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Falkirk, Scotland
One of the most impressive examples of civil and mechanical engineering in the modern era, however not the easiest of subjects to photograph on a dull, grey bank holiday Monday. The processing reflects my mood at the time of shooting.
Barton Swing Aqueduct, Barton-upon-Irwell
I've posted a full history and tech write-up on a previous upload, but was never really happy with the actual image on account of both bridges opening, which I've never seen before in my life and I got all a bit excited.
Anyway, for those that missed that pleasure, here's a very brief summary...
The Barton Swing Aqueduct is a moveable navigable aqueduct in Barton-upon-Irwell, Greater Manchester, England. It carries the Bridgewater Canal across the Manchester Ship Canal. The swinging action allows large vessels using the ship canal to pass underneath and smaller craft, both narrowboats and broad-beam barges to cross over the top. The aqueduct, the first and only swing aqueduct in the world, is a Grade II* listed building, and considered a major feat of Victorian civil engineering. Designed by Sir Edward Leader Williams and built by Andrew Handyside and Company of Derby, the swing bridge opened in 1894 and remains in regular use.
To my knowledge this is the very first time a new fifth generation F-22 stealth fighter has been photographed at low level anywhere in the world, thrilled. More shots on Instagram at brettcritchley
Barton-upon-Irwell, Gtr Manchester
The only time I've ever seen these bridges in the open position. Barton Swing Aqueduct (left) - the only swing aqueduct in the world and Barton Road Swing Bridge (right) - there's quite a few of these but not as a pair. And the control tower sat nicely between the two.
Lock 92 — on the canal that changed everything.
The Bridgewater Canal was the world’s first true industrial canal (1761), built to move coal cheaply into Manchester and ignite the factory boom. Two and a half centuries later, the lock still sits in the same footprint, carrying the legacy of the world’s first transport revolution.
Falkirk, Scotland
Our main holiday is many months away but we both felt we needed a week off (Mrs R more than I on account of her very busy job). We don't like wasting our hols sat at home and have already done a lot of DIY this year so a few days away was swiftly organised. We've never been to Edinburgh or Scotland for that matter, but the price of a city centre hotel looked a little expensive but my ever resourceful wife found a great deal at the Premier Inn at South Queensferry which delighted me immensely on account of a certain bridge in the area... but more of that in later postings.
I always like to familiarise myself with a route beforehand than simply "wing it" by sat-nav - getting lost is a speciality in our household. We would pass by Falkirk en-route and the opportunity to call in on this engineering marvel was too good to miss. Even more luck... The Kelpies are only 5 miles away as well, so our trip on this bank holiday Monday was bated full of photographic excitement and promise, if only for me! The only thing we over looked was... the bank holiday, the weather, travelling north, Scotland.
So, this is my first posting from our little trip and I make no apology for uploading an obvious image of the wheel but the place was full of visitors (as you would expect on a bank holiday) and I simply grabbed shots inbetween showers when everybody else ran for cover. Having said that, this is more about the engineering than photography for me. Mrs R has already told me it's a boring shot!
A little about the wheel...
The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The lift is named after the nearby town of Falkirk (obviously). It opened in 2002, reconnecting the two canals for the first time since the 1930s as part of the Millennium Link project.
The plan to regenerate central Scotland's canals and reconnect Glasgow with Edinburgh was led by British Waterways with support and funding from seven local authorities, the Scottish Enterprise Network, the European Regional Development Fund, and the Millennium Commission. Planners decided early on to create a dramatic 21st-century landmark structure to reconnect the canals, instead of simply recreating the historic lock flight.
The wheel raises boats by 24 metres (79 ft), but the Union Canal is still 11 metres (36 ft) higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel. Boats must also pass through a pair of locks between the top of the wheel and the Union Canal. The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world, and one of two working boat lifts in the United Kingdom, the other being the Anderton boat lift.
How it works...
The wheel has an overall diameter of 35 m (115 ft) and consists of two opposing arms extending 15 m (49 ft) beyond the central axle and taking the shape of a Celtic-inspired, double-headed axe. Two sets of these axe-shaped arms are connected to a 3.8 m (12 ft) diameter central axle of length 28 m (92 ft). Two diametrically opposed water-filled caissons, each with a capacity of 250,000 litres (55,000 imp gal), are fitted between the ends of the arms.
The caissons or gondolas always carry a combined weight of 500 tonnes (490 long tons; 550 short tons) of water and boats, with the gondolas themselves each weighing 50 tonnes (49 long tons; 55 short tons). Care is taken to maintain the water levels on each side, thus balancing the weight on each arm. According to Archimedes' principle, floating objects displace their own weight in water, so when the boat enters, the amount of water leaving the caisson weighs exactly the same as the boat. This is achieved by maintaining the water levels on each side to within a difference of 37 mm (1.5 in) using a site-wide computer control system comprising water level sensors, automated sluices and pumps. It takes 22.5 kilowatts (30.2 hp) to power ten hydraulic motors, which consume 1.5 kilowatt-hours (5,100 BTU) per half-turn, roughly the same as boiling eight kettles of water.
Each of the two caissons is 6.5 metres (21 ft) wide, and can hold up to four 20-metre-long (66 ft) canal boats. Watertight doors at each end match doors located on the upper structure and lower dock pit. Due to space concerns, where a normal hinged door would dramatically reduce the useful length of the caisson, vertically rising doors were chosen. The doors are raised from a recess in the base of the caisson and powered by a hydraulic lance when docked.
What's so special about the Falkirk Wheel I hear you ask...
This is what the Scots did with their grant from the Millennium Commission, whereas we built a bloody big tent in London with nothing to put in it!
