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[NSC] Victorian engineering.



GT49er

Well-known member
Feb 1, 2009
46,377
Gloucester
Just before the Freshfield Industrial Estate was built, accompanied by a couple of friends, we walked through the tunnel, out the other side, across the Hartington Road bridge, and over the Lewes Road viaduct. This would have been around 1970. We kept walking but when we started to see trains, (we were nearing Brighton Station), we decided it would be prudent to go back!
In the very early '60's, I attended Elm Grove Infants School. From the playground, we used to watch the steam trains going to a from Kemp Town Goods Yard.
Several years after the industrial estate was built and the tunnel blocked up, I managed William Clarke Park (amongst other green spaces), which was made on the land from Elm Grove School down to Hartington Road.
Ah, Elm Grove School - my Grandma started school there, on the day it first opened!
 

Wrong-Direction

Well-known member
Mar 10, 2013
13,375
Thank them for the sewers

Sent from my SM-A600FN using Tapatalk
 

Brok

😐
Dec 26, 2011
4,234
Talking of lesser known marvels, anyone remember the bridge over Hartington Road? The brickwork was amazing - the bridge crossed the road at an angle, on a slope, and the bricks were laid at a 45 degrees to the vertical on one side, then up and over the top, to eventually come down to the other side again at 45 degrees to the vertical, the opposite way round!

It was the most fantastic bit of brickwork I've ever seen -really should have been preserved.

Skew brickwork. Very common on bridges with an angle. Beautiful examples everywhere, especially on the canals.
 

GT49er

Well-known member
Feb 1, 2009
46,377
Gloucester
Skew brickwork. Very common on bridges with an angle. Beautiful examples everywhere, especially on the canals.
Skew brickwork? OK - didn't know that - or that it was done elsewhere; I'd never seen it before. I'll have to make a point of trying to find some now.
 




Tyrone Biggums

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2006
13,498
Geelong, Australia
Some of the early engineering and craftsmanship on early bicycles was amazing for the time.

bi1899pierceshaft1.jpg

Shaft driven chainless bikes were a nice bit of engineering at the time.
 
Maidenhead Bridge is worth looking up on Wikipedia as it combines amazing brickwork (flattest arch ever) and the genius of Brunel.

I had forgotten his Hove connection - is there a plaque?

Second greatest Britain according to a BBC poll, perhaps due in part to him being half French and receiving part of his education there. It is good that so much of his work survives and still fulfilling it's intended use. Favourite is the "SS Great Britain" at Bristol, its epic rescue and return is amazing in itself.

His dad, Marc, was also a noteworthy engineer and all French. Forced to flee France during the Revolution eventually he settled in England.

Ruddy genius foreign engineers, coming over here, building our infrastructure :)
 


Tony Towner's Fridge

Well-known member
Aug 22, 2003
5,382
GLASGOW,SCOTLAND,UK
Victorian engineering was truly brilliant. The concept of piers reflected their ability to think and do outside of the box. Brunel engineered some exceptional things, most of which are still here. However for me the greatest engineer of the era, he was actually more Georgian than Victorian has to be, in my opinion, Thomas Telford. A more complete human being than Brunel, he had the vision to see the merit in and implement a modern road infrastructure. He also founded the Institute of Civil Engineers.

TNBA

TTF
 

GT49er

Well-known member
Feb 1, 2009
46,377
Gloucester
Some of the early engineering and craftsmanship on early bicycles was amazing for the time.

Shaft driven chainless bikes were a nice bit of engineering at the time.
Wonder why it didn't catch on? Apparent lack of brakes, maybe, or perhaps it didn't have the facility to freewheel, which makes going downhill almost as hard as going up!
 


Barham's tash

Well-known member
Jun 8, 2013
3,612
Rayners Lane

That’s awesome. I’ve never heard of it.

To the Victorians engineering on this scale was second nature. It helped create modern Britain and was a get rich quick scheme for investors as a handy byproduct.

The next equivalent (minus the get rich quick scheme) was Apollo in the 60/70’s.

Boringly ours is the Internet and Internet of things.

Wish we had similar grand hard engineering projects of such impact these days.
 

Dick Head

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jan 3, 2010
13,607
Quaxxann
Maidenhead Bridge is worth looking up on Wikipedia as it combines amazing brickwork (flattest arch ever) and the genius of Brunel.

I had forgotten his Hove connection - is there a plaque?

Second greatest Britain according to a BBC poll, perhaps due in part to him being half French and receiving part of his education there. It is good that so much of his work survives and still fulfilling it's intended use. Favourite is the "SS Great Britain" at Bristol, its epic rescue and return is amazing in itself.

His dad, Marc, was also a noteworthy engineer and all French. Forced to flee France during the Revolution eventually he settled in England.

Ruddy genius foreign engineers, coming over here, building our infrastructure :)

There isn't a plaque because the school, Doctor Morell's, was knocked down when the Kingsway was widened. There is a bus though which is better than a plaque any day of the week.

32623125886_37255c7479_b.jpg
 


Tyrone Biggums

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2006
13,498
Geelong, Australia
Wonder why it didn't catch on? Apparent lack of brakes, maybe, or perhaps it didn't have the facility to freewheel, which makes going downhill almost as hard as going up!

Possibly a cost and time thing. I dare say the more basic classic design was much quicker to assemble.

Another great piece of cycling kit from back then were the Kelly bars. Designed so you could adjust them to suit any position you wished to ride the bike in. Their fate like the shaft driven drives was probably down to cost to produce vs standard bars.

kellybars.jpg kellybars2.jpg
 

Madafwo

I'm probably being facetious.
Nov 11, 2013
1,591
Our main train route from the coast is another fine example and is fast approaching its 200th birthday.

At 1 mile 499 yards (2065 metres) the Sussex Clayton Tunnel was completed in 1841 after 3 years of work. Given the tools available to them back then, this always amazes me together with the aforementioned Ouse Valley Viaduct.

One of my favourite things about Clayton Tunnel is the Northern portal.

1280px-Clayton_Tunnel,_West_Sussex,_England_-_May_2012.jpg

And to quote Wikipedia, the Southern portal is relatively unremarkable.
 

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