Publications received - what do they say about Greenwich??

So - what has turned up in the post??

Subterranea
This excellent journal is now turning up more regularly with articles and features about undergroundia worldwide. Greenwich??
  ---  Crossrail Overview - some very sparse details of current tunnelling plans including Plumstead-North Woolwich
  ---  An article on the delays in refurbishing our two foot tunnels. This is taken from News Shopper and so doesn't need requoting here.
  --- 

Redriff Chronicle
We have had three issues of this in the post. So - some of the highlights -

Spring 2012
An obituary to Peter Gurnett - who came to speak to us on several occasions. He was an expert on the history of Stone's (of Deptford and later Charlton).  He had a distinguished career in Deptford's local history and it is important to note his passing.
Other articles include one on successive Rotherhithe Libraries (plus statue of Tommy Steele).  A report of a talk on Firefighting in Bermondsey. A report of a Great War dug out under London Bridge Station and the planned use of railway networks and communications systems during the war (this is fascinating)

Autumn 2011
A report of a visit to the Limehouse Accumulator Tower (sorry, wrong side of the river - but very interesting). 
An article about the Caryatides of Rotherhithe - I can just about remember seeing these ladies holding up a wall in Rotherhithe in the 1960s - always wondered about them - and then in 1980something I cut through the Heygate Estate at the Elephant, and there they were. Anyway, the Heygate is also now gone and the ladies are apparently back in Rotherhithe. Must go and see them!

Autumn 2012
An article about a 17th century Rotherhithe engineer - Thomas Steers. He built some important docks in - er - Liverpool.
Bittersweet - the story of Hartley's Jam. The Jam Factory just off Tower Bridge Road is now posh flats.  The article doesn't shirk from the labour conditions prevailing in the vast sweet and pickle business of east and south east London - where women, whose dockworker husbands depended on the daily 'call in' system, would take any seasonal work at low wages.

and much else.   Their programme of talks for early 2013 is

30th January    The Bermondsey By Election - the 30th Anniversary. with Simon Hughes and Peter Tachell.  (special admission arrangments - need to do it through their web site - assume they don't want the ghost of Bob Mellish turning up)
27th February   Subterranean Railway. 130 years of the London Underground.  Christian Wolmar
24th April    Ships and the Sea in Bermondsey and Rotherhithe. Stephen Humphery
These are at Time and Talents Old Mortuary in Rotherhithe Street. 7.30


Dockyards  - this is the newsletter of the Naval Dockyards Society.  Articles include
Bermuda. .. a Major Royal Naval Dockyard.   This long and important article takes up the majority of the space.
Malta Update

But - most excitingly - they are advertising for 20th April a Conference on Five Hundred Years of Deptford and Woolwich Royal Dockyards.   This follows their AGM at the National Maritime Museum and booking is absolutely essential.  The event is to be opened by Joan Ruddock, MP.
The speaker list is made up of people many of whom will be very very familiar to GIHS members - in fact some of them ARE GIHS members (and they can rest assured they will be asked to do a reprise for one of our meetings).  The speakers are:

Peter Cross-Rudkin on John Rennie and the Naval Dockyards 1806-1821
Chris Ellmers on Deptford private shipyards and their relationship to Deptford Dockyard 1790-1869
Duncan Hawkins on The Archaeology of a Dockyard.  Investigations at Deptford 2000-2012
Chris Mazeika and William Richards on The role of post-closure documentation in understanding the history of the dockyard officers' terrace at Deptford
Mark Stevenson on Block and Tackle: raising significance. English Heritage, archaeology and development management

This all costs £40 and you get lunch and you have to have booked by 12th April.  Information and bookings to Ann Coats.  anncoats49@gmail.com.    Their website is www.navaldockyards.org and on Facebook Naval-Dockyards-Society   and Twitter @navaldocksoc

- a lot more to come - its not just Christmas Cards which have been turning up the last week or so

Another Digi-Creation Show & Tell :)

I've been enjoying playing around with PhotoShop lately, as you may have noticed ; )

This one started as an option for a event invitation; it's not going to be used for that, but I couldn't help playing around with it a bit more for a new background for my Ipad...

Original photo by: Elizabeth of 2 Bird Studio.  Models: Josh K. & Chanel  (of the Trey McIntyre Project)

I really don't know what I'm doing with photoshop & it takes me forever to make stuff, but I love it!  Playing around with color & images & effects is so much fun--someday maybe I'll take a class to get a bit faster at it, lol :)  Maybe tomorrow night I'll make a holiday card.....hmmmmm...