Falkirk Wheel = £78M
Millennium Dome = £789M
Photograph your local culture, help Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SS Great Britain in dry dock at Bristol in 2005, preserved for exhibition as a museum ship
History
United Kingdom
NameGreat Britain
OwnerGreat Western Steamship Company
Port of registryBristol
BuilderWilliam Patterson
Cost
Projected: £70,000
Actual: £117,000
Laid downJuly 1839
Launched19 July 1843
Completed1845
Maiden voyage26 July 1845
In service1845–1886
HomeportBristol, England
StatusMuseum ship
General characteristics
TypePassenger steamship
Displacement3,674 tons load draught
Tons burthen3,443 bm
Length322 ft (98 m)
Beam50 ft 6 in (15.39 m)
Draught16 ft (4.88 m)[1]
Depth of hold32.5 ft (9.9 m)
Installed power2 × twin 88-inch (220 cm) cylinder, bore, 6 ft (1.83 m) stroke, 500 hp (370 kW), 18 rpm inclined direct-acting steam engines
PropulsionSingle screw propeller
Sail plan
Original: Five schooner-rigged and one square-rigged mast
After 1853: Three square-rigged masts
Speed10 to 11 knots (19 to 20 km/h; 12 to 13 mph)
Capacity
360 passengers, later increased to 730
1,200 long tons (1,300 short tons; 1,200 t) of cargo
Complement130 officers and crew (as completed)
SS Great Britain is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York City. While other ships had been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first to combine these features in a large ocean-going ship. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1845, in 14 days.
The ship is 322 ft (98 m) in length and has a 3,400-ton displacement. She was powered by two inclined two-cylinder engines of the direct-acting type, with twin high pressure cylinders (diameter uncertain) and twin low pressure cylinders 88 in (220 cm) bore, all of 6-foot (1.8 m) stroke cylinders. She was also provided with secondary masts for sail power. The four decks provided accommodation for a crew of 120, plus 360 passengers who were provided with cabins, and dining and promenade saloons.
When launched in 1843, Great Britain was by far the largest vessel afloat. But her protracted construction time of six years (1839–1845) and high cost had left her owners in a difficult financial position, and they were forced out of business in 1846, having spent all their remaining funds refloating the ship after she ran aground at Dundrum Bay in County Down near Newcastle in what is now Northern Ireland, after a navigation error. In 1852 she was sold for salvage and repaired. Great Britain later carried thousands of emigrants to Australia from 1852 until being converted to all-sail in 1881. Three years later, she was retired to the Falkland Islands, where she was used as a warehouse, quarantine ship and coal hulk until she was scuttled in 1937, 98 years after being laid down.[2]
In 1970, after Great Britain had been abandoned for 33 years, Sir Jack Arnold Hayward, OBE (1923–2015) paid for the vessel to be raised and repaired enough to be towed north through the Atlantic back to the United Kingdom, and returned to the Bristol dry dock where she had been built 127 years earlier. Hayward was a prominent businessman, developer, philanthropist and owner of the English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Now listed as part of the National Historic Fleet, Great Britain is a visitor attraction and museum ship in Bristol Harbour, with between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors annually.
Development
The SS Great Western on her maiden voyage
After the initial success of its first liner, SS Great Western of 1838, the Great Western Steamship Company collected materials for a sister ship, tentatively named City of New York.[2] The same engineering team that had collaborated so successfully on Great Western—Isambard Brunel, Thomas Guppy, Christopher Claxton and William Patterson—was again assembled. This time however, Brunel, whose reputation was at its height, came to assert overall control over the design of the ship—a state of affairs that would have far-reaching consequences for the company. Construction was carried out in a specially adapted dry dock in Bristol, England.[3]
Adoption of iron hull
Two chance encounters were profoundly to affect the design of Great Britain. In late 1838, John Laird's 213-foot (65 m) English Channel packet ship Rainbow—the largest iron-hulled ship then in service—made a stop at Bristol. Brunel despatched his associates Christopher Claxton and William Patterson to make a return voyage to Antwerp on Rainbow to assess the utility of the new building material. Both men returned as converts to iron-hulled technology, and Brunel scrapped his plans to build a wooden ship and persuaded the company directors to build an iron-hulled ship.[4]
Hull section of the Great Britain, showing the boiler
Great Britain's builders recognised a number of advantages of iron over the traditional wooden hull. Wood was becoming more expensive, while iron was getting cheaper. Iron hulls were not subject to dry rot or woodworm, and they were also lighter in weight and less bulky. The chief advantage of the iron hull was its much greater structural strength. The practical limit on the length of a wooden-hulled ship is about 300 feet (91 m), after which hogging—the flexing of the hull as waves pass beneath it—becomes too great. Iron hulls are far less subject to hogging so the potential size of an iron-hulled ship is much greater.[5] The ship's designers, led by Brunel, were initially cautious in the adaptation of their plans to iron-hulled technology. With each successive draft however, the ship grew ever larger and bolder in conception. By the fifth draft, the vessel had grown to 3,400 tons, over 1,000 tons larger than any ship then in existence.[6]
Adoption of screw propulsion
Replica of Great Britain's original six-bladed propeller on the museum ship. This propeller proved totally unsatisfactory in service and was quickly replaced with a four-bladed model.
In early 1840, a second chance encounter occurred, the arrival of the revolutionary SS Archimedes at Bristol, the first screw-propelled steamship, completed only a few months before by Francis Pettit Smith's Propeller Steamship Company. Brunel had been looking into methods of improving the performance of Great Britain's paddlewheels, and took an immediate interest in the new technology. Smith, sensing a prestigious new customer for his own company, agreed to lend Archimedes to Brunel for extended tests.[6] Over several months, Smith and Brunel tested a number of different propellers on Archimedes to find the most efficient design, a four-bladed model submitted by Smith.[7]
Having satisfied himself as to the advantages of screw propulsion, Brunel wrote to the company directors to persuade them to embark on a second major design change, abandoning the paddlewheel engines (already half-constructed) for completely new engines suitable for powering a propeller.
