Tag: new

June 25th – Over in Telford on Monday morning, sun streamed down on construction workers and engineers preparing for the following week when a huge crane will lift the first, over-railway section of the new bridge into place from where it’s being assembled right next to the westbound platform.

Last week I couldn’t work out how they were going to lift it into place with nothing to put it on – then today I realised that as well as the deck, the piers had been assembled out of their final position too – the two lattice and glass pillar towers beyond the green crane will be bolted onto the matching concrete bases each side of the railway, and the new deck bolted to it, spanning the tracks.

What I can’t work out is why they’ve fitted the glazing before they finally lift the towers – surely moving them will fleet the structure so much the glass will break?

Perhaps it’s tougher than I think… we shall see, I guess…

June 22nd – With the excellent weather we’ve been having, Friday night, post work rides into Brum have become a thing, it seems, and this evening I really needed it. Into the city by the main line from Darlaston to Great Bridge, then coffee, cake and out again vial Spaghetti Junction, Castle Bromwich and the Plats Brook/Newhall Valley cycleway – one of the finest, anywhere.

A lovely, gentle, restorative ride.

June 19th – Back in Telford briefly, I noted that the footbridge project is progressing apace, with both new spans being brought to sigh and assembled on the ground before being lifted onto the piers.

This is clearly a complex structure and one whose support arrangements will be very complex indeed. I notice thanks to old pal of the blog Alan Dawson that the shorter, over-railway section will be lifted into place at the end of June – but I’m unclear what it’ll be supported upon, as yet there’s not steelwork present at either side of the station to place it on.

One assumes it’ll all fall into place quickly.

You can read about the lifting project here.

May 16th – The late return was hurried, and I didn’t take many pictures. But the pause for a drink and a few minutes recovery at the new pond in Clayhanger was well worth it.

A few short weeks ago there was little green here, just shades of brown and grey. Not so now, just a lovely peaceful, sun-dappled view over the treetops, accompanied by a soft, fading sunlight and the sounds of wildfowl rubbing along on the pond.

A lovely spot for a rest. I was glad to get home.

May 10th – Passing on a flying visit to Telford, the new footbridge project is progressing really, really well.

Beside the westbound platform, all the piling and excavations are finished now, and construction of the bridge section to go over the railway continues, while the footings and steelwork for the pier and access ways are beginning to show the final outline now.

Next to the eastbound platform, a forest of steel girders are being piled into the ground for the pier that side.

This really is a most fascinating project.

February 6th – I noticed this interesting steed in the usual customer bike shed in Telford today, a Nukeproof mountain bike. It’s interesting because it’s continuing the trend for almost fat bikes. An expensive steed, it’s fitted with some impressive components.

Fat bikes are in my opinion, preposterous; a bike designed for sand or gravel use, they have huge tyres and matching frame clearances, akin to motorbikes. I see the odd one bought by commuters, when used on normal roads with balloon-like knobbly tyres they must be really hard work. I see more on trails, where the riders look less ridiculous but still quite daft.

The almost fat bike is a bike with larger than normal tyre clearances and usually, larger tyres, but not as huge as a fat bike. They tend to have broader axles than normal, but conventional group sets in the drivetrain. This bike demonstrates that amply. 

I can’t imagine this is much fun to commute on either – those rubbers will drag, and the gearing must be quite hard work with such a small chainring. I still can’t get used to drivetrains with front sprockets smaller than the rear. Fine in their place – the trail – but not on road.

I was troubled by the rather tight clearance between the fork brace and tyre tread: carry a solid object like a stout piece of branch up there and it’ll do some damage.

October 21st – A blustery, showery day, so I restricted myself to a short ride around the patch, washing through the leaves shaken free by the storm. At the new pond at Clayhanger, I noticed a healthy, beautiful holly bush with a dense crop of berries growing in the marsh at the back of the pool. That’s a sign Christmas is coming, for sure.

Autumn has been strange this year. It’s like we fell out of summer with a bump and kept bouncing off winter with no transition…

September 9th – Change is happening fast at the site of the old market in Brownhills. At the start of the week the earthmovers and excavators were just moving on site, and a mere five days later the groundworks are well underway with new sewers and the like being dug.

I’m sad to see the marketplace gone in some ways – like most Brownhillians I remember the good days of the market here as being excellent – but we have to move on, and the days of prosperity for the traditional market generally in the UK have long since passed, their job being replaced by online retailers and everyone’s favourite tat bazaar, eBay.

But it will also be nice to see life here again once more.

August 14th – Another tree I keep an eye on is the odd pear tree growing near the top of the bank between the canal and new pond at Clayhanger. I have no idea how it came to b there and suspect it sprouted from a discarded fruit core.

This small but dense tree usually fruits copiously, but this year is suffering terribly from blight and bird attack. The fruit on this tree have never looked appetising at all, to be honest.

An interesting thing though, and I’ll keep watching as it grows and develops over the years and hope that one day the harvest prospers.