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The changing face of Bristol


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So how long did the railway bridge last then?

 

It ceased to carry through traffic in 1964,when the line to the docks closed, but it stayed in place much longer than that bearing the stub of the docks line that remained in use as a siding. I guess this use would have ceased when Temple Meads good depot closed.

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Having looked at the flicker site, the change in Bristol seems to have been for the better. SWMBO was looking over my shoulder at the images and she was shocked by the general tatty state of the city- burnt out cars and decrepit buildings. Did we really like the place in those days or are we blinded by the rose tinted nostalgia specs?

 

Tim

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Having looked at the flicker site, the change in Bristol seems to have been for the better. SWMBO was looking over my shoulder at the images and she was shocked by the general tatty state of the city- burnt out cars and decrepit buildings. Did we really like the place in those days or are we blinded by the rose tinted nostalgia specs?

 

Tim

Well I liked Temple Meads much better back then than I do now.

 

Neil

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I work in Plymouth and have a house in Bristol. The traffic in Bristol is horrendous and a (relative) joy in Plymouth.

Great shots of that area, and agree with Fray's photos they are fantastic, and he's a fellow Dowendian too.

 

Neil

 

I fear that you must drive through the city at very unfortunate times, or you are just very unlucky. The traffic outside rush hour is anything but horrendous. In fact for much of the day, it is remarkably free flowing.

 

Compare this with the situation 25 or more years ago, when the queue to get into the city centre was often backed up Cheltenham Road almost as far as Montpelier station even during the middle of the day. In fact, I used to be able to walk from Bishopston to near the Hippodrome almost as fast as it took in the car.

 

Of course, those folk that all cram into the Cabot Circus car parks like lemmings, and then decide to leave at exactly the same time later in the day might take an hour to get out of the multistorey, but that is their fault for not using the buses, or the various park and rides.

 

I shudder to think of why a bus driver who had been in Canons Marsh would be going round in such a circle that he would find himself on the old Victoria Street/Temple Gate flyover, but maybe the least said about driving capabilities the better.

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I've only lived in Bristol since 2006,but I have visited many times since the early 80's as my sister lives here. Would the steel railway bridge have survived into say the mid 80's or early 90's?

Cheers N

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Having looked at the flicker site, the change in Bristol seems to have been for the better. SWMBO was looking over my shoulder at the images and she was shocked by the general tatty state of the city- burnt out cars and decrepit buildings. Did we really like the place in those days or are we blinded by the rose tinted nostalgia specs?

 

Tim

The point of the site was to record the final days of those buildings. Fray Bentos does state that the bulldozers went in shortly after his visit. So of course the buildings are decrepit - they ain't long for this world!

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I've only lived in Bristol since 2006,but I have visited many times since the early 80's as my sister lives here. Would the steel railway bridge have survived into say the mid 80's or early 90's?

Cheers N

'The Track Layouts of The Great Western Railway and BR (WR) Section 19A- Bristol' gives the last bits of Temple Meads Goods closing in 1982, so it might have lasted that long.

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Hello All

 

The lines to the docks which was call high level .and us as shuters was the east end pilot.

tracks was going to be use for hst"s for overnjght storage ground power supply was put in

but it never ready took off.

 

phil

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The point of the site was to record the final days of those buildings. Fray Bentos does state that the bulldozers went in shortly after his visit. So of course the buildings are decrepit - they ain't long for this world!

 

None of your comment alters the fact that Bristol was tatty - the operative word being 'was'

 

Tim

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Hello All

 

The lines to the docks which was call high level .and us as shuters was the east end pilot.

tracks was going to be use for hst"s for overnjght storage ground power supply was put in

but it never ready took off.

 

phil

 

I remember watching the relaying of the High level Sidings, which was carried out at some expense.

I think one reason that the sidings were never used for stabling HSTs was that the London end power car

would be stood right outside the panel signal box windows, causing a problem with fumes and noise.

 

When the relaying took place I believe the sidings were shortened somewhat and the stopblocks

were then short of the bridge over the A4.

 

cheers

Edited by Rivercider
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I shudder to think of why a bus driver who had been in Canons Marsh would be going round in such a circle that he would find himself on the old Victoria Street/Temple Gate flyover, but maybe the least said about driving capabilities the better.

 

 

Tis simple realy, he turned right instead of left coming out of the old goods yard, went up through the Tramway Centre until the flyover by the Post Building, round the roundabout and back down the other way.

 

Us simple lads from Plimuff aren't used to the big cities.

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Us simple lads from Plimuff aren't used to the big cities.

Too right! I 'did my time' in Bristol in the 1980s and 1990s and moved to Devon after that. I now find myself working back in Bristol quite often, but can thank Heaven for one of the major benefits of the Voyagers, which is their accelleration and speed to get me home again!

 

To elaborate on what Tim Hale has said, there is no doubt that much of Bristol has been tidied up over the years, so is certainly less tatty. In many areas, this is no doubt an improvement, but whether some areas - such as that around the railway - have the same charm as before is perhaps more debatable.