Brunel listed the advantages of the screw propeller over the paddlewheel as follows:
Screw propulsion machinery was lighter in weight, thus improving fuel economy;
Screw propulsion machinery could be kept lower in the hull, lowering the ship's centre of gravity and making it more stable in heavy seas;
By taking up less room, propeller engines would allow more cargo to be carried;
Elimination of bulky paddle boxes would lessen resistance through the water, and also allow the ship to manoeuvre more easily in confined waterways;
The depth of a paddlewheel is constantly changing, depending on the ship's cargo and the movement of waves, while a propeller stays fully submerged and at full efficiency at all times;
Screw propulsion machinery was cheaper.[8]
Brunel's arguments proved persuasive, and in December 1840, the company agreed to adopt the new technology. The decision became a costly one, setting the ship's completion back by nine months.[8]
Reporting on the ship's arrival in New York, in its first issue Scientific American opined, "If there is any thing objectionable in the construction or machinery of this noble ship, it is the mode of propelling her by the screw propeller; and we should not be surprised if it should be, ere long, superseded by paddle wheels at the sides."[9]
Launch
The launching or, more accurately, the float-out took place on 19 July 1843. Conditions were generally favourable and diarists recorded that, after a dull start, the weather brightened with only a few intermittent showers. The atmosphere of the day can best be gauged from a report the following day in The Bristol Mirror:
Large crowds started to gather early in the day including many people who had travelled to Bristol to see the spectacle. There was a general atmosphere of anticipation as the Royal Emblem was unfurled. The processional route had been cleaned and Temple Street decorated with flags, banners, flowers and ribbons. Boys of the City School and girls of Red Maids were stationed in a neat orderly formation down the entire length of the Exchange. The route was a mass of colour and everybody was out on the streets as it was a public holiday. The atmosphere of gaiety even allowed thoughts to drift away from the problems of political dissension in London.[10]
Prince Albert arrived at 10 a.m. at the Great Western Railway terminus. The royal train, conducted by Brunel himself, had taken two hours and forty minutes from London.[11] There was a guard of honour of members of the police force, soldiers and dragoons and, as the Prince stepped from the train, the band of the Life Guards played works by Labitsky and a selection from the "Ballet of Alma". Two sections of the platform were boarded off for the reception and it was noted by The Bristol Mirror that parts were covered with carpets from the Council House. The Prince Consort, dressed as a private gentleman, was accompanied by his equerry-in-waiting, personal secretary, the Marquess of Exeter, and Lords Wharncliffe, Liverpool, Lincoln and Wellesley.[10]
Launch of Great Britain at Bristol, July 1843
Introductions were made, followed by the "Address to His Royal Highness the Prince Albert", by the town clerk, D. Burgess. Honours were then bestowed on him by the Society of Merchant Venturers, and there were speeches from members of the Bristol clergy. The royal party then had breakfast and, after 20 minutes, reappeared to board horse-drawn carriages.[10]
At noon, the Prince arrived at the Great Western Steamship yard only to find the ship already "launched" and waiting for royal inspection. He boarded the ship, took refreshments in the elegantly decorated lounge then commenced his tour of inspection. He was received in the ship's banqueting room where all the local dignitaries and their ladies were gathered.[10]
After the banquet and the toasts, he left for the naming ceremony. It had already been decided that the christening would be performed by Clarissa (1790–1868), wife of Philip John Miles (1773–1845) and mother of Bristol's MP, Philip William Skinner Miles (1816–1881), a director of the company.[12][13] She stepped forward, grasped the champagne bottle and swung it towards the bows. Unfortunately, the steam packet Avon had started to tow the ship into the harbour and the bottle fell about 10 feet (3.0 m) short of its target and dropped unbroken into the water. A second bottle was rapidly obtained and the Prince hurled it against the iron hull.[14]
In her haste, Avon had started her work before the shore warps had been released. The tow rope snapped and, due to the resultant delay, the Prince was obliged to return to the railway station and miss the end of the programme.[10]
Another extended delay
Following the launch ceremony, the builders had planned to have Great Britain towed to the Thames for her final fitting out. Unfortunately, the harbour authorities had failed to carry out the necessary modifications to their facilities in a timely manner.[15] Exacerbating the problem, the ship had been widened beyond the original plans to accommodate the propeller engines, and her designers had made a belated decision to fit the engines prior to launch, which resulted in a deeper draught.[16]
This dilemma was to result in another costly delay for the company, as Brunel's negotiations with the Bristol Dock Board dragged on for months. It was only through the intervention of the Board of Trade that the harbour authorities finally agreed to the lock modifications, which began in late 1844.[17]
After being trapped in the harbour for more than a year, Great Britain was, at last, floated out in December 1844, but not before causing more anxiety for her proprietors. After passing successfully through the first set of lock gates, she jammed on her passage through the second, which led to the River Avon. Only the seamanship of Captain Claxton (who after naval service held the position of quay warden (harbour master) at Bristol) enabled her to be pulled back and severe structural damage avoided. The following day an army of workmen, under the direct control of Brunel, took advantage of the slightly higher tide and removed coping stones and lock gate platforms from the Junction Lock, allowing the tug Samson, again under Claxton's supervision, to tow the ship safely into the Avon that midnight.[18]
When completed in 1845, Great Britain was a revolutionary vessel—the first ship to combine an iron hull with screw propulsion, and at 322 ft (98 m) in length and with a 3,400-ton displacement, more than 100 ft (30 m) longer and 1,000 tons larger than any ship previously built. Her beam was 50 ft 6 in (15.39 m) and her height from keel to main deck, 32 ft 6 in (9.91 m). She had four decks, including the spar (upper) deck, a crew of 120, and was fitted to accommodate a total of 360 passengers, along with 1,200 tons of cargo and 1,200 tons of coal for fuel.[1]
Like other steamships of the era, Great Britain was provided with secondary sail power, consisting of one square-rigged and five schooner-rigged masts—a relatively simple sail plan designed to reduce the number of crew required. The masts were of iron, fastened to the spar deck with iron joints, and with one exception, hinged to allow their lowering to reduce wind resistance in the event of a strong headwind. The rigging was of iron cable instead of the traditional hemp, again with a view to reducing wind resistance.[19] Another innovative feature was the lack of traditional heavy bulwarks around the main deck; a light iron railing [20] both reduced weight and allowed water shipped in heavy weather to run unimpeded back to sea.
