Sunset

Posted on October 2, 2015 by corwinb

Docks Heritage Weekend and Crane Dance

Posted on October 1, 2015 by corwinb

This coming weekend is the excellent Docks Heritage Weekend. Here’s a couple of pics and videos from last years event in case you missed it.

Freshly painted MOGO

Here’s what the Official M Shed Website has to say about the event:

A weekend of activities across two sites exploring the history and working life of the old City Docks.

Stroll around the fantastic Underfall Yard as its restoration programme gets into full swing and take part in activities at M Shed including boat trips, crane visits, have a go experiences and performances.

Events at M Shed

Mosaic Madness will be helping visitors create mosaics inspired by Bristol’s working docks and the river Avon
Screenings of historic films about the port
Dramatic interludes from Show of Strength Theatre Company exploring characters from the dock’s past Saturday and Sunday at 11am, 11.30am, 2pm and 2.30pm
Visit an electric crane (charges apply)
Cargo handling demonstrations
Trips on the tug John King (charges apply)
Visits to Balmoral, once part of the P & A Campbell fleet
Visit the Fairbairn steam crane
Drive a steam locomotive (charges apply)

Events at Underfall Yard

Demonstrations of traditional skills
Pop on a hard hat and take a look behind the scenes of the restoration works
Visit the viewing platform for spectacular harbour views
Family activities
Dramatic interludes from Show of Strength Theatre Company exploring stories from the yard’s past, Saturday and Sunday at 12.30pm and 3.30pm
Guided walks to Brunel’s Other Bridge, Sunday 1pm and 3pm
Explore reuse and recycling stories from Bristol’s boating communities and make your own floaty boaty (run in partnership with Bristol Green Capital), Sunday 2-4pm

A special event will also be taking place on Saturday evening. This is the Crane Dance performance, devised by Laura Kriefman. Starting at 8pm, this will combine lights, boats, choirs, live bhangra band music, and choreographed synchronised cranes!

This event is completely free and best viewed from the Arnolfini or Lloyds Amphitheatre.

Exciting stuff!

Indian Summer, Civil Engineering

Posted on September 29, 2015 by corwinb

After a particularly cold and wet summer, the weather has taken a turn for the better, giving us some glorious days and incredible sunsets.

Here’s a (bad camera phone quality) snap I took of the golden sunset glimpsed beneath the Cumberland Road bridge.

Up North, Portbury has been kept busy at Beamish. In this photo reproduced from the Beamish Museum facebook page, she is seen in the company of WW1-era Gordon Highlanders re-enactors at the Agricultural Show event.

Back in Bristol, there have been multiple engineering projects in the railway’s environs. The Metrobus development has cleared a large area of land at Butterfly Junction and Ashton Meadows, and new drainage has been installed.

One of the most conspicuous developments has been the ongoing repair work to Prince Street Bridge. This is adjacent to the platform at M Shed and has involved the construction of a large temporary bridge. The girders on the swing bridge are corroded and need replacing, so it will be closed to all traffic for 6 months.

Also pictured is Kaskelot, a Bristol-based ship, taking the usual mooring point of Balmoral while the latter was at sea.

Judy in steam this weekend

Posted on September 25, 2015 by corwinb

The weather forecast for this weekend is a good’un!

Bagnall ‘Judy’ will be on duty pulling passenger trains, so don’t miss out on some September sunshine!

Judy and Teddy in action

Posted on August 10, 2015 by corwinb

The pictures below were taken the weekend before last, with Judy on passenger duties and Teddy once again offering ‘Driver fora Tenner’ experiences in the yard. These photos were taken by Tim Symons, who has given permission for them to be reproduced here.

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Photo courtesy Tim Symons

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Harbour Festival 2015 Photos

Posted on July 31, 2015 by corwinb

‘Teddy’ and ‘Judy’ are working again this weekend – Teddy is glimpsed here shunting on the quayside earlier today.

Steve Cockram took these great photos of the Harbour Festival weekend which not only show the attractions on show, but also showcase a lot of M Shed’s Bristol-built displays. He’s kindly given permission to reproduce the photos here, you can also check out his facebook page for more!