Tomorrow is the end of the world...perhaps.   I'm not too worried, but looking forward to my little bro flying in from Japan to spend the holidays here.  And, we are hosting J's sister & bf this weekend too; they get the first stay in the improved (but not new) camper/aka guest house :)  I have the mini-bar stocked, snacks ready, & fresh linens ready for them; hope they have a sense of humor about cats & chickens wanting to visit, lol :) 

Happy Holidays.

Amber

Information wanted on a Wheatstone Bridge

We received the following email from one of our followers:

" I am seeking information about a Wheatstone Bridge set that belonged to my father-in-law’s father who was an electrical engineer for the LNER in the early 1900’s and worked in Hartlepool.  He used for his work and it must be around 90 years old I would have thought.  I see that is made by Siemens Brothers and believe that they were based/had factories in Greenwich and Hartlepool'.

and he attached some pictures - which are shown below.


So  - we got in touch with the experts - with the Siemens Brothers Engineering Society - and here is their reply:

"I have been in touch with some of my colleagues in the Siemens Brothers Engineering Society and have undertaken some research myself. There is plenty of information on internet search engines so I have given below a general summary and have tried not to get too technical.

A Wheatstone Bridge is an electrical circuit used to measure an unknown electrical resistance by balancing two legs of a bridge circuit, one leg of which includes the unknown component. [The bridge is formed of resistors connected in a diamond-shaped pattern] Typical applications were: measuring the resistance of a length of cable. For the LNER this could well be railway signaling cable or for Siemens Brothers, telephone cables.

Curiously the Wheatstone Bridge was not invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone (1802 - 1875), but by Samuel Hunter Christie in 1833, but was improved and popularised by Wheatstone in 1843, when he gave full credit to Christie. The Wheatstone Bridge uses the concept of a difference measurement, which can be extremely accurate. Variations of the Wheatstone Bridge can be used to measure capacitance, inductance and impedance. The significance of measuring the 'unknown' resistance can thus be related to the impact of some physical phenomenon such as force, temperature, pressure etc. In practical terms a 'break' in a cable.

The most common use of the Wheatstone Bridge in day to day telephony and telegraphy was thus the location of cable faults. By determining the resistance of a fault and comparing it with a pre-determined map, it was possible to send repairmen out to the exact location of a fault, accurate to within a few feet.  Brass plugs (as seen in the picture) were used to throw resistance in and out of the circuit until a balance was achieved as indicated by zero deflection and thus zero current flow through the galvanometer mounted in the centre of the instrument, again as seen in the picture..

The Wheatstone Bridge was further developed by Kelvin to form the Kelvin Bridge , the concept being further extended to alternating current measurement by James Clerk Maxwell in 1865.

Various formats of the Wheatstone Bridge were thus developed and manufactured by specialist companies. We do not have any specifics on the particular model that belonged to Mr Kennnedy's father in law's, father. Clearly it was made by Siemens Brothers & Co. Ltd., London, at the main Woolwich Works. It would have been made and in use in the late 19th century and the earlier part of the 20th century for typically resistance measuring and fault finding on cables as described above. The instrument could therefore be about 100 years old. By a strange coincidence Samuel Hunter Christie worked at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich. Siemens Brothers did have several satellite factories including one in Hartlepool. It is unlikely that the instrument would have been sourced via Hartlepool as we believe this factory came on stream after the 1939/45 war.

A Wheatstone Bridge would of little 'practical' use to todays telephone collector. However in good condition it would form a most attractive part of any collection and could be of interest to a Science Museum [who may also be able to put a value on it] or a Heritage Centre. The Siemens Brothers Engineering Society has donated a great many items to the Greenwich Heritage Centre, which is actually located in Woolwich. If any further information is required please contact me.

 

Brian Middlemiss

On behalf of the Siemens Brothers Engineering Society.

 

 

 

Boise WTC Memorial---construction is under way...

Construction is officially underway on the World Trade Center Memorial.

Today, we cut the first pieces; the base plates that will be embedded in concrete tomorrow... 

 Work has started at Riverside Park, in preparation for the new walking paths & landscaping that make up the courtyard area.

We will be starting fabrication of the rings & sculptural elements, along with the wall of names early in 2013: I'll be updating with progress pics every step of the way... 

The 3500 lb beam section that came from the WTC site is currently on display in Star at Blake Trailers; out front, right next to the main road; you can see it as you drive through town; it's right across from the fire-station...  Feel free to stop in & take a look, if you want--take photos, etc.  Montry (owner) told me  that since I brought the beam out,  he has had people stop in every day & inquire about the project & is happy to share the details of the project.  I'll be bringing out the site plan, with the narrative about the design & details of the project to display in the office sometime this week.