The hull and single funnel amidships were both finished in black paint, with a single white stripe running the length of the hull highlighting a row of false gunports. The hull was flat-bottomed, with no external keel, and with bulges low on each side amidships which continued toward the stern in an unusual implementation of tumblehome—a result of the late decision to install propeller engines, which were wider at the base than the originally planned paddlewheel engines.[21]
Brunel, anxious to ensure the avoidance of hogging in a vessel of such unprecedented size, designed the hull to be massively redundant in strength. Ten longitudinal iron girders were installed along the keel, running from beneath the engines and boiler to the forward section. The iron ribs were 6 by 3 inches (15.2 cm × 7.6 cm) in size. The iron keel plates were an inch thick, and the hull seams were lapped and double riveted in many places. Safety features, which also contributed to the structural strength of the vessel, included a double bottom and five watertight iron bulkheads.[22][23] The total amount of iron, including the engines and machinery, was 1,500 tons.[24]
Two giant propeller engines, with a combined weight of 340 tons, were installed amidships.[24] They were built to a modified patent of Brunel's father Marc. The engines, which rose from the keel through the three lower decks to a height just below the main deck, were of the direct-acting type, with twin 88 in (220 cm) bore, 6-foot (1.8 m) stroke cylinders inclined upward at a 60° angle, capable of developing a total of 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) at 18 rpm.[22][25] Steam power was provided by three 34-foot (10 m) long by 22-foot (6.7 m) high by 10-foot (3.0 m) wide, 5 psi (34 kPa) "square" saltwater boilers, forward of the engines, with eight furnaces each – four at each end.[a]
In considering the gearing arrangement, Brunel had no precedent to serve as a guide. The gearing for Archimedes, of the spur-and-pinion type, had proven almost unbearably noisy, and would not be suitable for a passenger ship.[28] Brunel's solution was to install a chain drive. On the crankshaft between Great Britain's two engines, he installed an 18-foot (5.5 m) diameter primary gearwheel,[29] which, by means of a set of four massive inverted-tooth or "silent" chains, operated the smaller secondary gear near the keel, which turned the propeller shaft. This was the first commercial use of silent chain technology, and the individual silent chains installed in Great Britain are thought to have been the largest ever constructed.[30]
Great Britain's main propeller shaft, built by the Mersey Iron Works, was the largest single piece of machinery. 68 ft (21 m) long and 28 inches (71 cm) in diameter, the shaft was bored with a 10-inch (25 cm) diameter hole, reducing its weight and allowing cold water to be pumped through to reduce heat. At each end of the main propeller shaft were two secondary coupling shafts: a 28-foot (8.5 m), 16-inch (41 cm) diameter shaft beneath the engine, and a screw shaft of 25 ft (7.6 m) in diameter 16 inches (41 cm) at the stern. Total length of the three shafts was 130 ft (40 m), and the total weight 38 tons.[24] The shaft was geared upward at a ratio of 1 to 3, so that at the engines' normal operating speed of 18 rpm, the propeller turned at a speed of 54 rpm.[30] The initial propeller was a six-bladed "windmill" model of Brunel's own design,[31] 16 ft (4.9 m) in diameter and with pitch of 25 ft (7.6 m).[32]
Interior
The interior was divided into three decks, the upper two for passengers and the lower for cargo. The two passenger decks were divided into forward and aft compartments, separated by the engines and boiler amidships.[33]
In the after section of the ship, the upper passenger deck contained the after or principal saloon, 110 ft (34 m) long by 48 ft (15 m) wide, which ran from just aft of the engine room to the stern. On each side of the saloon were corridors leading to 22 individual passenger berths, arranged two deep, a total of 44 berths for the saloon as a whole. The forward part of the saloon, nearest the engine room, contained two 17-by-14-foot (5.2 m × 4.3 m) ladies' boudoirs or private sitting rooms, which could be accessed without entering the saloon from the 12 nearest passenger berths, reserved for women. The opposite end of the saloon opened onto the stern windows. Broad iron staircases at both ends of the saloon ran to the main deck above and the dining saloon below. The saloon was painted in "delicate tints", furnished along its length with fixed chairs of oak, and supported by 12 decorated pillars.[34]
Beneath the after saloon was the main or dining saloon, 98 ft 6 in (30.02 m) long by 30 ft (9.1 m) wide, with dining tables and chairs capable of accommodating up to 360 people at one sitting. On each side of the saloon, seven corridors opened onto four berths each, for a total number of berths per side of 28, or 56 altogether. The forward end of the saloon was connected to a stewards' galley, while the opposite end contained several tiers of sofas. This saloon was apparently the ship's most impressive of all the passenger spaces. Columns of white and gold, 24 in number, with "ornamental capitals of great beauty", were arranged down its length and along the walls, while eight Arabesque pilasters, decorated with "beautifully painted" oriental flowers and birds, enhanced the aesthetic effect. The archways of the doors were "tastefully carved and gilded" and surmounted with medallion heads. Mirrors around the walls added an illusion of spaciousness, and the walls themselves were painted in a "delicate lemon-tinted hue" with highlights of blue and gold.[34]
The two forward saloons were arranged in a similar plan to the after saloons, with the upper "promenade" saloon having 36 berths per side and the lower 30, totalling 132. Further forward, separate from the passenger saloons, were the crew quarters.[34] The overall finish of the passenger quarters was unusually restrained for its time, a probable reflection of the proprietors' diminishing capital reserves.[35] Total cost of construction of the ship, not including £53,000 for plant and equipment to build her, was £117,000[36]—£47,000 more than her original projected price tag of £70,000.
