Tower Bridge: An Icon of London

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[randalscott]

One of the more dramatic flights under the walkway was performed by an RAF pilot Alan Pollock in his Hawker Hunter of No. 1 Squadron on the 5th of April 1968. Pollock was upset that the "powers that be" had nothing planned for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the RAF, so he took it upon himself to do something about it whilst flying his Hunter from RAF Tangmere to RAF West Raynham. Pollock flew low over several London landmarks before he found himself flying down the Thames and aimed for the gap between Tower Bridge's road and pedestrian walkway with the tip of his tail fin passing several feet below the walkway. On arrival at West Raynham he was arrested but avoided a court marshal by being invalided out of the RAF on medical grounds. This avoided embarrassment for the government and possible public support for his actions. He was exonerated by the RAF in 1982.

[brandonhargrove]

Old school engineers are impressive. They had none of the modern access to information but still made things like this happen.

[anthonyjackson]

I design machinery (filling equipment). I have always used CAD systems, first simple 2D drafting programs and now full 3D solid body modelling. I learned paper and pencil drafting in school in the 1970's. My respect for the people who designed things like Tower Bridge, tunnels, the great ships of the 19 and 20 th centuries, the aircraft of the 1900'a through 1980's and the space craft of the mid 20th century, with paper, pencils and slide rules is immense. As a teenager in the 1970's I remember the engineering departments with the rows of drafting tables and drafting machines, scaled rules etc. To make a minor design change involved hours of work erasing and re-drawing. For me it is tapping the 'Undo' icon a few times or 'edit part' and is done in a few minutes.

[pouch]

There’s nothing cooler than flying into Heathrow and seeing Tower Bridge and the Palace beneath you. For me, it was quite a welcoming sight—even though I’m American—coming into London was always like coming home, whether just from hearing my own language, or to know that a friendly town awaits.

[AnotherPointOfView]

Built for "£136 million" in todays money. That's impressive. If they built that exact bridge from scratch right now, it would likely be estimated at 10 times that, and then run overbudget by 5x.

[Old_BH_Gunner]

I constantly am on Microsoft flight simulator, though I’m American, I usually do so in the very accurate recreation of London in the simulator and because I often fly in the simulator with English friends I met on YouTube, and every time I do so, I always fly over the Tower Bridge to look at it in all its simulated glory. In my opinion it’s one of the most beautiful bridges ever built.

[woody]

As an American I can't think of anything more British then this and what a wonderful landmark and brilliant engineering, thank you!

[GRW]

I’ve seen and been on Tower Bridge a bunch of times. While most of my business was in Westminster, near the Polish Embassy, our favorite restaurant was Roast down in Borough Market. While most of the time the cabs went across London Bridge sometimes we crossed on Tower Bridge, particularly on the way back to the hotel.

[silverflyer]

Fascinating as usual, Simon! For some reason I always thought Tower Bridge was at least 100 years older than it is! Always learn something new from your videos! Keep 'em coming! Thank you!

[badbiker]

I have a suggestion for another bridge story to put on Megaprojects. I was born and raised in Michigan in the United States. Michigan is split into two halves, both peninsulas surrounded by the Great Lakes. For generations there was a ferry system for crossing the Straits of Mackinac; the narrowest point between the northern (we call it the 'upper') and southern ('lower' to us) peninsulas. In the 1950s, traffic grew to the point that the ferries were unable to accommodate the number of vehicles that desired passage, so the government of Michigan decided it was time to build a bridge. The story of the design and building of the Mackinac Bridge (Mighty Mac to Michiganders) is fascinating and, I believe, a worthy addition to your channel. Give it some thought, won't you?

[thedevilinthecircuit]

Fascinating stuff as always. Other bridges that may serve as material are the CBBT (Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel), and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge that connects the city of Annapolis MD to Kent Island. It is one of only a few large curved bridges, and consists of multiple bridge construction methods for the several sections (platform, canteliever, through-girder, over-girder, suspension, etc.). Cheers, Simon!

[davidmeeks]

Incredible feat of engineering and on top of that, it looks really cool

[KenVic]

The state of the bridge at 8:50 reminds me of the first Sherlock Holmes movie in 2009. I've been waiting for the third movie in the series for years...loved the first two.

[Taylor-oqgf]

Not gonna lie, the first time i saw the Tower Bridge I was completely blown away. Seeing it in person is such an amazing thing.

[adamdewitt]

Megaproject suggesting:

The Mackinac Bridge. It reaches 5 miles across the Straits of Mackinac between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of the state of Michigan. It is tall enough to allow shipping barges to pass under, and withstands the intense wind gusts of the Straits. It was completed on schedule in the late 1950's, with construction and module manufacturing continuing year-round. I believe at one point it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.

[granmahurt]

Love it when you do videos on iconic buildings Simon. Adding to my reply to one of comments on the Sydney Opera house. Yes please!!! Side project or Mega project. Bring it on. Please? Great stories, well researched. Great team. Thank you Simon. 😊

[nadwanrosetta]

When I was a kid, I thought that the two towers of the bridge had some flats inside them (and I envied those who might live there) and I never thought about the engines that raise the bridge for the passing ships, but then I discovered the Ponte Vecchio of Florence in Italy, which have shops along its sides

[jstorlie]

I'd love to see a video about the rebuilding of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridge after the 1989 earthquake

[ShukenFlash]

You should do a video on the I-580 (MacArthur Maze) collapse and reconstruction. Its often used in engineering classes as an example of what engineers are capable of doing when push comes to shove. In under a month one of the busiest interchanges in California was rebuilt after a tanker fire collapsed the upper deck. The hot shot construction company owner, one C. C. Meyers, boasted in his bid that he could rebuild it in 1/3 the time the state estimated, and for a price that was impossibly cheap. You see, there was a bonus of $200k per day the bridge finished ahead of their estimate, up to a max of $5million. His bid was actually $5.9 million, he said, because he was going to finish in time to collect the full $5mil bonus. Meyers was so sure he'd get the contract he had equipment moved to just across from the bridge ahead of time so they could start work within an hour of the contract signing. Not only did they pull it off, they came in ahead of schedule and under budget.

[paulmaddison]

I know these episodes are recorded well in advance, but this video being released so close to the new Jay Foreman Unfinished London video about bridges is pretty cool.