Early Spring in the countryside between Broxbourne and Roydon this week (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
Patrick Comerford
Anyone who has missed a train and been left waiting at Limerick Junction, knows how public transport in England is far better.
Despite excuses of ‘leaves on the line,’ complaints about trains that do not run or that overcrowded, and the biting cuts and mismanagement that are consequences of negative Tory attitudes to the needs for public transport, commuter trains and provincial buses still run regularly and are far more reliable than their counterparts in Ireland – with, perhaps, the notable exception of the Luas in Dublin.
But when something goes wrong with public transport, it really goes wrong.
When I am taking part USPG trustee meetings in London, I usually catch the first morning flight from Dublin to Stansted, allowing ample time to get to Liverpool Street Station and to have breakfast long before a meeting begins. I then catch a late flight back from Stansted, leaving me time to network, or to take time off to visit and photograph churches in the London area.
These plans fell apart this week, however.
I thought I was going to catch a train from Stansted to Liverpool Street early on Wednesday morning [13 February 2019]. But I was left sitting on the train for almost an hour and a half. Passengers were told constantly that we would be kept updated. But telling us we would be updated is quite different to being updated practically.
There was an ‘incident’ on the line, somewhere between Stansted and Bishop’s Stortford. After a time, the power was switched off, the train got colder, and we were left in the dark in every sense of the term.
The descriptions and location of the incident varied, but it took an hour and a half before passengers were told buses were available to take passengers to the train station in Broxbourne.
The scramble was unseemly, signs and guidance were not helpful, and the queues for the buses had already lengthened. We must have looked like a scene set up for one of those disgraceful Nigel Farage Brexit referendum posters.
But at least the journey through the Essex and Hertfordshire countryside and villages, and close to the Lea Valley, was pleasant in the warm, early Spring sunshine. I am familiar with Harlow, Roydon, Hoddesdon, Broxbourne and much of this region through attending USPG conferences almost every year at the High Leigh Conference Centre near Hoddesdon.
It took almost an hour to get to Broxbourne, only to be told that the next train had been cancelled. Eventually I got to Liverpool Street by 12 noon, about 4½ hours after my flight had landed at Stansted.
I finally got to the meeting of USPG trustees at 12.20, in time for the last ten minutes of the morning part of the meeting – without breakfast, but just in time for lunch.
The meeting ended at 3 p.m. Worried that there might have been a knock-on effect on train timetables for the rest of the day, I stopped in the afternoon to see only one Wren church in the city. I had seen Saint Stephen Walbrook, beside the Mansion House, before, and this was my first time inside.
On the way back to Stansted, the trains were on time and the journey back through East Anglia countryside was beautiful in the warm Spring sunshine of mid-February.
When it works well, public transport can bring its joys and its blessings, and – despite Brexit – England remains a ‘green and pleasant land.’
15 February 2019
A boat trip on the River Douro
under the six bridges of Porto
The Dom Luís Bridge was designed by Gustave Eiffel’s collaborator, the German engineer Théophile Seyrig (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
Patrick Comerford
Porto is blessed with its imposing architecture and rich cultural heritage, the welcoming people population, the great food and wine – including its Port Wine – and the walks by the River Douro.
During my time in Porto last week, I visited a number of churches and synagogues, museums and towers, restaurants and railway stations, sculptures and music halls, took the cable car by the river and crossed some of the bridges.
On my last day in Porto, I took a riverboat cruise on a rabelo, one of the traditional old boats once used to carry Port Wine from the Douro Valley to the cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia. This 50-minute journey offered another view of the city and the river, but also brought me under the famous six bridges of Porto.
The boat brought us by the gardens of the Crystal Palace, the Solar do Vinho do Porto (the Port Wine Institute) and the Hospital of Saint Anthony (Santo António) which reflect the importance and wealth of the city. But we also the cellars, the cold warehouses, a variety of architectural styles, and only turned back at the mouth of the sea, Foz do Douro, before getting to see its beautiful beaches and walks.
These six stunning bridges connect Porto one side of the Douro and Gaia on the other, and no two bridges are alike, so that each bridge has its own story in architecture and engineering.
The Dom Luís Bridge was designed by Gustave Eiffel’s collaborator, the German engineer Théophile Seyrig (1843-1923), although many tour guides try to tell visitors that this is the bridge designed by Eiffel.
The Dom Luís I Bridge is a double-deck metal arch bridge. When it was first built its 172 metres span was the longest of its type in the world. It is often confused with the nearby Maria Pia Bridge, just 1 km to the east.
The Infante Dom Henrique Bridge, launched in 2003, is the last bridge built in Porto (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
The Infante Dom Henrique Bridge was launched in 2003. This was the last bridge to be built in Porto, and it is a remarkable example of how engineering can present elegant solutions to difficult challenges.
The D. Maria Pia Bridge is a railway bridge designed by Seyrig and Eiffel (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
The D. Maria Pia Bridge is a beautiful railway bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel and Théophile Seyrig. It is sometimes confused with the Dom Luís bridge, but it was built nine years earlier in 1877.
