With the opening of Almería’s new intermodal station in June 2000, the city’s old historic station fell into disuse, housing only a number of railway offices. Since then, the Almería City Council has been calling for the station building to be renovated and put to use for the city. With this in mind, Adif commissioned Ineco to draft projects for the restoration of the building (façades, roofs and concourse) as a step prior to transferring ownership of the station to the City Council to determine its final use.

One of the key characteristics of the building is its consideration as a historic ‘monument’ after being listed as a Site of Cultural Interest by the Ministry of Culture, Education and Sport in 1985. This fact means that the building’s exterior appearance and construction systems have to be conserved, and all restoration proposals had to be extremely respectful in order to be approved by the Office of the Deputy Director of Historical Heritage, limiting the renovation options available.

Over the last two years, Ineco has drafted two projects for the renovation of the building, one of which has already been executed and the other in its construction phase. The first project involved executing restoration works and consolidating the ornamental elements of the roof of the station with the aim of replacing the perimeter balustrade of the lateral sections, which was significantly deteriorated, and restoring its ornamental elements, in addition to repairing the entrance canopy.

The second is the construction project, which involves restoring the façades, including metal and woodwork and the glass curtain wall of the central section, repairing the roofs (lateral and central sections), water drainage systems and the slabs of the lateral sections that support it and renovating the original platform canopy, and restoring and enhancing the concourse in the central section, including the lighting, for its future use.

The history of the station

The building dates back to 1893 and is believed to be the work of French architect L. Fargue. It was built by the French company Fives-Lille, which was highly regarded throughout Europe for its iron-framed buildings. As Adif explains in its description of the station, the aspect that particularly stands out about the building is the special way that it merges traditional architecture with new techniques and materials. The development of the railways in the second half of the nineteenth century required new spaces and functions in stations. To address this, engineering and architecture successfully worked together to combine ornamental buildings in the classical style with functional structures of the modern era. Together with engineers, architects gained prominence by designing concourses and platforms with glass and iron, creating spacious, airy and bright structures of which Almería station is a fine example. Other examples of Andalusian station buildings from this period are the historic stations of Córdoba, Cádiz, Málaga, Seville-San Bernardo, Granada, Jaén and Huelva-Zafra.

Adif requested that Ineco draft projects for the restoration of the building as a step prior to ceding the station to Almería City Council

The building was completed in 1893 and was put into use in 1895, when the Almería-Guadix section was opened. Its entry into service, along with the development of the port of Almería, helped to solve the communication difficulties of a province enjoying a full economic and demographic boom due to mining, agriculture and commerce. A number of decades later, during the Spanish Civil War, part of the premises were destroyed and, in 1940, it was closed due to a serious danger of collapse. In the 1970s, a major renovation project began, involving the construction of, among other aspects, a balustrade with slight variations with respect to the original one. In 1974, a refurbishment was carried out on the upper floor and, in 1975, a general renovation of tracks and platforms was done.

In the 1990s, thanks to the Station Modernisation and Equipment Plan, the almost 600 square metres of surface area was restored. The works were supervised by the architects José Antonio Pruneda and Antonio Morales, who managed to restore much of the station’s charm.

The building has a rectangular footprint and consists of three sections: a central one featuring the iron architecture and two symmetrical, side sections with traditional architecture. In the centre, there is a large clock by Garnier of Paris, typical of the railway stations of the nineteenth century. As a whole, the station is a highly representative example of the work of Compañía de los Caminos de Hierro del Sur de España, featuring ornamental elements such as acanthus capitals, entablatures, cornices, etc., characteristics that appear with classical shapes and proportions although made of iron, among which the large glass window in the central section stands out. The side façades are notable for their exposed brickwork and polychrome ceramics on wall lamps, signs, branches, etc.

In Ineco’s project designs, the principles adopted were aimed at acknowledging the building as a heritage monument, documentation and interpretation of its history according to the Xi’an Declaration on the Conservation of the Setting of Heritage Structures, Sites and Areas, adopted in Xi’an, China. 21 October 2005. The restoration of the different elements must be distinguished from the architectural ensemble, and must bear the stamp of our era. The current configuration of the monument building will be respected, regardless of which era its annexes, attachments or extensions belong, given that unity of style is not the purpose of the restoration.

