Where Next For The Emirates Air-Line?
I like predicting the future and in many cases, I have the knowledge to do my predictions based on fact rather than fantasy.
So now we have got the Emirates Air-Line up and running, where else could we use a similar system within the UK.
The Emirates Air-Line has been designed using the simple single cable, Monocable Detachable Gondola (MDG) technology, which uses a single cable for both support and propulsion. The simple concept probably explains, why the system went from project start to finish in undera year. It is not untried technology, as a similar system in Caracas, is twice the length and has twice the number of cabins. So if you are of a nervous disposition and find the Emirates Air-Line a bit scary, stay away from Caracas. Although looking at my pictures and some of the Caracas system, the gondolas appear to be very similar. Both might have been built by the Austrian company, Dopplemayr. The Emirates Air-Line certainly was.
But it does show the flexibility of the technology, as Caracas system is much larger than the London one. But the Emirates Air-Line is not small in terms of capacity, as its 34 cars can move 2,500 people in an hour, which is the equivalent of thirty buses. Cynics have complained about the cost of £60 million, but then crossing a river, either needs a tunnel, a ferry or a bridge.
Asa an aside here, London’s millennium footbridge cost around £20 million, but of course couldn’t have been used here, as it is not high enough for large ships to pass underneath.
I know England well and I think there are several places, where cable-cars could be a cost-effective alternative to other means of moving people.
Obviously, because I know Liverpool well, a cable-car could be an alternative way to cross the Mersey. Liverpool has a problem in that it has three ageing ferries, that will need replacing at some time. They also do other jobs, like run pleasure trips up the Mersey. As there is a proper railway under te river, Liverpool’s need for passenger movement is not so pressing. But a cable-car system, running all the way from Lime Street station to Birkenhead could be a spectacular attraction taking visitors over one of the best cityscapes in Europe.
Crossing the Tyne at Newcastle, would probably be one of the easiest from an engineering point of view.
Obviously, schemes will come together, when the economics of the Emirates Air-Line are fully understood in a couple of years.
But I think before the end of this decade we will be seeing other cable-car systems in the UK.
The Olympic Torch Goes By
I climbed the hill and then waited on the platform on which the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral is built.
The pictures are in the order I took them.
If I’d made a video, you would have heard the bells ring out. Just as they did, when the Relay passed the Anglican Cathedral.
A few thimgs to note in the various pictures :-
2 – This picture shows the platform at the right, where I took the pictures from.
3 – Lloyds Bank TSB’s publicity vehicle was a converted Bedford CF van, that started its life selling ice cream.
18, 19 – You can spot the Archbishop of Liverpool, the Most Reverend Patrick Kelly in full regalia. Admittedly, it was mainly red, white and blue. He seemed to be enjoying himself, but I don’t know whether he blessed the relay.
21, 26 – The giant puppets are from Hope Street Ltd. and represent Beatles characters.
23,24,25,26 – The building directly opposite is part of Liverpool John Moores University. In my day it was a Roman Catholic Teacher Training College. Opposite the building and behind the one with all the columns, used to be the Everyman Theatre, which is currently being rebuilt.
35 – Note the man on the crane.
36,37,38,39 – The torch and a kiss is in there somewhere.
40 – Walking back towards Brownlow Hill and the University.
What it was like at ground level is shown by this video.
If C Had Been in Liverpool, She’d Have Been Here
St Luke’s in Liverpool, was one of C’s favourite churches, as sitting there at the bottom of the hill, it says so much about the pointlessness of war.
Every time I go to Liverpool, I always pass the church and contemplate for a few moments about what might have been, had she not got the cancer.
Bluecoat Chambers
Bluecoat Chambers is an arts centre in the middle of Liverpool with a rich history. Despite living in the city for nearly five years and having visited many times since, I’d never been in before yesterday.
It’s well worth a visit and the current exhibition brought back many memories of a wonderful holiday in the Ecuador and the Galapagos, that I had with C.
Liverpool Waterfront in the Sun
It was a glorious sunny day yesterday in Liverpool.
The amazing waterfront, showed itself at its best.
It was a pity, that because of the evening celebrations surrounding the Olympic Torch Relay, the Pier Head was shut off.
What Do You Think of it So Far, Ma’am?
Queen Victoria surveys the scene from Derby Square.
What Do You Think of it So Far, Ma’am?
There is also another statue of Queen Victoria, in Liverpool City Centre. It is outside St. George’s Hall and she is portrayed riding side-saddle. How many of our Queens could do that? Queen Elizabeth used to do in public regularly, and Queen Victoria is in the statue, but could she actually do it?
I suspect her Jubilee wasn’t as manic and of course the Olympics were a few years later.
Liverpool’s Main Shopping Street in the Sun
The picture shows Liverpool’s main shopping street yesterday.
Liverpool’s Main Shopping Street in the Sun
Note, how much better these streets are when fully pedestrianised. Compare this to Oxford Street with all the traffic and clutter.
I Tried to Use A Phone-Box
For the first time in many years, I tried to use a phone box, as my Junkberry had run out of charge, after only a couple of hours of use.
A Phone Box That Didn’t Work
It wasn’t a happy experience, as it cost me fifty pence and I never got a dial tone.
Location, Location, Location
With a house, business premises or a restaurant, it’s all about location.
As a coeliac and lover of Italian food, I like Carluccio’s restaurants and eat out in them fairly often.
However, the location of their Liverpool restaurant, is in one of the best places I’ve seen for a restaurant of its type.
I just went out of Lime Street Station walked down the hill for about four minutes, through the bus station and then I was on Whitechapel, a pedestrianised street, that leads between the bus and train stations to Liverpool One Shopping Centre and the Pier Head. The restaurant, is also not far from the Walker Art Gallery and St. George’s Hall.
Incidentally, just round the corner is a taxi rank and Tommy Steele’s statue of Eleanor Rigby.
So it’s in a great location to either start or finish your visit to Liverpool City Centre.
It was also much busier than I expected, as I was at an odd time for lunch. But then I seem to remember that Liverpudlians tend to be very efficient in their trips to a restaurant, as they’ve always got something important to do afterwards.
Bus and Tube Information at Euston Station
When you arrive at the station in a city or town, you often need information to complete your journey to your final destination.
Bus and Tube Information at Euston Station
Most London stations have information booths like this provided by Transport for London at Euston station. I’ve never found such a booth in Manchester Piccadilly and I meant to check Liverpool Lime Street today, but forgot.
They say this about buses at Liverpool Lime Street on the National Rail website.
‘Arriva’ and ‘Stagecoach’ operate a network of daily, frequent bus routes around the city and also to nearby towns. For route maps and timetables: http://www.arrivabus.co.uk and http://www.stagecoachbus.com/merseyside
Liverpools main bus station (on Roe Street) is about 4 minutes walk from Lime Street station.
So should I assume there is no booth. How do you find out what bus company you need?
The same web site gives this for Euston.
Bus route maps are available from Transport for London’s website.
There is no mention of the excellent booth, although the link does point to bus maps for Camden.
There is also no way to contact the National Rail web site, to kick them into line. So we are just Self Loading Cargo left to our own devices.
The Anonymous Widower 