THE EIFFEL TOWER

Here's a few bridges and an unusual one of another tower... who can name all four (three are easy)?

Going back to Hinckley Point, why is it that almost every nuclear power station seems to be a prototype, with all the teething troubles associated with a first off. Why can't we just use a tried out design with a few knobs on to help decommissioning? Sort of like driving a new Mk1 Ford Cortina. My 2006 VW Passat is the only car that has caused me to hire a taxi and a hire car as a replacement. I wonder over its life time it would be any cheaper to run then a 1960s car. Especially as a 1960s car would be peanuts to produce.

Frank

I think the French are well on the way to catching up, though. They just won the $50 billion (25 billion quid) contract to build 12 new submarines for Australia. And they are not even nuclear subs.

The Japanese offered to do it for half as much. But hey. Who wants subs made by Kawasaki and Mitsubishi Heavy Industry when you can pay extra and get subs made by the guys who make Renaults and Citroens?

Edited By Hopper on 01/05/2016 11:56:15

Hi all hope the Subs get better electronics than the rubbish new cars they produce !!!

I can confirm it's cheaper to run older cars than these new whizz bangs......

I run two old'ns, a1989 Reno Express 1.6D and soon to be. 1928 Citroen pick up....not a diode or transister in sight...hahaha...everything is reparable.....by the way where I live salt is not used in winter......just sold my 1957 2CV Citroen, still had some original paint on the chassis...!!!!!

if you need to go somewhere fast...rent a new car and drive it like you stole it....have some fun....Clogs

I can't name the bridges, but my computer can.

Hi, well talking of bridges here's one that my mother and her younger sister were on, my mum is the one standing. I don't know where it was but maybe in the Grt. Yarmouth or Newmarket area, not at all famous, but I doubt it would be passed by H&S.

Is the middle bridge in Neil's photos Iron Bridge? Don't know where his other two are, but I think I've seen his tower up the North West somewhere

Regards Nick.

The first is a shot of Tarr Steps and, I believe, Amelia. Shock horror how did he know that!???

Well ( apart from knowing the location quite well) when I hover my mouse over the images a title appears!

Now what is the prize?

Norman

Edited By NJH on 01/05/2016 14:35:31

Yes that's definitely tarr steps in exmoor.

And with regards to hopper's comment, i don't see why they would turn down the Japs when they're so much closer to australia and have a much better track record in heavy industry and for half the price? wheres the downside?. Definitely some favoritism at work there. 

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 01/05/2016 15:49:38

Going back to the 'millenium dome'. In my book a dome is held up by compressive forces, like St Paul's or the many Duomos in Italy. The surface of the millenium thing is held in tension, this makes it a tent or perhaps marquee, but then 'millenium tent' doesn't have the same ring does it, and 'millenium marquee' would remind us of a circus.

Neil

The third bridge, somewhere in the Marches over the River Wye or Usk? Just a guess.

I do have the feeling that Hinkley Point 3 has lost its way. It needs redirecting and an awful lot of bridges crossed.

JA

There is a design of nuclear power station which has a proven track record of over 30 years service, which has a current safety case, and is owned by UK plc. I refer of course to the AGR, which I am led to believe produces more heat per ton of fuel, and more electricity per GigaJoule of heat than PWRs. If UK government would get off it's backside and just build our infrastructure rather than pussy footing about with private finance and endless public enquiries we'd be a lot better off. The Victorians would have had HS2 built by now, as it is we spend all the money on feasibility studies, judicial enquiries and the like and slowly disappear down the pan

I know a dome costs alot of money, but you'd be surprised how much of a money spinner the marquee business is, even the people who put them up rake in a ton if they work hard, i know a guy who did it and he said for a few days a week it was more money than he's ever seen in a full time job, obviously the seasonal insecurity is why he'd turn it down again, unless he was unemployed..

With regards to the nuclear power station, i agree with you, the victorians would've just done it, if they came across problems while they did it, they just dealt with it and worked around it, the london underground began life this way. In other words, much more money was spent on actually doing things than thinking about them.

It wasn't all good though, from my memory of my heritage alot more people died in great britain from work accidents. People who built roads, railways, buildings in their many hundreds died from unintentional errors or sheer ignorance to them. But it was just part of the cost in those days, terrible really. Hence why we have alot more H+S as a result, perhaps a bit too much but thats what started it. I still know people whose fathers and grandfathers died this way.

My own, unknown, great granddad who went to work in east london from ireland died from lead poisoning at a foundry, my granddad was only 5 so he never knew him really, wife left to bring up the children and live through 2 world war bombings, sleeping rough on the underground. I owe them alot i suppose!

Michael W

Edited By Michael Walters on 01/05/2016 19:14:47

Middle bridge is the original Iron Bridge in Ironbridge!

Bottom bridge is Landacre Bridge on Exmoor, a fine bit of mediaeval stonework out in the sticks.

Neil

Neil

Do you mean there is another Iron Bridge in Ironbridge? I won't add a photograph.

JA

There's another one just along the Severn at Coalport **LINK**

still carrying vehicles and longer to boot.

The Japanese don't want to build subs for Australia, because they don't want to poke a stick at the Chinese, things are a bit warm(politically), and threatens to get hotter.

Ian S C

On the new Aussie subs. The reason Japan lost out was because the government wanted the subs built in Australia in Adelaide. This is because car manufacturing is winding up in Australia and there was a large plant in Adelaide. They also built the last Colins class subs in Adelaide and so there is a shipyard there that could be used. So they were looking for something to support the manufacturing work force that's about to lose their jobs.

The national election is coming up in the next few months and so jobs are very important.

The 3 tenderers were to provide a price for built offshore and also built in Australia. Japan stated they didn't realise how important the local manufacturing was and in hindsight said they would have done things differently. France must have done a good job with their locally built offer.

Did the UK bid for the new submarines or have we also given up or lost our non-nuclear submarine technology?

JA

No mention of the UK among bidders anywhere that I saw.

The evaluation went for along time and it was only near the end when the shortlisting was down to Germany, France and Japan that the media picked it up and we heard a bit about it.

I can't recall hearing about anyone else but I'm sure there were a few other hopefuls.

Edited By Greg H on 04/05/2016 11:04:53