Leaderfoot Bridge

Leaderfoot Bridge
Originally uploaded by evadjm36.

Leaderfoot Viaduct

Leaderfoot Viaduct
Originally uploaded by billtam.

against torture and for universal human rights - even for terrorists

it is good to read the whole thing.

Noch einmal zur Schleyer-Gedenkrede des Bundespräsidenten von 1977. Darin findet sich ein besonders beeindruckender Satz, einer, den man auf den Nachttisch (nicht nur) von US-Präsident Bush legen möchte: "Haben diejenigen, die die Terroristen unterstützen, überhaupt noch nicht begriffen, was eine demokratische Lebensordnung ist, so haben diejenigen, die auf der menschlichen Würde auch des Terroristen bestehen, die Demokratie zu Ende gedacht."

Wer den Terror dadurch bekämpfen will, dass er Rechtlosigkeit und Folter verhängt über Verdächtige, der tritt die Menschenwürde und pflegt den Terror. Die Europäer sollten den Mut haben, das den Amerikanern deutlich zu sagen. Auch das gehört zur Staatsräson.

Thursdays Bridge Blogging

Todays Bridge Blogging will be bridges or their designs that have parallels or are named after animals.

so f.e this Butterfly bridge:

which is across the River Great Ouse in Bedford.


I will also accept bridges, that have an animal theme. like

this one...

and then there are bridges like this one.


which also fits into last weeks Thursday Bridge Blogging category. as being a bridge that was destroyed and no longer exist.

It is the
Britannia Bridge Near Bangor, Gwynned, Wales, United Kingdom build in 1850, it was destroyed in 1970 to be replaced by

this one.

yes, this weeks theme is animal related bridges...

Thank you to these folks.

Cross posted here

Thursdays Bridge Blogging

Today's TBB is about a Bridge that does not exist anymore, but which nevertheless, is still very present in many peoples mind, for its history. In its place is now a peace museum which bears the following theme:

Every day let us work for peace with our mind and heart.

Each person should begin with himself.

Well, this was written in 1980 and the German version is gender neutral.


The bridge's history starts in 1917,when Karl Viennese an architect from Mannheim is being asked to plan the 325 meters long bridge, whose headroom over the normal water level of Rhine amounted to 14.80 meters.  The highest point of the arch lay at 29.25 meters over the water surface.  The bridge carried two railroad tracks and a pedestrian track.  



The old railway tunnel still exist and two bridge towers in which a peace museum was established in 1980.

If you look closely, the two flags in this picture are the German and the US flag.

As most of you will have realised by now, the bridge I am talking about it the "Bridge of Remagen" a bridge worth its weight in Gold. However, I could not find out, how much this is in modern currencies...

So can you think of any other bridge, that does not exist anymore, but is nevertheless very famous?

these pages have some more images and some more information on the historical background.

http://www.tc-erpel.de/main/bruecke.html

http://www.railfaneurope.net/pix/de/misc/bridge/Remagen/pix.html

http://www.herrlichkeit-erpel.de/EnglischeVersion/Bruecke_eng.htm

Thursdays Bridge Blogging

Or TBB as it is called among the initiated - which you are now.

This week I present to you the transporter bridge in Middlesbrough. Even though I don't live too far away, I hadn't been to Middlesbrough until yesterday, and - well it didn't make the best impact on me, but I drove accross one bridge, I really liked and saw the worlds widest still operational transporter bridge.

It spans 259.3 meters to be exact across the river Tees.

The bridge plays a role in Billy Elliot and of course "Auf Wiedersehn Pet!"

The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge was built in 1907 by Cleveland Bridge and Engineering of Darlington and opened in 1911. It spans the River Tees and carries 750 people and 600 vehicles a day in the carrying car which crosses over 160 feet above the river. The crossing takes about two and a half minutes.

Passengers and vehicles are transported by means of a large moving platform which is capable of carrying nine vehicles at a time.

Charles Smith of Hartlepool Ironworks put forward the notion of transporter bridges in the 1870s. His idea was taken up by Ferdinand Arnodin, whose first one opened in 1893 in Bilbao, Spain.

Middleborough's bridge, which has come to visually define the city, was opened by Prince Arthur of Connaught in 1911. A steel truss spans the 565ft (or the aforemetioned259.6 meter) between its two towers, clearing the water by 160ft and balanced by cantilevered end spans of 140ft each. The end spans are anchored to the ground with steel cables.

The suspended travelling compartment has been tested to a load of 80 tons. It hangs by wires from a carriage that runs along the girders.

Contractors: Sir William Arrol & Co., Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Ltd

on this page is a little clip made at its inauguration - I love those men in hats - walking stiffly...

This is
a webcam link

There are more enthusiasts behind this link - The world transporter bridge association

and here are the site, where I got the original image from. thanks and you tooThanks, again The owner of the first one, Ian Britton, has a rather nice picture of a train as well.

Thursdays Bridge Blogging

Now, as you all know, I love bridges, and I love art as well. so this week it is an artist, Lyonel Feininger, an American who came to Europe on order of his parents in 1887, when he was just 16. And I am showing some of his bridge paintings

 

 Feininger, when he arrived in Berlin, rather then study music, started to draw cartoons. He published them in the States in the Chicago Chronicle and in other newspapers. I saw his work first, while studying in Leipzig and visiting Museums in Halle. He painted alot in Halle/Saale, where he lived for a while. Some of my favorite paintings by him are of the Marktkirche in Halle. Most of his famous paintings are from Thuringen and other East Germany areas. While he was starting out as a caricaturist, painting still-lifes, by 1912 he had made contact with the "Die Bruecke", Cubists and his work showed an impact of surrealist influences.

He was part of the Nazi Exhibition "Entartete Kunst" in 1937. The Nazi's had real good taste, they put all my favourite Artists into one big exhibition. Not unsurprisingly the exhibition was a huge success and proved to be very popular.

Feininger had already returned to the States at that point. Having his teaching permission revoked and being kicked out of the academy of fine art, he decided to stay state-side after a lecturing trip. He died after the war in 1956.