outside St Pancras at street level or from the platforms by lift and escalator. However, the original cast iron pillars - spaced with the storage of barrels of Burton Upon Trent beer in mind - have been retained and some of these are visible just right of the builder ( orange jacket ) and police officer ( green jacket )  
     
  Turning from the south to look north now, the central glass enclosure can be seen running past the 139 year old northern glazed frontage and under a new transparent flat roof designed by Alastair Lansley. Even more radical is the way that St Pancras has now become a two tier station. In addition to the upper level - built high enough to allow Midland Railway trains to pass over the Regents Canal rather than tunnel under it as at Kings Cross next door - the basement has been opened up for the addition of shops and restaurants such as Foyles, La Senza and Yo! Sushi. This area is accessed from outside St Pancras at street level or from the platforms by lift and escalator. However, the 900 original cast iron pillars - spaced with the storage of barrels of Burton Upon Trent beer in mind - have been retained and some of these are visible just right of the builder ( orange jacket ) and police officer ( green jacket )  
     
  Moving north again from the last picture, the new hierarchy of trains at St Pancras becomes clear. As well as Brighton-Bedford Thameslink services on the lower level, four or five car Class 222 Meridian diesel electric multiple units are operated by Midland Mainline from gated domestic platforms just under the new flat roof in the north west of the station - while the central glass enclosure stretches out to embrace the full length of the Eurostar emus.  
     
  Moving north again from the last picture, the new hierarchy of trains at St Pancras becomes clear. As well as Brighton-Bedford Thameslink services on the lower level, four or five car Class 222 Meridian diesel electric multiple units are operated by East Midlands Trains ( having supplanted previous franchise holder Midland Mainline on 11 November 2007 ) from gated domestic platforms just under the new flat roof in the north west of the station - while the central glass enclosure stretches out to embrace the full length of the Eurostar emus. However, the longest platform at the new St Pancras is just 1 311 feet long - still short of the 1977 feet 4 inches of Gloucester station. 45 million passengers every year are anticipated at St Pancras while 71 million use Kings Cross St Pancras Underground station - the busiest on the London Underground.  
     
  Just as at Waterloo International, the Eurostar platforms have to be segregated as passengers have to pass through Customs and Immigration barriers to reach them. From a legal point of view, the area beyond the glass wall is no longer truly British. In practical terms however, although the old Waterloo International photography ban is not applied at St Pancras, there is no readily accessible high level viewpoint inside or immediately outside the station and the glass wall tends to frustrate those using flash! Nevertheless, with the judicious use of Photoshop a pleasing blend of new and old, vertical and horizontal, straight lines and curves can be achieved.  
     
  Just as at Waterloo International, the Eurostar platforms have to be segregated as passengers have to pass through Customs and Immigration barriers to reach them. From a legal point of view, the area beyond the glass wall is no longer truly British. In practical terms however, although the old Waterloo International photography ban is not applied at St Pancras, there is no readily accessible high level viewpoint inside or immediately outside the station and the glass wall tends to frustrate those using flash! Nevertheless, with the judicious use of Photoshop a pleasing blend of new and old, vertical and horizontal, straight lines and curves can be achieved. Incidentally, the former Waterloo International is expected to be reconfigured for domestic services and operational again by December 2008.  
     
  THE MEETING PLACE  
     
  At the refurbished St Pancras, the expression "Meet me under the clock" has a new meaning, thanks to the work of Gloucestershire sculptor Paul Day. His four tonne 27' high £ 1 000 000 bronze sculpture "The Meeting Place" was unveiled on Monday 22 October 2007 and evokes the romance of rail travel.  
     
  At the refurbished St Pancras, the expression "Meet me under the clock" has a new meaning, thanks to the work of Gloucestershire sculptor Paul Day. His four tonne 27' high £ 1 000 000 bronze sculpture "The Meeting Place" was unveiled on Monday 22 October 2007 and evokes the romance of rail travel.  
     
  Paul Day trained at Cheltenham School of Art, held his first solo exhibition at Cheltenham Museum & Art Gallery and said "St Pancras is the most beautiful and magnificent piece of Victorian engineering and my sculpture is like a cherry on the cake."  
     
  Paul Day trained at Cheltenham School of Art, held his first solo exhibition at Cheltenham Museum & Art Gallery and said "St Pancras is the most beautiful and magnificent piece of Victorian engineering and my sculpture is like a cherry on the cake."  
     
  Paul Day trained at Cheltenham School of Art, held his first solo exhibition at Cheltenham Museum & Art Gallery and said "St Pancras is the most beautiful and magnificent piece of Victorian engineering and my sculpture is like a cherry on the cake."  
     
  SUMMONED BY TRAINS  
     
  Also rightly celebrated at the refurbished St Pancras is the man who saved the station from demolition in 1967 - Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman. Walking north from The Meeting Place, dark grey slate roundels set in the floor contain such poetic fragments as  
     
  Also rightly celebrated at the refurbished St Pancras is the man who saved the station from demolition in 1967 - Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman. Walking north from The Meeting Place, dark grey slate roundels set in the floor contain such poetic fragments as

"Imprisoned in a cage of sound, Even the trivial seems profound"

and

"A gentle guest, a willing host, Affection deeply planted -

It's strange those we miss the most, Are those we take for granted"

  
     
  Also rightly celebrated at the refurbished St Pancras is the man who saved the station from demolition in 1967 - Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman. Walking north from The Meeting Place, dark grey slate roundels set in the floor contain such poetic fragments as  
     
  The statue of Sir John Betjeman ( 1906 - 1984 ) meanwhile captures his character perfectly - slightly dishevelled, a little portly in his old age but looking up in wonder at such magnificent Victoriana as St Pancras.  
     
  The bronze statue of Sir John Betjeman ( 1906 - 1984 ) sculpted by Martin Jennings and based on a photograph by Jane Brown meanwhile captures his character perfectly - slightly dishevelled, a little portly in his old age but looking up in wonder at such magnificent Victoriana as St Pancras.  
     
  The sky blue ironwork was apparently suggested by an early St Pancras stationmaster to remind passengers of the sky. It certainly compliments the rich red and cream gothic brickwork but only a keen eye in the right light will be able to see that each roof rib support is cast with the words THE BUTTERLEY COMPANY DERBYSHIRE 1867. Ninety years after the construction of St Pancras, the Butterley Company won fame again among railway enthusiasts with the construction of Presflo cement wagons for Blue Circle Cement.  
     
  The sky blue ironwork was apparently suggested by William Barlow himself to remind passengers of the sky. It certainly compliments the rich red and cream gothic brickwork but only a keen eye in the right light will be able to see that each roof rib support is cast with the words THE BUTTERLEY COMPANY DERBYSHIRE 1867. Ninety years after the construction of St Pancras, the Butterley Company won fame again among railway enthusiasts with the construction of Presflo cement wagons for Blue Circle Cement.

However, I personally would have liked to have seen the cast letters picked out in white but perhaps this will be a refinement for the future. For more about St Pancras, click on the picture above.