Progress

Here's a photo of Reading station in the 1880's, it was already quite a busy hub, the main station and the Great Western line is on the right hand side adjacent to the large Victorian looking terminal building in the middle of the picture. I'm guessing that the platforms on the left hand side of the picture are the terminus of the Reading-Waterloo line, a line I use regularly today. The general area looks pretty rural, not many buildings around and I suspect there were fields down to the Thames, this contrasts starkly with the current development going on around the station. Below is a photo of the current station area, it's completely developed or being developed and the station itself has been enlarged significantly to incorporate new lines, like cross-rail or the Elizabeth line.

There's a massive new development going on next to the station, you can see it on the left of the platform coverings, where a multi-story car park used to be, it's an office and retail installation and is particularly exciting for me as there's a huge new Siren tap-room going in on the ground floor! It'll be a great place to stop over for a beer on my way back from London, hopefully opening next year!