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The people who rebuilt St Pancras
Valentine Low, Evening Standard31.10.07
When the new St Pancras International station opens next month people will no doubt marvel at the feat of construction that has transformed a classic piece of Victorian architecture into an icon for the 21st century.
Few will spare a thought for the workers who toiled for years building the new terminus and high-speed line connecting London with the Channel Tunnel.
But thanks to photographer Brian Griffin, they have been immortalised in a book dedicated to all those involved.
Mr Griffin took the pictures over three years. He said: "It just exploded - when one person was photographed, they went and talked about it and then someone else would want to be photographed.
"I had workers being almost fashion models, butch and very sexy against a plain background, and management being far more introspective, more Edward Hopper-like. Then there were the groups - they were like paintings, like a Frans Hals portrait."
For pictures of the managers who had already left the project by the time he was on board, Mr Griffin had to travel to the US. "They are more David Lynch-like in approach, much stranger," he said.
A favourite picture is of bearded steel fixer Liam McDonagh.
Mr Griffin said: "He looks as if he belongs to the time of Brunel, but if you look closely there are all the modern accoutrements of the modern worker - the safety gear, the mobile phone."
Mr McDonagh, 53, from Camden, said: "I've worked on big projects like the Royal Opera House, but this moved me the most. You grow very involved after all that time - there's a passion and emotion there."
Sandblaster Bob Colwell, 46, from Chatham, said: "It's very moving to see such a wonderful building returned to its former glory."
Lead architect Alastair Lansley designed the 13-platform extension deck and the reconstruction of the east side of the station in the neo-gothic style of Sir George Gilbert Scott, who designed the original.
To see more images of site workers at St Pancras click here
• Teamphoto: The People Who Built The Channel Tunnel Rail Link, is published by IC, price £20.
ST PANCRAS BY NUMBERS
* 1868 - when the original station, with its vast, single-span roof and Victorian Gothic facade, opened
* 8,000 - people have been involved in the restoration and modernisation of St Pancras
* 3,500 - the highest number of workers on site at any time
* 21 - different nationalities have worked on site
* 50 million - man hours have been required to complete the Eurostar High Speed 1 project, including the renovation of St Pancras
* 1 million - bricks have been replaced with new ones cast from Leicestershire clay, sourced specially to ensure they are the same colour as the originals
* 300,000 - Welsh roof slates have been replaced, with the material dug from the same quarry as for the originals
* 18,000 - self-cleaning panes of glass have been used on the roof
* £5.8 billion - the total cost of the Eurostar High Speed 1 project, including £800 million spent on restoring and modernising St Pancras station
* 60 - the number of shops on the mainline rail and Underground concourses
* 96 - the length in metres of the station's champagne bar, the longest in Europe
* 6 - the number of Eurostar platforms
* 4 - the number of Midland Mainline platforms
* 3 - the number of platforms for the new high-speed Kent rail link run by Southeastern to open in December
2 - the number of Thameslink platforms, replacing the station in Pentonville Road
6 - the number of King's Cross St Pancras Underground platforms
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Reader views (3)
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
Sad the clock didn't get a mention...
- Nicky Blunt, Cumbria
Finally planners are realising that the experience of the railway station is an important part of travelling by train. Having somewhere to browse, sit, eat or drink whilst waiting for a train really does make all the difference. I hope we have more high speed rail in this country, but more importantly I hope more of our stations follow this example.
- Richard, Oxford, UK
It is a wonderful piece of work. I have always admired the building and felt it was a shame that it wasn't used properly. Somethinmg to be proud of in London!
- Headhunter, London