Thanks so much to all who have stepped forward to get involved with this project; including Jensen-Belts Associates, Blake Trailers & Fabrication, Lochsa Engineering, & Bricon Construction.

more to come...

Amber

New Digital Art...

Just a little show & tell : ) Playing around with Photoshop the other night; the image is actually going to be an invitation for an event I'm helping with... 

Original photo by EB of 2 Bird Studio.  Model; Annie Fascilla

Amber

In August this blog reproduced an article by Dr.Robert Carr originally published in Industrial Archaeology News about London Bridge Station. That article achieved the highest number of views of any article this blog has published. Here is his next article from the current issue of the same publication.

A large London railway terminus is to be completely demolished to divert two railway tracks through the site. Known to relatively few people, the Brighton part of London Bridge Station appears doomed. This raises familiar issues concerning the different treatment of architecture and engineering as well as those concerning World Heritage Sites.

(see Industrial Archaeology News 162 pp 8&9

The London and South Coast Railway’s terminus at London Bridge station has long been something of a Cinderella station. The main problem is that relatively few people are familiar with it. Most passengers who use London Bridge only remember the through platforms to the north where conditions can be really dreadful. Redevelopment here is sorely needed. The London Bridge terminus lacks glamour in that the trains only go to relatively humble destinations in the South East. There never was a Golden Arrow or Night Ferry to Paris as at Victoria, or a Cornish Riviera Express to Penzance departing from Paddington.

It is not really clear why it is necessary to demolish the whole of the 1864-7 terminus roof just to re-route two railway lines through it. An entry at the northwest corner facilitated by a beam supported on columns should be within the bounds of present day structural engineering. About a hundred or so years ago this kind of rearrangement was undertaken at railway stations such as Rugby and Crewe and a good example can still be seen at Chester General Station. There may, however, be other reasons not readily apparent but these have not been made clear. One difference is that at London Bridge the station is not at ground level. The whole edifice is supported on substantial brick arches.

However when one considers that, under Nick Derbyshire in 1985-92, Liverpool Street station was rebuilt and extended in a matching Vicwardian style, what would be needed at London Bridge seems modest. City money was involved then and Southwark is relatively impoverished. But attitudes change. About forty- four years ago it was seriously intended to demolish St Pancras station and its listing by Lord Kennet was highly controversial. Many people then considered St Pancras a hideous Victorian monstrosity. At London Bridge we are now having a re-run of the nineteen sixties. The enlightenment of recent years may be coming to an end.

Rather than just separate covers for each island platform as presently proposed, a less unfortunate solution for the station might be a great overall roof, perhaps something like that by Cesar Pelli for the Docklands Light Railway at Canary Wharf. A splendid new roof, say something like the great arch Richard Rogers proposed for the combined King's Cross and St Pancras stations, would really put the London Bridge station on the map and could commensurate in scale with the Shard tower which is intended to be the nucleus for a cluster of tower blocks, as number one Canada Square was for the redevelopment of the Isle of Dogs.

However, objections from the United Nations' cultural organization UNESCO regarding sight lines for World Heritage Sites might prevent further high rise building in the London Bridge area going ahead. Last December a monitoring mission reported that the visual integrity of the Tower of London had been compromised by the building of the Shard tower, the tallest completed building in Europe at 1,016 feet high, and advised that further towers would compound the problem. Similar considerations also apply to redevelopment near Waterloo station which is likely to involve the demolition of Elizabeth Tower, Elizabeth House and some other buildings.

Once granted, World Heritage Site status is not guaranteed in perpetuity and can be removed if unsympathetic redevelopment takes place. In 2004 UNESCO declared the Elbe Valley at Dresden a World Heritage Site. A twelve-mile stretch of landscape, this included the city centre and baroque palaces, churches, opera house, museums. However, after first being placed on list of endangered sites in 2006, the historic area of the city lost its title in June 2009 for the wilful breach of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. This was due to the construction - the WaldschliiBchenbrucke - a conspicuous composite-steel four-lane motorway bridge across the valley less than two kilometres from the historic city centre.

Dresden is only the second World Heritage Site ever to be removed from the register. UNESCO made clear in 2006 that the bridge would destroy the cultural landscape if building went ahead. Legal moves by Dresden City Council to prevent the bridge from being constructed were unsuccessful.

