The Grade I listed Bristol Temple Meads Station is undergoing extensive renovation, requiring access to all areas of the main train shed roof for the refurbishment of steelwork, roofing, cladding, and glazing.
RDG designed an access and protection platform that follows the curvature of the station. The platform consists of cambered scaffold cassettes formed by two lines of Asterix HD beams, featuring clip-in end frames and diagonal members. A lateral restraint wire is tied between the spring points to ensure that forces are not transferred to the buildings perimeter walls. The top chords of the cassettes are connected using 2.57m clip-in decks. Due to the station's curved layout, some infill areas between the cassettes are non-standard 2.57m bays, which are filled with tube and fitting scaffolding.
Plywood and profiled metal decking are overlaid onto the platform, acting as a membrane to tie the top chord together. Scaffold towers are to be erected on top of the platform to provide access to the varying heights of the roof structure.
The platform is supported by scaffold towers and perpendicular header beams, positioned along the length of the train shed. o accommodate the inconsistencies and unknowns of the existing structure, loadings on the platform are kept to a minimum, with careful checks made against the proposed method and sequencing of works above the cambered platform. Additional scaffold structures are also constructed to the external sides of the gable end and other areas within the station.
