Queensferry Crossing, HMS Queen Elizabeth and all things Royal Navy

[Greenlantern101]

I thought I would keep a blog of the building progress of two of the biggest building and engineering projects to take place in Scotland in a generation. The new forth road bridge 'Queensferry Crossing' and the new Aircraft Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth being built at Rosyth Dockyard. Both are now easier to view as the footpath closures have been lifted on the Forth Bridge allow access to the only decent vantage point to both flag ship projects.

So here are some photos I have taken this morning. I hope to update this over the next few years until both are completed.

Queensferry crossing foundation works

HMS Queen Elizabeth is the red shape in the background with the white bridge tower on it.
The white thing in front is a 3 storey building.

The barges are huge

View looking towards South Queensferry

Taxi.

A pier and barge with the HMS Queen Liz in the background

 

[Jen]

Makes one wonder how they managed in Brunel's day!

 

[GeoffP]

Good point Jen - I was born half a mile from the Clifton Suspension Bridge and went to the Brunel Museum at the SS Great Britain several times and can give you my considered opinion that it was scary..

Nice photos Greenlantern101, I envy you the opportunity to walk to that scale of engineering over the next few years

 

[Josephiah]

Interestingly the installation of the foundation caissons uses a pretty similar method to that used for the rail bridge. The difference is that now we tend to use machines to do the digging into the mud/bedrock at the bottom of the caissons; the first time around it was poorly paid workmen with hand tools, most of whom suffered severe health problems and early deaths due to the bends (which was not understood well at the time).

P.s. nice pics Greenlantern101 - I will tend to see step changes rather than a gradual progression due the sporadic nature of our trips down south.

P.p.s. one of my colleagues worked on the project for a short stretch - he says getting that crawler crane into the barge was an "exciting" moment!

 

[Greenlantern101]

Time for an update.
We have something that looks like a tower now. This is the mid support.

Its hard to appreciate the scale until you zoom in.

The 2 grey long things that look a bit like upside down toblerones are the first sections of the viaduct being prepared for moving into place on the blue tipped V shapes. The viaduct sections are 100metres long.

The Queen Elizabeth Aircraft carrier doesn't look much different. Its still red.

A marked up photo to help explain what you are looking at.

 

[Greenlantern101]

Nice interactive view of the QE class carrier from the Blue crane. Much highness.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...-largest-warship-the-HMS-Queen-Elizabeth.html

Loads of photos on here

 

[Greenlantern101]

Bridge update. Photos taken this morning.

South side of the bridge is now out to the shore line.

The centre tower is getting higher. I would guess at least another 50% higher before its at road level.

The new bridge is behind the Forth Road Bridge in front.

I am standing under The Forth Bridge. Not as many incorrectly call it the Forth RAIL Bridge.

 

[gethinceri]

They built that one a couple of bridges before the one between Magor and Aust, right?

 

[Mephistopheles]

I've got a question...

What is the fucking point of building that aircraft carrier? It's a nice bit of kit and all that but totally bloody useless in modern warfare...

 

[Bill Boddy]

When have any of the UK's forces been ready to fight anything other than the previous war?

 

[gethinceri]

When I was in.

 

[Mephistopheles]

Not only are aircraft carriers a waste of time and money we are building two of the Queen Elizabeth class ships fucking why??? There are very few navel ports it can fit into and we don't have sufficient escort vessels to maintain the necessary associated task groups, and the overall logistical support required will place unacceptable demands on our impoverished fleet and they are useless in modern warfare most people agree that this kind of vessel is obsolete and if there is a another world war they will probably both be destroyed within the first ten minutes...

 

[Bill Boddy]

So they will outlive us then.

 

[FB]

Don't think of it as an aircraft carrier Mephistopheles, think of it as an investment in the economy of the Clyde from which we happen to get a nice big boat. It will make things easier, trust me.

 

[gethinceri]

Nah, AIRCRAFT CARRIER!!!!!!
Who wouldn't want one? It's too soon to grow up Mephistopheles, it's a flippin' AIRCRAFT CARRIER!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mephistopheles]

I'd prefer a really massively massive battleship, with gert big guns an' shit something with enough fire power to blow up the fucking moon if the notion took me when I was in a bad mood and got fucked off with seeing the Severn bore...

 

[Bill Boddy]

The Severn bore? I thought that was you.

 

[Mephistopheles]

 

[Greenlantern101]

Photos from early this morning. Its starting to look more like a bridge.

 

[Greenlantern101]

The Queen Elizabeth.