Most tour guides attribute this bridge to Eiffel, but it is difficult to attribute responsibility for the actual design of the bridge. It is probable that a large part was played by Seyrig, Eiffel’s business partner, who presented a paper on the bridge to the Société des Ingénieurs Civils in 1878. Eiffel, in his account of the bridge, which accompanied the 1:50 scale model exhibited at the 1878 World’s Fair, credited Seyrig, along with Henry de Dion, with work on the calculations and drawings.
The São João Bridge was built in 1991 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
The D. Maria Pia Bridge was superseded as a railway in 1991 by the São João Bridge, built just a few meters away.
The São João Bridge was designed by the engineer Professor António Mesquita Cardoso (1913-2000) to replace the Maria Pia Bridge.
The Freixo Bridge, launched in 1995, with the ‘VCI’ road to the left (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
The Freixo Bridge, behind the São João Bridge, was launched in 1995. A new road called ‘VCI’ surrounds the city between Freixo bridge and Arrábida bridge, and this is the road many visitors travel from the airport into Porto.
The Freixo Bridge was built as an alternative to Arrábida and D. Luis I bridges. It was designed by António Reis and Daniel de Sousa. The bridge has a total length of 705 metres and eight spans.
The Arrábida Bridge is an arch bridge of reinforced concrete, that carries six lanes of traffic over the Douro River. It was also designed by Edgar Cardoso and built in 1957-1963.
The Arrábida Bridge is a superb piece of engineering and it is possible to climb the arch of the Arrábida bridge from the inside – although I am told the view from the top is not spectacular.
It is possible to climb the arch of the Arrábida bridge from the inside (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
Patrick Comerford
Porto is blessed with its imposing architecture and rich cultural heritage, the welcoming people population, the great food and wine – including its Port Wine – and the walks by the River Douro.
During my time in Porto last week, I visited a number of churches and synagogues, museums and towers, restaurants and railway stations, sculptures and music halls, took the cable car by the river and crossed some of the bridges.
On my last day in Porto, I took a riverboat cruise on a rabelo, one of the traditional old boats once used to carry Port Wine from the Douro Valley to the cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia. This 50-minute journey offered another view of the city and the river, but also brought me under the famous six bridges of Porto.
The boat brought us by the gardens of the Crystal Palace, the Solar do Vinho do Porto (the Port Wine Institute) and the Hospital of Saint Anthony (Santo António) which reflect the importance and wealth of the city. But we also the cellars, the cold warehouses, a variety of architectural styles, and only turned back at the mouth of the sea, Foz do Douro, before getting to see its beautiful beaches and walks.
These six stunning bridges connect Porto one side of the Douro and Gaia on the other, and no two bridges are alike, so that each bridge has its own story in architecture and engineering.
The Dom Luís Bridge was designed by Gustave Eiffel’s collaborator, the German engineer Théophile Seyrig (1843-1923), although many tour guides try to tell visitors that this is the bridge designed by Eiffel.
The Dom Luís I Bridge is a double-deck metal arch bridge. When it was first built its 172 metres span was the longest of its type in the world. It is often confused with the nearby Maria Pia Bridge, just 1 km to the east.
The Infante Dom Henrique Bridge, launched in 2003, is the last bridge built in Porto (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
The Infante Dom Henrique Bridge was launched in 2003. This was the last bridge to be built in Porto, and it is a remarkable example of how engineering can present elegant solutions to difficult challenges.
The D. Maria Pia Bridge is a railway bridge designed by Seyrig and Eiffel (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
The D. Maria Pia Bridge is a beautiful railway bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel and Théophile Seyrig. It is sometimes confused with the Dom Luís bridge, but it was built nine years earlier in 1877.
Most tour guides attribute this bridge to Eiffel, but it is difficult to attribute responsibility for the actual design of the bridge. It is probable that a large part was played by Seyrig, Eiffel’s business partner, who presented a paper on the bridge to the Société des Ingénieurs Civils in 1878. Eiffel, in his account of the bridge, which accompanied the 1:50 scale model exhibited at the 1878 World’s Fair, credited Seyrig, along with Henry de Dion, with work on the calculations and drawings.
The São João Bridge was built in 1991 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
The D. Maria Pia Bridge was superseded as a railway in 1991 by the São João Bridge, built just a few meters away.
The São João Bridge was designed by the engineer Professor António Mesquita Cardoso (1913-2000) to replace the Maria Pia Bridge.
The Freixo Bridge, launched in 1995, with the ‘VCI’ road to the left (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
The Freixo Bridge, behind the São João Bridge, was launched in 1995. A new road called ‘VCI’ surrounds the city between Freixo bridge and Arrábida bridge, and this is the road many visitors travel from the airport into Porto.
The Freixo Bridge was built as an alternative to Arrábida and D. Luis I bridges. It was designed by António Reis and Daniel de Sousa. The bridge has a total length of 705 metres and eight spans.
The Arrábida Bridge is an arch bridge of reinforced concrete, that carries six lanes of traffic over the Douro River. It was also designed by Edgar Cardoso and built in 1957-1963.
The Arrábida Bridge is a superb piece of engineering and it is possible to climb the arch of the Arrábida bridge from the inside – although I am told the view from the top is not spectacular.
It is possible to climb the arch of the Arrábida bridge from the inside (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)
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