Truly an excellent thread – well done everyone. Quite inspiring stuff. My thoughts (before seeing other posts) were also:
[*]The Mersey Viaduct in Stockport – you just want to count the bricks – it's staggering![/*]
[*]Winter Hill – anything you can see for so far around is an achievement in itself.[/*]
[*]The tunnels under the likes of Liverpool, Manchester and of course London – weird when you think about it.[/*]
[*]Ladybower reservoir, and everything that goes with it.[/*]
[*]The M62 betwixt Manchester and Leeds – fascinating to think how they built it.[/*]
However – what about these (from where I grew up)
Some seriously old engineering at Maiden Castle (and there's a bridleway along one edge of it, IIRC.)
Head north west on bridleways along the Ridgeway and you get to Hardy's Monument (Admiral, not the author)
Just visible from the monument (if you look South) is Portland Harbour – impressive in itself, but home to remnants of the Mulberry Harbours used around D-Day.
Thnaks Matthewjb and skiboy. Never knew it was there, and not far from me too.
Reading about building the Wapping tunnel (the first tunnel under water) was quite something. How do you rescue a tunnel that's been breached by the river abopve using basic tools? Good old Brunels.
(Lowey)Thirlmere Aquaduct. Amazing bit of Victorian Engineering. Water is never pumped. Gravity all the way from Thirlmere to Lostock. Takes 4 days.
that's what I wanted to put too! It actually runs near Lancaster, though I haven't seen it, but I did spot a pipe syphon from the train near Kendal which is either it or the Haweswater aqueduct. For some reason I've not been able to find an accuate map of its course so I can photograph nearby features 🙁
I'm trying to encourage people to organise one in any part of the country! Nothing interesting where I live but am pretty busy with organising forum rides anyway!
One was organised at short notice over Easter, it sounded really good but I couldn't make it.
Would definitely be interested if it was Southern, South West, Midlands areas. Volunteers please?
How about Crofton Beam Engines? Oldest steam engine in the world still capable of performing the job it was built for.
Last summer, the electric pumps on the K&A broke down, and the volunteers fired up the engines to rescue stranded boaters.. I think British Waterways should just pay for them to run every weekend as a sort of hot stand by.
Can I make another polite request for kind folk to organise rides so as we can enjoy these structures? A culture ride, as it were.
I did and nobody turned up.
If anyone's still interested in seeing the UK's longest steam railway, the UK's only inland funicular railway, the UK's only current driven ferry and the Elan valley pipeline crossing the Severn on it's way to Brum all on one 35km ride, I'll give it another go.
The ground's drying up now. I'll check my diary and pick a Sunday when I'm not trailquesting or racing and see who else can make it.
Great thread. I am slowly exploring all this local to us, amazing feat(s) of engineering through the 40'-60's.
54 power stations, 78 dams and 300km+ of rock tunnels built….One book I read claims that a 3 mile tunnel, dug from both ends at once was less that 1/2" off maximum in any direction – remember this was all sighted and measured by eye and theodolite.
Who said 'green energy' is new or innovative – it is simple engineering.
Clicky for PDF of more. [img]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/4490407235_2dbfb7a856_b.jpg[/img]
Wow – I was supposed to be vacuuming this afternoon, but have spent it looking at this thread. Fascinating, and I haven't managed to look at all the links properly – yet.
Here's a little one that fascinates me: The New River, runs from Hertford into North London, supplying drinking water. Originally ran by gravity but now some pumped sections.
If you go into Whitewebbs Park (Waltham Cross area, Herts) you can still see parts of the original river AND, still there, but not used (sorry, getting excited) – an iron acqueduct or flash.
One of the pumping stations is now Whitewebbs Museum.