The Anonymous Widower

Crossrail’s Royal Oak Portal

Unlike the Crossrail tunnel portals at Abbey Wood and Stratford, the portal at Royal Oak is rather hidden away under the Westway, with no suitable vantage point to see the site. This Google Map shows the tunnel portal from Royal Oak station to the footbridge at Westbourne Park, where I took these pictures.

Royal Oak Tunnel Portal

It shows the cramped nature of the site, which is just 21m. wide. This is an enlarged image of the ramp leading down to the start of the tunnel under London.

An Enlarged View

The only pictures I can find on the web with a proper explanation are in this article on the London Reconnections web site. In that article a picture is labelled as the remains of the arches and they are shown under the Westway and facing South. They are probably the arches in these pictures I took from the train.

I am not sure, but it looks like the arches support the access ramp that lead up to the Westway. But they are not shown in this architectural drawing from Acanthus, which shows the area around the Ventilation shaft they have designed for Crossrail.

Crossrail Ventilation Shaft By Acanthus

This Google Map shows the current access with relation to the two bridges and Royal Oak station.

Access To The Westway

Note the long pipes, which I assume are either covering conveyors that remove the spoil for the tunnels or are to there to pump fresh air into the tunnels.

The station has recently been renovated, but once Crossrail is complete to the North of the station, are we going to see a comprehensive redevelopment of the area.

All will be revealed in time.

July 5, 2015 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Crossrail, Driving, Trains