scaffold – BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking

#365daysofbiking Playing pontoon

July 31st – Returning home via the canal at Silver Street, I noticed that the Pier Street Bridge had pontoons and scaffold beneath – it seems to be being repainted, which I’m pleased to see.

It was painted in 2014 and a lot of the paint flaked off, but I had thought with current austerity measures there would not be the money to sort it out. I’m glad to note I was wrong.

I hope they return the support arches to their original white – they looked much more impressive in the original colour scheme.

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January 28th – The work on Ogley Junction Footbridge in Brownhills looks to be more than just a quick coat of paint. On the pontoon built a week ago, scaffold has now been built and looks set to encase the whole structure – possibly to screen it off fo shotblasting.

Crossing the bridge was still possible but tricky with a bike due to the bracing poles across the footpath, and I think this week the bridge will become impassible.

I do hope they create a decent diversion, but at the moment, I’m not optimistic about that, as none was in force when I passed through.

The work carried out on this ageing bridge – one of only three listed structures in Brownhills – will be fascinating to watch.

December 5th – In Telford again, and the work on the footbridge replacement has taken an interesting turn. On the west-side steps, curling around the bridge pillar, a tortuous square spiral ramp is being built in scuffed and wood.

I assume this will be to take the place of the existing ramp, which must be in the way of the new structure, which is to be built closer in towards the station buildings.

That’s quite some ramp and it’ll be fun riding a bike up and down that…

September 17th – I left at lunchtime and headed to Wolverhampton, hopping on to the canal at Wednesfield, then heading to Tipton at Horseley Junction. I was going to Tipton Canal Festival, a do I’d heard great things about but never been to.

Despite the periodic rain, there was bright sunshine too and it was indeed a great event – more on my main blog later in the week. From Tipton, I meandered on the old line into Birmingham via the Toll House Loop, past the M5 viaduct with it’s maze of fascinating scaffolding and derelict dignity of Chance Glassworks.

The cats stayed out until the rain came, and the weather worsened as I approached Birmingham. The peculiarly black, wet heron summed up the feeling of the waterfront at Gas Street perfectly. Is it common for herons to be so black?

By the time I reached Aston the light was failing, the pavers on the towpath were treacherously slippery and the rain was penetrating, so I hopped on a train to Shenstone.

A great ride, despite the weather, that reminded me of why I love Birmingham and the Black Country.

January 24th – Passing through Brownhills High Street, I noticed that the former Blockbuster store – empty for a few years since the chain went busy – seems to be having some kind of refit. But what snagged my attention was the logo of the scaffolding company.

Black Country Scaffolding features the ‘official’ Black Country flag, a symbol created a couple of years ago to promote the area, and it wasn’t intended as a commercial thing at all.

It would be interesting to know if they had permission to use that.

November 25th – A curious thing has happened at Anchor Bridge in Brownhills. There used to be a gas pipe running along the front of the bridge – it was cast iron, and painted black. When I was a kid, climbing it was a challenge and a rite of passage. Yesterday, scaffold was erected at either end of the 300mm diameter pipe; today, it had been removed and the ends capped. I wonder why it’s become redundant?