Elements intended to replace missing parts must be integrated harmoniously into the whole, but, at the same time, differentiated from the original parts, so that the restoration does not falsify the monument, in terms of its artistic and historical aspects. The structural, functional and perceptive function of these new elements will, however, seek the original meaning of the monument and always strive not to highlight the inherently historical, following the doctrine of the Council of Europe in relation to cultural heritage, according to the principles of the European Charter of Architectural Heritage. The starting point for this is studying the planimetrics of the building, examining information obtained from historical research and carrying out analyses (petrographic and petrophysical) of the materials.

TECHNICAL CRITERIA FOR THE RESTORATION

The project focuses on the consolidation, restoration and conservation of all façade walls, including original metal and woodwork.

• Removal of foreign deposits, for which, in the case of brick, dry systems will preferably be used to avoid bringing possible salts to the surface.
• Systems that project glass microspheres at very low pressure will be used for the removal of paint from stone or rendering.
• Consolidation treatments will be applied where needed, after testing by petrophysical analysis, with application on laboratory control samples.
• Choice of replacement stone, where necessary, with similar characteristics to the existing stone in terms of appearance, colour, texture, etc., but also with appropriate petrophysical characteristics, based on the tests to be carried out or facilitated by the quarry.
• Where necessary, replacement of mortar: always salt free (no use of Portland cement), with lime binder (good quality) and selected limestone and/or siliceous aggregate. Additives in order to achieve the appropriate properties of porosity, shrinkage, mechanical strength, setting, etc.
• Missing elements will be replaced by moulding the solid negative.
• Replacement stones, as well as restoration mortar used in re-integrations of missing volumes may be subsequently enlivened with patinas of inorganic-based components.
• All replacement elements, whether stone or mortar, will be carved.
• Final pointing mortar for ashlar stones with base of hydraulic lime.
• Waterproofing of all existing or replacement ashlar stone elements.
• All renewed elements must be inspected and dated after the work.

As it corresponds to the monumental city it is located in, Toledo’s railway station exudes art and history: it was designed by the architect Narciso Clavería from Madrid and inaugurated in 1917. Ceramic from Toledo, stained glass, coffered ceilings and wrought iron elements, such as the exterior fence, decorate this Neo-Mudéjar building characterised by the use of brick on its exterior and ornamentation reminiscent of Arab architecture: polylobed arches, crestings, geometric designs…

The passage of time has left its mark on this building, declared Heritage of Cultural Interest in 1991. The renovation work required quality artisan interventions.

An unusual clock tower –whose use at that time was restricted to other types of official buildings to symbolise their importance– stands over the station; the passage of time has left its mark on this building, declared Heritage of Cultural Interest in 1991.

For this reason, Adif began renovation work in 2015 on the rooftop, façades and the tower, in addition to other buildings. In 2013, Ineco drafted the construction project and provided its construction management services to the railway infrastructure administrator; the project required quality artisan interventions in order to recover extremely delicate elements such as the glazed ceramic tiles and merlons, the work of ceramicist Ángel Pedraza, a native of Toledo.

In another, independent project awarded in July, Adif completed this work with the renovation of the station’s large iron lamps: the lamps were waterproofed and repaired and the lighting system was updated with LED technology.

Adif had formerly carried out, also in collaboration with Ineco, another remodelling process, finalised in 2005, to implement a high-speed line.

Repairs carried out

• Repair of the passenger building roof: replacement of Arab-style tiles, white and blue-coloured glazed tiles on false overhangs and ceramic elements on crestings; replacement of gutters, drains and downspouts. Repair of the underground rainwater drainage system which connects the downspouts to the sewage pipes located under the station’s main platform.
• Refurbishment of the left side of the building–first floor (formerly houses) and the ground floor, except for the travel centre: sanitation work on partitioning and walls including elimination of dampness and repair of exterior carpentry to keep spaces in the façade watertight.
• General restoration of the tower: general clean-up including bird excrements caused by their entry into the tower, sanitation work on the interior of the façade (walls and ceilings), repair of carpentry and replacement of broken glass to prevent the entry of birds.
• Façades: repair of cracks and elimination of efflorescence; restoration of decorative stained glass carried out by specialists on the side of the building.

The tower-minaret of five levels holds the original clock which was restored in 2005.

The renovation work is part of the comprehensive restoration project drawn up by Ineco in 2008 which sought to remedy shortcomings while remaining consistent with the historic character of the architecture. These large, riveted iron structures were built as a result of the Industrial Revolution during the 19th century and are epitomised by the Eiffel tower. Spain lagged a bit behind other cities with regard to the use of iron in architecture and engineering as can be seen in countless examples from Paris, London, Amsterdam, Belgium and Germany in addition to Boston and New York in the United States.

