November 14th – I had to go to Telford, and I was keen to see the work on the footbridge replacement is really moving on apace now.
Sectional fencing is up, footpaths and steps have closed, barriers are up and alternate footways tarmac and ready.
And the sad realisation that a favourite station flowerbed was set to be lost, with an excavator standing by.
Oh well, that’s progress for you…
November 3rd – After a spring and summer of waiting for something to start, the 80s footbridge that links to two sides of Telford Station with the nearby retail park and town centre is finally being removed and replaced.
Some details seem off. There’s always been a ramp down to access the Staples store over the road, but now that will not apparently exist and a pedestrian crossing has been installed over the slip road. I’m also concerned about the ramp arrangement on the Shrewsbury-bound side of the station.
It has to be said though, replacement is desperately needed. The bridge, although appearing disabled-friendly is not; there are no braked in the inclines and negotiating it in a hand-propelled chair requires strength and skill.
The bridge supports have now been fenced off and it’ll be interesting to see how this project develops.
January 5th – First trip to Telford of the new year and on a very cold morning indeed – but at least I was prepared for it unlike the night before. I was on a bike with decent tyres for the conditions, but thankfully the black ice was minimal anyway.
I stopped on the old footbridge by the station to record the sunlight thing down the track below – it was dawn-like and harsh, but had a beautiful quality that sunrises alone have, a sort of sharpness, unlike the mellow glow of a sunset.
I must make an effort to record this bridge more – now planning is going ahead, it won’t be long until this curious, red steel structure is replaced by something more practical. Whilst it’s awfully dystopian – particularly at night, it does have a lovely photogenic quality about it.
November 27th – I passed through Lichfield at sunset, and later, into Brownhills West from Chasewater where I checked out a new twist on an old muse.
Lichfield was beautiful but busy, so I grabbed a few shots at Stowe and Minster Pools before heading home through Hammerwich and Chasewater. At Chasewater, I was interested to see how the recent change from sodium lamps to white LED on the M6 Toll had affected the curoious portal effect on the footbridge which has so fascinated me before.
It’s still a very otherworldly effect. This pleases me.
August 22nd – I had to pop to Telford mid day, and leaving the station for the cycleway I looked back and noticed something in the sea of built environment – the tip of a yellow drilling rig near the westbound railway platform.
I noticed a few weeks ago there was an application to build a replacement bridge here – the current one is decaying, and not compliant with disability legislation (the slopes would be very unpleasant in a hand-propelled wheelchair, it’s clear to see). The proposal is in, and it looks like the engineers are doing ground investigations in readiness of anticipated approval.
I never noticed the rig as I rolled past, and it’s position was very secluded – but looking over, it’s quite large.
Hiding in plain sight.
August 3rd – Telford on a quick visit midday, and a surprise: I noted evidence of recent exploratory drilling and a planning application to replace the dingy, 80s footbridge over the railway and adjacent main road with a new structure.
The bridge as it is is corroded and not ideal, but it’s a very large structure and it’ll be interesting to look at the plans for a replacement.
One of the biggest problems with the structure is it’s greatest asset: being enclosed with a roof makes it an excellent sheltering point in bad weather, but makes it dingy, dystopian and unpleasant at night.
I also wonder what they’ll do with the overgrown vegetation that also make the footways here so grim at night.
The times seem to be changing. Let’s hope for the better.
November 30th – Telford, early in the rain. Not quite fully light. The skeletal, brutalist 80s footbridge and covered walkway at the station is like some strange portal. Ghosts of people, further away than you think; exaggerated perspective and peculiarly yellow lighting.
An otherworldly, slightly unsettling place.
August 17th – Between Darlaston and Pleck on the Walsall Canal, near James Bridge, the old turnover bridge for the defunct Anson Branch. It’s just as well the line is truncated now, as that huge pipe renders the turnover aspect of the crossing pointless.
It’s fascinating to see the bracken, buddleia and other weeds gradually dismantling the blue bricks. Gentle, oh so gentle hydraulic pressure gradually and steadily cleaving mortar from brick, using any crack or fissure where a scrap of nourishment can be found.
Nature is remarkable in it’s determination.
July 28th – Called to Telford mid-morning, I hopped on the train and headed over there with my bike. Being quiet, it gave me chance to study the decaying, scruffy footbridge that links Telford railway station to the town centre. Whilst having an interesting perspective effect, this ugly and intimidating edifice gives a very poor impression to anyone arriving at the town by train.
Very much a relic of the 80s, it’s from an age that discovered the social effect of bright colours and modernist design, but hadn’t yet worked through the issues of Brutalism – the coldness, isolation and intimidation of dark, sharp corners.
An odd anachronism that desperately needs improvement.
January 3rd – I was back in Telford today, only the weather wasn’t quite as nice. I was fortunate really, as I expected us have much more rain than we did, and the winds here weren’t as bad as forecast either. I caught a short, heavy shower as I arrived at Telford, and sat it out for five minutes on the covered walkway that forms the station bridge and connects it to the town centre. I could see light on the horizon, and the downpour soon lightened.
The geometry of that walkway fascinates me; it’s very 1980s, but also very solid. Dingy at night, it could do with better lighting, but it’s not a bad piece of urban design, really.
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