Picture(s) of the day....

[CitroJim]

Norton Camp is still very much in existence Gibbo... Much changed from your days though... Even the old Nissen Huts on the corner are still there but derelict now...

Ps. Beeching did the only thing that could be done at the time, if Attlee's government hadn't nationalised it all the private companies who built it in the first place would have kept it running.

Oh, I know the truth of the Beeching Axe and know he had no choice when given the stark remit of making the network profitable or else! It was a poison chalice and he and only one course of action open to him... Poor man is vilified to this day but it really wasn't his fault.

Still so very short-sighted though, as were many Beeching line closures... Even so, then the Minehead and Ilfracombe lines stayed running until the early 70s because road transport was not good enough... It still isn't arguably...

I watched the last BR train leave Blue Anchor station in 1971 and watched the first steam-hauled WSR train arrive at Blue Anchor in 1976...

I may try to get down there this week with my bike... I love Blue Anchor and it holds a very special place in my life...

[CitroJim]

Gibbo, a scene from Blue Anchor Station I took in May...

[NewcastleFalcon]

Had quite a nice little network of railways in the 1930's Somerset, just needed a small bridge from Weston-Super-Mare to Penarth to complete the picture!

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... merset.jpg

Regards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

There was a railway bridge a bit further up the Severn but it got in the way of the shipping.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/gloucesters ... 106744.stm

[CitroJim]

My old home town (Langport) had two stations.. Now it has none...

I'm currently at dad's place which is maybe 50 yards from the site of Langport East. The line still exists and I see many GWR HSTs flying past each day.. The line Langport West was on is long gone and the site of the station is now occupied by a Citroen garage!

[NewcastleFalcon]

d

[NewcastleFalcon]

....and quite a comprehensive account of the bridge and the accident which brought on its demise on 25th October 1960 is told here in an article titled Lost in the fog

extract Power of the tide
Calm greeted James Dew, skipper of the Wastdale H, as he eased his vessel out of Avonmouth Docks at around 1915 on the evening of Tuesday 25th October 1960, embarking on the return leg of a journey that had begun in Worcester early that same morning. Travelling with him was a crew of three and 351 tonnes of petroleum spirit. Slightly ahead, he could see the lights of tanker barges which had sailed up from Swansea on the afternoon tide. Amongst them was the Arkendale H, loaded with 296 tonnes of Britoleum fuel oil and captained by George Thompson...........

Fog, and the tide, and an element of inexperience, led to a tragic conclusion....

Regards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

One of my young customers got the contract to dismantle the rest of the bridge.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Its something which thousands of people cross over every day but goes unnoticed. But this was the winner of



and having watched this little film I can see why.....its an absolute marvel of civil engineering with the skill and expertese and precision required to produce the structure equally as impressive as for the huge number of stone, brick and ironwork viaducts produced in the Victorian era.




Regards Neil

[CitroJim]

That's one heck of a viaduct Love it...

Another shot of it...

[white exec]

Fascinating film, Neil. Some extraordinary H&S moments, compared with today's standards.
Particularly liked the "manual application" of the epoxy!

Just a few km from us, runs the A7 Autovia Mediterraneo...



Took a good few years to build, and was Europe's most expensive stretch of motorway, moving repeatedly, as it does, straight from high viaduct to tunnel...







Work was halted for almost three years while the deaths of six Portuguese workers were investigated. A section of the horizontal gantry collapsed, with workers on it and under it. The gantry, belonging to the Portuguese company, had not been properly inspected and certificated. A sad episode, remembered every time we use the road.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Absolutely fantastic structure Chris. Further afield I have been interested to see the sheer volume and scale of bridge building in China. I don't know anything really about the geography of China so I wonder if these fantastic bridges are built as statement pieces of their prowess and skill, or absolutely vital parts of a transport network to further develop their economy.

I think you could put together a fantastic motoring tour, taking in some of their spectacular bridges.

Regards Neil

[myglaren]

Been past, over and under the Byker viaduct countless times and to my shame never paid it any attention - it was just 'there'.

[NewcastleFalcon]

Been past, over and under the Byker viaduct countless times and to my shame never paid it any attention - it was just 'there'.

Me too Steve, never knew anything about it or noticed its beautiful "S" Curve, or the shape of the tall columns keeping it up!

Its one of the benefits of not watching television (you tube doesn't count of course) finding little films to amuse, educate and entertain on all sorts of subjects.

This probably would never make it to mainstream TV but it was the prelude to finding that film on the Byker Viaduct. Not the most animated of voice overs but some lovely images, and all good educational stuff, and only 20 minutes or so, which is considerably less than the hour or so I reguarly used to devote to watching "Question Time" getting irritated and shouting at the TV over pointless hotair!



Regards Neil

[Gibbo2286]

A very nice bit of history there Neil, I would have to ask, could it be done in this day and age when NIMBI culture rules the roost?
I find that any proposal for new build from the smallest house to the biggest engineering project brings out the objectors in their hordes, "You can't do that here you'll disturb the newts."