With all of this, transport infrastructure in 19th-century Spain such as stations, bridges and viaducts requiring versatility, luminosity, spaciousness and low prices were easily adapted to the engineering of iron which was best received by engineers of that time period as well as by architects. Examples of riveted iron infrastructures in Spain include the Atocha and Delicias railway stations, the Catalonia Railway Museum, the Valencia railway station and the Aranjuez railway station –the main feature of this article. Furthermore, some quite representative buildings include Sabatini’s Royal Firearms Factory in Toledo and the Geological and Mining Institute of Spain, in addition to bridges and viaducts such as the prominent Triana Bridge.

Spanish transport infrastructure in 19th-century such as stations, bridges and viaducts requiring versatility, luminosity, spaciousness and low prices were easily adapted to the engineering of iron

Aranjuez station is one of the most characteristic vestiges of the industrial age of the 19th century. The earliest railway facilities at Aranjuez were built in 1851 for the line connecting Madrid with Alicante, popularly known back then as the ‘Tren de la Fresa’ (The Strawberry Train) and whose name is now in use once again for tourist services. This station also provides service to the C3 Madrid-Aranjuez commuter rail line. It is the second oldest railway line in Spain (the oldest is the Barcelona-Mataró line, 1943) and is one of the monuments of the Royal Sites of Aranjuez, a Unesco World Heritage Landscape Site since 2001. This line originally reached all the way to the Royal Palace. The original station faced towards the palace on grounds of the company’s prestige and the fact that they needed support from the monarchy. Nevertheless, this location caused so many problems affecting train traffic that it became necessary to build a new station with a completely different layout. The platform marquees are living proof of the iron beams and framework –signs of progress from that time period– that were used to construct public buildings such as stations, markets, factories, libraries and bridges.

The technique of riveting

The steel marquees, roofed by fibre cement and fluted glass, were built around 1851 to provide shelter over the station’s three platforms which were later renovated around 1980 in order to adapt them to the trains and general regulations at that time. As can be observed in the images, the marquees suffered from corrosion problems that affected their structural framework, foundation and ornamentation due to an unsatisfactory roof water drainage system, thus causing damage to the suspended wooden ceiling and corroding the metal. Rehabilitation and restoration of these marquees was a year-long, painstaking process that rediscovered the traditional technique of riveting.

Riveting is the process of joining together several metallic pieces (metal sheets and/or profiles) using rivets. Rivets are elements that are similar to screws –but without the thread– consisting of a cylindrical shaft called a shank or the body, and a head normally shaped like a spherical cap, such as the rivets utilised for the marquees at Aranjuez station. These rivets are manufactured from ductile, malleable and durable metals such as copper, aluminium, some alloys and mild steel, such is the case with the rivets presented herein.

Riveting is the process of joining together several metallic pieces using rivets –elements similar to screws but without the thread- consisting of a cylindrical shaft and a head

To join together metal pieces made from steel, rivets are used –also made from steel– whose quality and characteristics can vary. Holes are drilled just once, piercing through two or more pieces, after having assembled, clamped and tightly screwed said pieces together. Once the holes have been drilled, the pieces are separated from each other in order to eliminate metal scrap, remnants and sharp edges from the surface. The diameter of the holes, save for exceptional cases, is made 1 millimetre larger than the diameter of the body of the rivet. Selecting the length of the body of the rivet is very important: after the rivet is placed in a furnace and uniformly heated to a temperature between 950 and 1,050 ºC in order to allow for its moulding, the riveting process is carried out by introducing the heated rivet into the hole on the pieces which are to be joined together. The body of the rivet should be cast and forged in order to form the shop head of the rivet. This piece must completely fill the hole. To form the shop head, either a riveting machine applying uniform compression is utilised, or a pneumatic hammer with a riveting pin or a bucking bar is used, always held steadily in place. These tools –not the direct strike of a hammer– are used to form the rivet’s second head. Both the furnace and the riveting machine need to be located close to the area where the riveting is to take place so as to avoid significant cooling of the rivet before it is set into place. The pieces that are joined together must lie perfectly flush and tight against each other to ensure a union without bending or warping. Afterwards, the rivet is introduced into the pieces that are being joined together, and the body of the rivet is forged. This process is carried out using a pneumatic hammer and a bucking bar on the spherical head of the rivet.