London Bridge

By the start of the 19th century, it was apparent that the old London Bridge, by now over 600 years old, needed to be replaced. It was narrow, decrepit and a hazard to river traffic. In 1799, a competition for designs to replace the old bridge was held, prompting the engineer Thomas Telford to propose a bridge with a single iron arch spanning 600 ft (180 m). The revolutionary nature of this design won praise but it was never used, due to uncertainty about its feasibility and the amount of land needed for its construction.

The bridge was eventually replaced by an elegant structure of five stone arches, designed by engineer John Rennie. The new bridge was built 100 feet (30 m) west (upstream) of the original site and was completed by Rennie's son (of the same name, confusingly) over a seven-year period from 1824 to 1831. The old bridge continued in use as the new bridge was being built, and was demolished after the new bridge opened in 1831.
Picture © 2006 onwards by Dr Himanshu Tyagi. All the photographs in this blog are copyright protected and can not be reproduced or stored in any medium without the written permission from Dr Himanshu Tyagi.

HMS Belfast

HMS Belfast (C35) is an Edinburgh-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She served in World War II and is now berthed on the River Thames near Tower Bridge in London serving as a museum ship. The ship is administered by the Imperial War Museum.

Launched in March 1938, Belfast was the largest light cruiser ever built for the Royal Navy, with a displacement of 13,175 tons. She struck a mine soon after the start of war in 1939 which put her out of action for three years of repair to her broken back. Once returned to action she served with distinction during which she participated in the sinking of the German battlecruiser (or light battleship) Scharnhorst (Operation Tungsten), the landing phase of the D-Day landings (Operation Neptune). She was given a brief refit for Pacific service in the Far East, and joined Operation Zipper which was intended to eject the Japanese from Malaya but turned into a relief operation following the Japanese surrender. During the last days of the war in Europe, she was spotted in the North Sea by a German submarine without being aware of it. The German captain decided not to fire however, since the war was almost over.

She also served in the Korean War, in which her guns were used for shore bombardment in support of the United Nations forces.

HMS Belfast was decommissioned in 1963 but was saved for the nation in 1971. She was towed to a new berth at Symon's Wharf in the Pool of London upstream of Tower Bridge and opened to the public on Trafalgar Day that same year. Her guns are reportedly trained on the London Gateway Service Area (formerly Scratchwood services) on the M1 motorway, 12.5 miles to the northwest.
Picture © 2006 onwards by Dr Himanshu Tyagi. All the photographs in this blog are copyright protected and can not be reproduced or stored in any medium without the written permission from Dr Himanshu Tyagi.

Tower Bridge, London

The high-level walkways between the towers gained an unpleasant reputation as a haunt for prostitutes and pickpockets and were closed in 1910. They have now been reopened as part of the Tower Bridge Experience, an exhibition mostly housed in the bridge's twin towers. The exhibition also includes photos, holograms and a film detailing the build, along with access to the original steam engines that once powered the bridge bascules, housed in a building close to the south end of the bridge. A Behind the Scenes tour can be booked in advance, on which it is possible to see the bridge's command centre where the raising of the bridge is controlled when a vessel passes underneath. The bascules of the bridge are raised around 500 times a year. Although river traffic is now a fraction of what it used to be, it still takes priority over road traffic. This nearly caused a diplomatic incident in 1996, when the motorcade of United States President Bill Clinton got stuck on Tower Bridge while the bascules were unexpectedly opened.


Picture © 2006 onwards by Dr Himanshu Tyagi. All the photographs in this blog are copyright protected and can not be reproduced or stored in any medium without the written permission from Dr Himanshu Tyagi.