Service history
Transatlantic service
On 26 July 1845—seven years after the Great Western Steamship Company had decided to build a second ship, and five years overdue—Great Britain embarked on her maiden voyage, from Liverpool to New York under Captain James Hosken, with 45 passengers. The ship made the passage in 14 days and 21 hours, at an average speed of 9.25 knots (17.13 km/h; 10.64 mph) – almost 1.5 knots (2.8 km/h; 1.7 mph) slower than the prevailing record. She made the return trip in 13+1⁄2 days, again an unexceptional time.[35]
Brunel, who prior to commencement of service had substituted a six-bladed "windmill" design of his own for Smith's proven four-bladed propeller design, now decided to try to improve the speed by riveting an extra two inches of iron to each propeller blade. On her next crossing to New York, carrying 104 passengers, the ship ran into heavy weather, losing a mast and three propeller blades.[14] On 13 October, she ran aground on the Massachusetts Shoals. She was refloated and after obtaining a supply of coal from the American schooner David Coffin resumed her voyage.[37] After repairs in New York, she set out for Liverpool with only 28 passengers and lost four propeller blades during the crossing. By this time, another design flaw had become evident. The ship rolled heavily, especially in calm weather without the steadying influence of the sail, causing discomfort to passengers.[35]
The shareholders of the company again provided further funding to try to solve the problems. The six-bladed propeller was dispensed with and replaced with the original four-bladed, cast iron design. The third mast was removed, and the iron rigging, which had proven unsatisfactory, was replaced with conventional rigging. In a major alteration, two 110-foot-long (34 m) bilge keels were added to each side in an effort to lessen her tendency to roll.[38] These repairs and alterations delayed her return to service until the following year.[39]
In her second season of service in 1846, Great Britain successfully completed two round trips to New York at an acceptable speed, but was then laid up for repairs to one of her chain drums, which showed an unexpected degree of wear. Embarking on her third passage of the season to New York, her captain made a series of navigational errors that resulted in her being run hard aground in Dundrum Bay on the northeast coast of Ireland on 22 September. There was no formal inquiry but it has been recently suggested by Dr Helen Doe in her book 'SS Great Britain' that it was mainly due to the captain not having updated charts, so that he mistook the new St John's light for the Calf light on the Isle of Man.[40][41][42]
She remained aground for almost a year, protected by temporary measures organised by Brunel and James Bremner.[43] On 25 August 1847,[44] she was floated free at a cost of £34,000 and taken back to Liverpool, but this expense exhausted the company's remaining reserves. After languishing in Prince's Dock, Liverpool for some time, she was sold to Gibbs, Bright & Co., former agents of the Great Western Steamship Company, for a mere £25,000.[45][46]
Refit and return to service
Great Britain in 1853, after her refit to four masts
The new owners decided not merely to give the vessel a total refit; the keel, badly damaged during the grounding, was completely renewed along a length of 150 feet (46 m), and the owners took the opportunity to further strengthen the hull. The old keelsons were replaced and 10 new ones laid, which ran the entire length of the keel. Both the bow and stern were also strengthened by heavy frames of double angle iron.[47]
Reflecting the rapid advances in propeller engine technology, the original engines were removed and replaced with a pair of smaller, lighter and more modern oscillating engines, with 82.5-inch (210 cm) cylinders and 6-foot (180 cm) stroke, built by John Penn & Sons of Greenwich. They were also provided with more support at the base and supported further by the addition of both iron and wood beams running transversely across the hull, which had the added benefit of reducing engine vibration.[47]
The cumbersome chain-drive gearing was replaced with a simpler and by now proven cog-wheel arrangement, although the gearing of the engines to the propeller shaft remained at a ratio of one to three. The three large boilers were replaced with six smaller ones, operating at 10 psi (69 kPa) or twice the pressure of their predecessors. Along with a new 300-foot (91 m) cabin on the main deck, the smaller boilers allowed the cargo capacity to be almost doubled, from 1,200 to 2,200 tons.[47]
The four-bladed propeller was replaced by a slightly smaller three-bladed model, and the bilge keels, previously added to reduce the tendency to roll, were replaced by a heavy external oak keel for the same purpose. The five-masted schooner sail-plan was replaced by four masts, two of which were square-rigged.[47] With the refit complete, Great Britain went back into service on the New York run. After only one further round trip she was sold again, to Antony Gibbs & Sons, which planned to place her into England–Australia service.[47]
Australian service
Antony Gibbs & Sons may have intended to employ Great Britain only to exploit a temporary demand for passenger service to the Australian goldfields following the discovery of gold in Victoria in 1851,[48] but she found long-term employment on this route. For her new role, she was given a third refit. Her passenger accommodation was increased from 360 to 730, and her sail plan altered to a traditional three-masted, square-rigged pattern. She was fitted with a removable propeller, which could be hauled up on deck by chains to reduce drag when under sail power alone.[49]
In 1852, Great Britain made her first voyage to Melbourne, Australia, carrying 630 emigrants. She excited great interest there, with 4,000 people paying a shilling each to inspect her. She operated on the England–Australia route for almost 30 years, interrupted only by two relatively brief sojourns as a troopship during the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny.[49] Gradually, she earned a reputation as the most reliable of the emigrant ships to Australia and carried the first English cricket team to tour Australia in 1861.[50]
Alexander Reid, writing in 1862, recorded some statistics of a typical voyage. The ship, with a crew of 143, put out from Liverpool on 21 October 1861, carrying 544 passengers (including the English cricket team that was the first to visit Australia), a cow, 36 sheep, 140 pigs, 96 goats and 1,114 chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys. The journey to Melbourne (her ninth) occupied 64 days, during which the best day's run was 354 miles and the worst 108. With favourable winds the ship travelled under sail alone, the screw being withdrawn from the water. Three passengers died en route. The captain was John Gray, a Scot, who had held the post since before the Crimean War.[51]
