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St Pancras Station
Sectors: Structural, Rail, Civil
Applications: Structural Connection
Summary: The Type AF was chosen to connect the steel framework of a new roof to the existing structure of the grade 1 listed William Barlow shed at St Pancras Station. In the most crucial part of the refurbishment, Lindapter allowed connections to be made to the Victorian arches without any damage to the original structure.
The shed was one of the engineering wonders of the Victorian age. It was designed by William Henry Barlow and building work started in 1863. The station which has a single span roof of 243 feet across with a length of 689 ft and is 100 ft above ground at its highest point was opened to traffic in October 1868.
Fitting a new roof to this protected arched structure posed numerous problems; drilling the Victorian beams was not permitted and welding was not possible. Any other fixing had to be able to accommodate variations in height due to sagging in some areas of the original riveted beam structure.
Lindapter proposed a fixing based on a girder clamp using four Type AF High Friction Clamps, that provided height adjustability by means of varying packing, plus the ability to be moved up and down the beams to optimise the alignment. The clamp hooked over the flange of the existing beam structure (accommodating the taper that is common with older beams) without damaging the protective coatings. Type AF fixing’s ability to accommodate heavy frictional loads ensured a secure connection at all angles of the arched beams. The location plates were pre-fabricated off site, allowing each fixing to be assembled and positioned in a few minutes on site, using just hand tools.