The WaldschliiBchenbrucke is obtrusive - a massive bowstring-like construction which externally resembles concrete. Could they not have built a low rise bridge similar to some of the nearby Elbe crossings? The river here is not navigable by seagoing ships which need substantial headroom. This really does look like a wilful violation of the UNESCO convention.

All this may mean that in London the continued redevelopment of the London Bridge area would be inhibited and the station itself left in rather a dreadful mess following implementation of the low-rise low-cost scheme presently proposed for it. Surely this was just an interim proposal to cover the period until sufficient funds become available to build an appropriate new station? The simple wavy-roof platform covers presently envisaged are hardly great architecture and certainly not imposing. London Bridge station looks like being further demeaned. It should be borne in mind that curved glass panels are extremely difficult to keep clean. This maintenance problem was soon discovered at Waterloo Eurostar station, opened in November 1994.

Considering now the South Eastern Railway offices these have recently been cleaned so perhaps they will be retained after all. The controversy over the demolition of these offices has served as a red herring, deflecting public attention away from the proposed demolition of the terminus that is relatively hidden away and less well known to the public. The suspicious might suggest a conspiracy but it is all too easy to jump to incorrect conclusions. A crude interpretation in base human terms is generally insufficient to account for the chaotic way in which the world behaves. Such matters are complex and essentially incomprehensible. If something happens there are not necessarily a reason, let alone a human being to blame.

Returning to the issue of the ironwork of the terminus roof. there is now some suggestion that it might be put in store for future re-use. This is an attractive proposition. At least it might be possible to save the longitudinal crescent roof. If this were re-erected at a greater height than at present, the effect could be magnificent. However, at Greenwich the excellent wrought iron roof of the Neptune Hall of 1873-4, a former gymnasium designed by Sir Andrew Clarke RE, was put in store with the intention that it would soon be re-erected. After fifteen years nothing has happened and such things once dismantled and stored have a tendency to get lost, piece by piece, until reuse becomes impossible.

The situation at London Bridge station is fairly typical. The unlisted architecture of the 1897-1900 South Eastern Railway offices has overridden in importance the listed 1864-7 engineering of the railway terminus roof. Once more is it being demonstrated that the architect is more important than the engineer? It should be noted, however, that the architect who worked on the station with the engineer F D Banister was C H Driver (1832-1900). Driver was responsible for many considerable works and was probably the architect for Crossness pumping station, 1859-65. The main buildings there were listed grade I in 1980.

On a sunny day a visit to the LBSCR terminus in the quiet of the afternoon can be recommended. It is easy to appreciate the merits and shortcomings of the building then. Presently, this part of the station might be a little underused but the routing of twin Thameslink tracks through the northern part would rectify this and, if the terminus could ever be redeveloped a la Liverpool Street, a wonderful station worthy of a great new business quarter to rival Broadgate might be achieved.

Dr. Robert Carr.

Industrial Archaeology News. No. 163 Winter 2012. Pp 10-11.
Published Association for Industrial Archaeology www.industrial-archaeology.org

Tis the Season of Giving : )

This morning (way too early for me, lol) I had an appointment to show my available work to a very sweet husband who was shopping for something special for his wife...

She already owns a couple of my pieces, but he wanted to get her something special for her Christmas stocking  :)

He looked at everything, & could not decide; so asked me to pick something & gave me his budget...

I couldn't help but send him home with one of my fav. ever creations: I know his lovely wife likes keys, so I know she will love this one as much as I do : )    These kinds of sales make me smile; & make all the frustration, mistakes, experiments, etc worth it: I really feel honored that someone would want to give one of my creations as a gift to a loved one.

 I also sent him home with a set of aluminum bangle bracelets---she will rock these at work... and.....

a lovely clip for her hair :) 

I just couldn't help but give him a nice discount price on everything; I know she will be thrilled & that makes me happy.

This year, I have sold quite a few gifts--both through my Etsy shop & by special request...more than I have ever sold for the holidays before...

This large wall piece is going to an old friend---I hope he doesn't read my blog, lol  ; ) 

And I know he is going to be thrilled: sometimes it's hard not to just give these things away; when I know they are going to someone who will really appreciate them....

I just shipped this cute little bio-hazard off to my cousin for her hubby today, along with another piece: same thing--I'm so happy that I get to be a part of their holiday gift-giving; it really makes me smile to think about how he might react upon opening the box ; )

If I won the lottery tomorrow; I would still make these kinds of pieces---gifts for someone special; they are my absolute favorite & I would love to be able to just give them away!

Happy Holidays.

Amber