On 8 December 1863, she was reported to have been wrecked on Santiago, Cape Verde Islands whilst on a voyage from London to Nelson, New Zealand. All on board were rescued.[52] On 8 October 1868 The Argus reported "To-day, at daylight, the fine steamship Great Britain will leave her anchorage in Hobson's Bay, for Liverpool direct. On this occasion she carries less than her usual complement of passengers, the season not being a favourite one with colonists desiring to visit their native land. Great Britain, however, has a full cargo, and carries gold to the value of about £250,000. As she is in fine trim, we shall probably have, in due time, to congratulate Captain Gray on having achieved another successful voyage."[53][54] Gray died under mysterious circumstances, going missing overnight during a return voyage from Melbourne, on the night of 25/26 November 1872.[55][56] On 22 December, she rescued the crew of the British brig Druid, which had been abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean.[57] On 19 November 1874, she collided with the British ship Mysore in the Sloyne, losing an anchor and sustaining hull damage.[58] Great Britain was on a voyage from Melbourne to Liverpool.[59]
Later history
In 1882 Great Britain was converted into a sailing ship to transport bulk coal.[60] She made her final voyage in 1886, after loading up with coal and leaving Penarth Dock in Wales for Panama on 8 February.[61] After a fire on board en route she was found on arrival at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands where she ran aground. She was found to be damaged beyond economic repair.[60][62] She was sold to the Falkland Islands Company and used, afloat, as a storage hulk (coal bunker) until 1937, when she was towed to Sparrow Cove, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from Port Stanley, scuttled and abandoned.[63] As a bunker, she coaled the South Atlantic fleet that defeated Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee's fleet in the First World War Battle of the Falkland Islands.[64] In the Second World War, some of her iron was scavenged to repair HMS Exeter, one of the Royal Navy ships that fought Graf Spee and was badly damaged during the Battle of the River Plate.[65]
G-KFCA Ikarus C42 FB80 Kemble Aero Club RIAT Fairford 15 July 2022. This aircraft undertook a world first when under the RAF’s Project MARTIN it flew a flight with 100% UL91 synthetic fuel from Zero Petroleum.
The two giant rockets standing against the wall in the foyer of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum (NASM) on the National Mall in Washington DC are examples of nuclear weaponry banned by international treaty between the United States and the-then Soviet Union.
The 16.5m-tall yellow/green one on the far left of the image with the complicated nose cone is the road-mobile RSD-10 'Pioneer' in Russian, a two-stage, solid-propellant missile with three 150-kT multiple targetable re-entry warheads. It was known by NATO as the SS-20 Saber.
The exterior of the first stage is yellow fibreglass with numbers and Cyrillic letters printed along the circumference. The letters and numbers are used as guides in the manufacturing process when the solid fuel is covered with fibreglass. The second stage has similar markings. Along the base of the missile are white fan stabilisers that assist in guidance.
The Votkinsk Machine Building Plant constructed the missile for the exhibition at the NASM. Exhibition of this missile complies with the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF Treaty) agreement that provided for the preservation of 15 SS-20 and Pershing II missiles to commemorate the first international agreement to ban an entire class of nuclear arms exhibition. It does not contain fuel or any live components. The Ministry of Defense of the USSR donated the missile to the Smithsonian.
Its smaller partner is the 10.6m-high Pershing II, a road-mobile solid-propellant missile deployed by the US Army at American bases in West Germany beginning in 1983, aimed at targets in the western Soviet Union. Each carried a single, variable-yield thermonuclear warhead with an explosive force equivalent to 5-50 kT of TNT. This example is a trainer, but its dimensions and weight are identical to an operational Pershing II. It was built by Martin Marietta and transferred by the Army Missile Command to NASM in 1990.
And in the right foreground are the humble beginnings of the American rocket programme, featuring Robert Goddard's (1882-1945) world’s-first liquid-propellant rocket. His rickety contraption (the cone-shaped skeletal frame in the lower right of the image is a replica), with its combustion chamber and nozzle on top, burned for 20 seconds before consuming enough liquid oxygen and gasoline to lift itself off the launch rack. The rocket took off from a snowy field outside Worcester, MA., in March 1926, reaching a height of about 12.5m and a distance of 56m. The original was smashed on impact. Goddard, his wife Esther, and a couple of assistants from Clark University, where he was a physics professor, were the only witnesses.
The 6.7m-tall Goddard P-series rocket standing adjacent to the cone frame is likely the one that jammed in the launch tower on 10 October 1941 and failed to lift-off. The series was so designated because they contained his propellant pumps. They were also his largest and last liquid-fuel rockets and were tested at Roswell, NM., during 1938-1941.
It is probably the same rocket that was launched twice, 9 August 1940 and 8 May 1941, and repaired after each flight. In both cases, the rocket reached a very low velocity and only about 90m in the first test and about 75m in the second. The tests were discontinued because Goddard moved in 1942 to Annapolis, MD., to undertake wartime work for the Navy.
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McLaren P1
World First !
Spotted @ Paris
Mondial de l'Automobile 2012
"CarPorn" -> Crazy Word ! Thanks to Gemaskerde Muchacho
Follow me on www.facebook.com/cadartemericphoto & on auto-motion.eu !
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Bentley Continental GT3
World First !
Spotted @ Paris
Mondial de l'Automobile 2012
Follow me on www.facebook.com/cadartemericphoto & on auto-motion.eu !
The man between the blades gives you a sense of scale of the size, the propeller is a replica of the original design.
It was Brunel’s designs, as a respected engineer, which finally led to mass take-up of the designs with his own being fitted to the first screw prop vessel to cross the Atlantic and that same machinery (being tested in 2004) having an efficiency of 65% by modern day standards.
