Looking At the Thames Tunnel
The Thames Tunnel is the oldest underwater tunnel in the world and was built between 1825 and 1843 by Marc Brunel and his more famous son Isambard. It is now used to carry the East London line under the Thames and you can actually look into the tunnel from the platforms at Wapping station.
I was looking from the Northbound platform, just by the exit and the stairs that lead up to the street. When the station was designed, they decided to put protective railing to stop you failing on the line, but these do not obscure the view down the tunnel as the train approaches.
Around Chambers Wharf
Chambers Wharf has made the news recently, as Thames Water want to make it one of the sites from where London’s Thames Super Sewer is to be built. So I went and had a look round this lunchtime.
I couldn’t actually see much of the site as it is surrounded by blue fencing. But it strikes me that if they do any serious digging from here, that because the site is so close to the Thames, any serious engineer would take the spoil out that way. If Thames Water don’t do that it will probably cost them a lot more, as lorry journeys through a city like London are always delayed by traffic and only carry a few tonnes, whereas a proper barge can carry many times more. If we look at the Olympic site, a lot of materials like concrete and spoil were moved in and out by rail. Also go to Pudding Mill Lane and look at the portal for CrossRail, which is for two much larger tunnels, where the spoil will probably be removed by train. So opponents of the use of the Chambers Wharf site, who say there will be thousands of lorry journeys are not talking engineering sense. The site is also quite large and the hole is only going to be under thirty metres wide, so there should be quite a lot of space for machinery to move the spoil to the river.
I have no direct interest in whether the sewer is built, but I have a friend, who used to live in an area of London, that flooded badly every ten or so years. The sewer will hopefully stop all that.
Although I should say, that as someone who has spent a lot of time around project management and managers, I will say that what gets built in the end, will be quite unlike what was originally proposed. That’s what good project management is about. It makes a project better, cheaper and less disruptive. Hopefully, because of the sensitivity of this project, Thames Water will follow the example of Transport for London on the East London Line and hire the best people and contractors to build the sewer.
I was upset though to see the bench that had held Doctor Salter’s statue is now bare. A picture of it is in this set of pictures.
Three Months Junk Mail
This box contains three months junk mail.
Three Months Junk Mail
It went in the recycling this morning. But why should Hackney Council and my Council Tax pay to dispose of assorted rubbish from fast food shops, catalogue retailers and other junk mailers?
The New Island Platform at Cambridge
This view of the new platform, shows the problem we have at many stations in the UK.
The New Island Platform at Cambridge
The only way to and from the far platforms and the one where the picture was taken is by the bridge at the end, which either means a climb and a descent of stairs or two lift rides. One of the problems of overhead lines is that the bridge needs to be high with a lot of steps. In fact at Cambridge a subway as at Stratford would be better, but that would have increased the cost substantially.
But surely, in this day and age something better can be designed, that was quick and easy to install and could be installed at many stations.
Along the Cambridge Busway
Where I was going was just a short walk from a stop on the new Cambridge Busway, but because I couldn’t find anybody who knew the rules about the busway, I decided to go to my meeting in a taxi. I did however take the busway back to Cambridge City centre on the way back to the station and took these pictures.
The bus was quite smart with leather seats and wi-fi.
But the busway has a lot of design faults.
- There is no information on the busway at the station.
- It would be logical if all buses went via the main bus station at Dummer Street and the rail station. I assumed this. When I found myself dumped in the centre, I decided to have lunch and then had to queue up for another bus for the station. I’d have preferred to go straight to the station.
- There is no timing on the bus maps, so you have no idea when you might want to ask someone to pick you up.
- The bus displays at the stops, don’t say whether they go to the rail station. They don’t list the intermediate stops too, as trains do.
- As they are new modern buses, why can’t they announce the stops like all London ones do?
- The bus map is poor and lacks detail. It does have a text system to find the next bus, but you have to type in 8 letters. How come London can handle all of the metropolis with just 5 digits! Perhaps people in Cambridge like to have their fingers tested, whereas those in London can only manage 5 digits!
It all smacks of a design that wasn’t put together by the best designer. It is attention to detail, that makes tranportation systems good. London and Sheffield have informastion systems that are so much better.
A Smart New Train
I went to Cambridge on Tuesday in this smart new Class 379 train, built by Bombardier.
Note the powerpoints for mobile devices like iPhones.
Sadly, I only got a refurbished Class 317 on the way back and I couldn’t face forward as that irritated my back, which the 379 didn’t!
On the 31st I’m going to Ipswich for the football and now, I’ll take a train to Cambridge early, have a late gluten-free lunch in the City before taking a train to Ipswich. I’ll come home direct.
A Dangerous Van?
I saw this van parked in the City
A Dangerous Van?
But it did catch my eye, which is the purpose the paint job.
Dami Killers Should Have Been Hanged
This was front page headline in the Evening Standard and it is the words of Damilola Taylor’s father Richard on the release of the two Preddie brothers who killed his son. Read the story of the case here.
I of course don’t agree, especially as the brothers were just 12 and 13 when they killed his son. They actually got eight years youth custody for manslaughter.
I know what it is like to lose a son, but I can’t help feeling that the Death of Damilola Taylor was avoidable, if the various agencies and parents on both sides had taken more care and stood by their responsibilities.
But what I object to, is that newspapers are increasingly going on that the death penalty is the solution to the problems of violence and knife crime. But we all know sensationalism sells newspapers.
One point we should always remember, is that the Taylor family relocated to the UK to get treatment for Damilola’s elder sister’s epilepsy. Surely with all it’s wealth Nigeria could do more to look after the people rather than descending into endless criminality and religious violence.
Do We Really Need More Subways?
It has been announced today, that Subway is to open a large number of new outlets and create a lot of jobs.
The jobs are welcome, but do we really need all these sandwich shops selling obesity?
As a coeliac the answer is an overwhelming no, as they have no gluten-free products. But then we’re all going to pick up the bill for the obesity through the NHS.
One of the biggest problems too is that they might create a lot of jobs, but how many small places will be put out of business, thus adding to the jobless pile.
We should tax all fast food shops on the calories of the average order.
That would fix them! Hopefully, by restructuring the product ine.
I particular hate Subway for two other reasons; they are always throwing junk mail through my letter box, despite a prohibition notice and lots of pavements are blocked by their salesmen handing out flyers.
Do we really want to import the United States’s worst export; obesity?
The Anonymous Widower 