 

There is still a siding at the London-end of Temple Meads station referred to as the 'High Level Siding', which is now used to stable sprinters in between turns.

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I thought I had some recent photos of the freshly-demolished viaduct on my Flickr account, but apparently I don't, although I do have plenty of the disused hotel next to it.

 

Here's a rather more obscure piece of Bristol railway heritage though: a fence post, cut off at ground level, on Wapping Rd

 

Bridge rail, Wapping Road, Bristol

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I remember that bridge and the flyover. Was always exciting to go over it as a kid. I certainly remember TM goods as a vacant space or car park in the early eighties. I also remember that Brunel's train shed was used as a car park then, as my dad complained about the waste of such a great building (he's a big Brunel fan!)

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To elaborate on what Tim Hale has said, there is no doubt that much of Bristol has been tidied up over the years, so is certainly less tatty. In many areas, this is no doubt an improvement, but whether some areas - such as that around the railway - have the same charm as before is perhaps more debatable.

 

Tim,

 

I would have preferred if the tatty bits had been tidied so that we could still enjoy the rich heritage that Bristol had to offer. Does that make sense?

 

Tim

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I remember that bridge and the flyover. Was always exciting to go over it as a kid. I certainly remember TM goods as a vacant space or car park in the early eighties. I also remember that Brunel's train shed was used as a car park then, as my dad complained about the waste of such a great building (he's a big Brunel fan!)

Sometime back in the 1990s, Tonbridge West Yard was invited to an exhibition in the former Brunel station; it had possibly the biggest differences in level of anywhere the layout had been, I reckon. Before wads of packing had been inserted under the trestles, a Lima Brush struggled with a couple of coaches.

It was the first time I'd been to that part of Bristol since I'd moved north in 1977- I had great difficulty finding my way around.

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I also remember that Brunel's train shed was used as a car park then, as my dad complained about the waste of such a great building (he's a big Brunel fan!)

 

The Old Station is still used as a car park, although the westernmost section (the original Brunel bit) is now an exhibition space.

Perhaps you have not heard, but it seems very likely that the Old Station will return to rail use in conjunction with the GWML electrification and demolition of the current Bristol Panel. I rather suspect that this won't include the Brunel section - the catenary wouldn't enhance the view of the pseudo-hammerbeam roof.

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Bit hard to tell from the aerial photography but the total length of the Brunel and Digby Wyatt sheds looks to be around 200m and I think the westernmost 50m may never have had plaforms as it seems to be narrower. So I think they'll have to use as much as they can of both parts to get long enough platforms without widening the river bridge.

 

There's a choice between accepting some change to return it to railway use or keeping it the same but using it for something else.

Edited by Edwin_m
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Temple Meads Old station was arranged with 4 platforms (on 2 faces) under the roof.

Platforms 13 & 15 at the stopblocks end were narrower, crossovers enabled

trains to arrive/depart past platforms 12 and 14 in front at the East End.

 

There were, in the past, 10 lines on the bridge over Avon Street.

I know there is currently an access track on the north side taking up some space,

but with re-modelling there is probably room to get 2 running lines back into the old shed,

the platforms could be shorter to accomodate the Pompey-Cardiff trains perhaps.

 

cheers

Edited by Rivercider
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Temple Meads Old station was arranged with 4 platforms (on 2 faces) under the roof.

Platforms 13 & 15 at the stopblocks end were narrower, crossovers enabled

trains to arrive/depart past platforms 12 and 14 in front at the East End...

Of course, despite the common use of that term, it all depends on what you mean by "Old" :scratchhead: This platform numbering (13 and 15 in Brunel's train shed and 12 and 14 in Wyatt's extension) only dates from the 1930-5 rebuild. Brunel's original train shed had much narrower platforms with five broad gauge lines and a short engine shed at the west end. By the 1860s, the four outer lines had become dual gauge. What I'm not sure about is the sequence of changes in the track plan between the end of the broad gauge and 1930.

 

Nick

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Of course, despite the common use of that term, it all depends on what you mean by "Old" :scratchhead:

 

Nick

 

Sorry, I was just explaining that the platforms had extended for the full length of the building(s).

I know that the history is quite complicated, but during the whole of my career (1977-2007)

it was just referred to as the 'covered car park' !

 

It is interesting to know it may come back into proper use.

Until the creation of the station access via the Bristol & West side

very few passengers ever got to see any of the hidden gem.

 

I had 3 spells working in the TOPS office located in the Panel building.

From our window we saw Temple Meads Goods come down, the replacement business park go up,

and come down again. Great change indeed

 

cheers

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Perhaps you have not heard, but it seems very likely that the Old Station will return to rail use in conjunction with the GWML electrification and demolition of the current Bristol Panel

Awful lot of water to pass under a lot of bridges still, before any kind of decisions are made about the whole TM area. Far too premature at the moment.

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