My heart was pounding as we approached from the parklot ... this set of images, is our first views of the Grand Canyon...I will admit (rather sheepishly)...I started to cry...maybe it sounds so silly but I was in total and utter awe of what was before me. It is so hard to capture the majesty and expanse that is in front of you...
Click on the images below to view larger...
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Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo
World First !
Spotted @ Paris
Mondial de l'Automobile 2012
Follow me on www.facebook.com/cadartemericphoto & on auto-motion.eu !
The Bow. (front of the ship), Note all the pipework and ducts blowing dry warm air over the ship to stop it rusting.
Brunel's ship was the biggest ship in the world. Brunel had abandoned the idea of a paddle design for the radical new concept of a propeller.
Ha, Crazy Idea, will never catch on..........
The new Five Door Range Rover Evoque, uncovered and filming in London
Please do comment!
Contact for a non-watermarked version.
©Luke Gilbertson
26 November 2022
The video on this article includes a very cute interview with a 3 year old lad :)
www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/meet-auckland-museums-newest...
News article www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/nz/auckland/300746771...
Well yes. After a long time exploring and searching information, I can say this is the first Z4 E89 with air suspension in the world! There are plenty of E85 on air, but E89 generation, this is definitely the first. Still need lots of adjustment now, will solve the issues soon and make it even lower!
The SS Great Britain.
When first launched in 1843, she was the most advanced ship afloat, and the first iron hulled, screwed propelled passenger liner.
She could sail faster and more reliably than any other ship and was the Concord of her day.
Her long life at sea was eventful, sailing a million miles carrying some 20,000 passengers to new life's on the other side of the world.
She is now back in the very dry dock where she was built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
She has been restored and thousands of visitors visit her every year.
The SS Great Britain was rescued from the Falkland islands in 1970 and brought back to Bristol where she sits today work is still ongoing to restore her.
Here are a few photos from my trip to visit her.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bristol MMB 43 SS Great Britain.jpg
SS Great Britain in dry dock at Bristol in 2005, preserved for exhibition as a museum ship
History
United Kingdom
NameGreat Britain
OwnerGreat Western Steamship Company
Port of registryBristol
BuilderWilliam Patterson
Cost
Projected: £70,000
Actual: £117,000
Laid downJuly 1839
Launched19 July 1843
Completed1845
Maiden voyage26 July 1845
In service1845–1886
HomeportBristol, England
StatusMuseum ship
General characteristics
TypePassenger steamship
Displacement3,674 tons load draught
Tons burthen3,443 bm
Length322 ft (98 m)
Beam50 ft 6 in (15.39 m)
Draught16 ft (4.88 m)[1]
Depth of hold32.5 ft (9.9 m)
Installed power2 × twin 88-inch (220 cm) cylinder, bore, 6 ft (1.83 m) stroke, 500 hp (370 kW), 18 rpm inclined direct-acting steam engines
PropulsionSingle screw propeller
Sail plan
Original: Five schooner-rigged and one square-rigged mast
After 1853: Three square-rigged masts
Speed10 to 11 knots (19 to 20 km/h; 12 to 13 mph)
Capacity
360 passengers, later increased to 730
1,200 long tons (1,300 short tons; 1,200 t) of cargo
Complement130 officers and crew (as completed)
SS Great Britain is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York City. While other ships had been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first to combine these features in a large ocean-going ship. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1845, in 14 days.
The ship is 322 ft (98 m) in length and has a 3,400-ton displacement. She was powered by two inclined two-cylinder engines of the direct-acting type, with twin high pressure cylinders (diameter uncertain) and twin low pressure cylinders 88 in (220 cm) bore, all of 6-foot (1.8 m) stroke cylinders. She was also provided with secondary masts for sail power. The four decks provided accommodation for a crew of 120, plus 360 passengers who were provided with cabins, and dining and promenade saloons.
When launched in 1843, Great Britain was by far the largest vessel afloat. But her protracted construction time of six years (1839–1845) and high cost had left her owners in a difficult financial position, and they were forced out of business in 1846, having spent all their remaining funds refloating the ship after she ran aground at Dundrum Bay in County Down near Newcastle in what is now Northern Ireland, after a navigation error. In 1852 she was sold for salvage and repaired. Great Britain later carried thousands of emigrants to Australia from 1852 until being converted to all-sail in 1881. Three years later, she was retired to the Falkland Islands, where she was used as a warehouse, quarantine ship and coal hulk until she was scuttled in 1937, 98 years after being laid down.[2]
In 1970, after Great Britain had been abandoned for 33 years, Sir Jack Arnold Hayward, OBE (1923–2015) paid for the vessel to be raised and repaired enough to be towed north through the Atlantic back to the United Kingdom, and returned to the Bristol dry dock where she had been built 127 years earlier. Hayward was a prominent businessman, developer, philanthropist and owner of the English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Now listed as part of the National Historic Fleet, Great Britain is a visitor attraction and museum ship in Bristol Harbour, with between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors annually.
My Trip To the SS Great Britain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bristol MMB 43 SS Great Britain.jpg
SS Great Britain in dry dock at Bristol in 2005, preserved for exhibition as a museum ship
History
United Kingdom
NameGreat Britain
OwnerGreat Western Steamship Company
Port of registryBristol
BuilderWilliam Patterson
Cost
Projected: £70,000
Actual: £117,000
Laid downJuly 1839
Launched19 July 1843
Completed1845
Maiden voyage26 July 1845
In service1845–1886
HomeportBristol, England
StatusMuseum ship
General characteristics
TypePassenger steamship
Displacement3,674 tons load draught
Tons burthen3,443 bm
Length322 ft (98 m)
Beam50 ft 6 in (15.39 m)
Draught16 ft (4.88 m)[1]
Depth of hold32.5 ft (9.9 m)
Installed power2 × twin 88-inch (220 cm) cylinder, bore, 6 ft (1.83 m) stroke, 500 hp (370 kW), 18 rpm inclined direct-acting steam engines
PropulsionSingle screw propeller
Sail plan
Original: Five schooner-rigged and one square-rigged mast
After 1853: Three square-rigged masts
Speed10 to 11 knots (19 to 20 km/h; 12 to 13 mph)
Capacity
360 passengers, later increased to 730
1,200 long tons (1,300 short tons; 1,200 t) of cargo
Complement130 officers and crew (as completed)
SS Great Britain is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York City. While other ships had been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first to combine these features in a large ocean-going ship. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1845, in 14 days.
