| Transport Case Study no.5: Design and construction of rail structures |
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Parry Associates' expertise in building materials found a useful application in the field of rail transport after the introduction of lightweight suburban rail operation on the Stourbridge Town branch (see Transport Case Study 4).
At the start of the operation, no covered accommodation was available and access to the high-floor railcar used on the service was itself problematic in the absence of platforms and stairs. Parry Associates were able to respond rapidly to these challenges using a variation of the company's HIGH AND DRY two-storey construction system.
Firstly, an access platform was constructed next to the railcar stabling point, complete with steps. By using the existing waffle-type suspended floor system, a raised reinforced concrete platform was built within a week using materials costing just a few hundred pounds.
It was, however, clearly preferable to have secure covered accommodation for the vehicle, particularly as a number of graffiti attacks were experienced, undeterred by a metal fence and locked gates. Therefore, the column construction technique used in the HIGH AND DRY system was adapted to provide slotted posts, between which walls of interlocking blocks could be built up. The railcar shelter was designed in such a way that the access platform was incorporated inside the new building.
Both the platform and the shelter building are designed to be removable within a single day, and in this event, many of the elements can be reused in another location.
Parry construction technology offers a labour-, cost- and material-saving alternative to traditional forms of building for railways and tramways.
Transport Case Study 1: Development of a new form of rail vehicle
Transport Case Study 2: Temporary demonstrations of street tramways
Transport Case Study 3: Report to the Chief Scientific Adviser - Office of Science & Technology
Transport Case Study 4: Approval of lightweight suburban rail operation on UK national rail network
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