The ship is 322 ft (98 m) in length and has a 3,400-ton displacement. She was powered by two inclined two-cylinder engines of the direct-acting type, with twin high pressure cylinders (diameter uncertain) and twin low pressure cylinders 88 in (220 cm) bore, all of 6-foot (1.8 m) stroke cylinders. She was also provided with secondary masts for sail power. The four decks provided accommodation for a crew of 120, plus 360 passengers who were provided with cabins, and dining and promenade saloons.
When launched in 1843, Great Britain was by far the largest vessel afloat. But her protracted construction time of six years (1839–1845) and high cost had left her owners in a difficult financial position, and they were forced out of business in 1846, having spent all their remaining funds refloating the ship after she ran aground at Dundrum Bay in County Down near Newcastle in what is now Northern Ireland, after a navigation error. In 1852 she was sold for salvage and repaired. Great Britain later carried thousands of emigrants to Australia from 1852 until being converted to all-sail in 1881. Three years later, she was retired to the Falkland Islands, where she was used as a warehouse, quarantine ship and coal hulk until she was scuttled in 1937, 98 years after being laid down.[2]
In 1970, after Great Britain had been abandoned for 33 years, Sir Jack Arnold Hayward, OBE (1923–2015) paid for the vessel to be raised and repaired enough to be towed north through the Atlantic back to the United Kingdom, and returned to the Bristol dry dock where she had been built 127 years earlier. Hayward was a prominent businessman, developer, philanthropist and owner of the English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Now listed as part of the National Historic Fleet, Great Britain is a visitor attraction and museum ship in Bristol Harbour, with between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors annually.
Plaque in the dock yard with dimensions of the great ship.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bristol MMB 43 SS Great Britain.jpg
SS Great Britain in dry dock at Bristol in 2005, preserved for exhibition as a museum ship
History
United Kingdom
NameGreat Britain
OwnerGreat Western Steamship Company
Port of registryBristol
BuilderWilliam Patterson
Cost
Projected: £70,000
Actual: £117,000
Laid downJuly 1839
Launched19 July 1843
Completed1845
Maiden voyage26 July 1845
In service1845–1886
HomeportBristol, England
StatusMuseum ship
General characteristics
TypePassenger steamship
Displacement3,674 tons load draught
Tons burthen3,443 bm
Length322 ft (98 m)
Beam50 ft 6 in (15.39 m)
Draught16 ft (4.88 m)[1]
Depth of hold32.5 ft (9.9 m)
Installed power2 × twin 88-inch (220 cm) cylinder, bore, 6 ft (1.83 m) stroke, 500 hp (370 kW), 18 rpm inclined direct-acting steam engines
PropulsionSingle screw propeller
Sail plan
Original: Five schooner-rigged and one square-rigged mast
After 1853: Three square-rigged masts
Speed10 to 11 knots (19 to 20 km/h; 12 to 13 mph)
Capacity
360 passengers, later increased to 730
1,200 long tons (1,300 short tons; 1,200 t) of cargo
Complement130 officers and crew (as completed)
SS Great Britain is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York City. While other ships had been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first to combine these features in a large ocean-going ship. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1845, in 14 days.
The ship is 322 ft (98 m) in length and has a 3,400-ton displacement. She was powered by two inclined two-cylinder engines of the direct-acting type, with twin high pressure cylinders (diameter uncertain) and twin low pressure cylinders 88 in (220 cm) bore, all of 6-foot (1.8 m) stroke cylinders. She was also provided with secondary masts for sail power. The four decks provided accommodation for a crew of 120, plus 360 passengers who were provided with cabins, and dining and promenade saloons.
When launched in 1843, Great Britain was by far the largest vessel afloat. But her protracted construction time of six years (1839–1845) and high cost had left her owners in a difficult financial position, and they were forced out of business in 1846, having spent all their remaining funds refloating the ship after she ran aground at Dundrum Bay in County Down near Newcastle in what is now Northern Ireland, after a navigation error. In 1852 she was sold for salvage and repaired. Great Britain later carried thousands of emigrants to Australia from 1852 until being converted to all-sail in 1881. Three years later, she was retired to the Falkland Islands, where she was used as a warehouse, quarantine ship and coal hulk until she was scuttled in 1937, 98 years after being laid down.[2]
In 1970, after Great Britain had been abandoned for 33 years, Sir Jack Arnold Hayward, OBE (1923–2015) paid for the vessel to be raised and repaired enough to be towed north through the Atlantic back to the United Kingdom, and returned to the Bristol dry dock where she had been built 127 years earlier. Hayward was a prominent businessman, developer, philanthropist and owner of the English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Now listed as part of the National Historic Fleet, Great Britain is a visitor attraction and museum ship in Bristol Harbour, with between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors annually.
Well yes. After a long time exploring and searching information, I can say this is the first Z4 E89 with air suspension in the world! There are plenty of E85 on air, but E89 generation, this is definitely the first. Still need lots of adjustment now, will solve the issues soon and make it even lower!
The engine room
In 1843 this was was the most powerful maritime engine in the world. It was built by Thomas Guppy.
The sheer power and size of this engine fascinated the passengers who had conducted tours of the engine room.
By the 1840s this engine was obsolete as engine design developed so fast.
26 November 2022
The video on this article includes a very cute interview with a 3 year old lad :)
www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/meet-auckland-museums-newest...
News article www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/nz/auckland/300746771...