In 1838 the maiden voyage of Brunel’s first ship, the SS Great Western, had emphatically demonstrated the power of steam over sail. Rob Bell, Brunel’s Britain s1e2: King of the Sea
That ship was the SS Great Britain … At the time she was the largest ship afloat at 322 feet long and 51 feet wide … A hull made completely of iron … His research resulted in this whopping six-bladed propeller. ibid.
The single most important vessel ever built. ibid.
The failure of the atmospheric railway had come after two decades of non-stop work, all of which had left Brunel exhausted. ibid.
By February 1854 construction of the great ship had begun. It was to be 700 feet long, powered by four giant steam engines that would drive a huge propeller with two vast paddle wheels each side … It could carry 4,000 passengers and 6,000 tonnes of cargo … The SS Great Eastern … would have to be launched sideways into the water … It took nine more weeks to get it into the water. ibid.
Skyscrapers have transformed our view of the world. But now a new generation of super-skyscrapers has taken over our skylines. By 2050 75% of us will be living in overcrowded cities so we’re now building taller and faster than ever before. Rob Bell, World’s Tallest Skyscrapers aka Secrets of the World’s Super Skyscrapers, Channel 5 2018
100 super-skyscrapers over 300 metres tall. And that number is growing daily. ibid.
The biggest: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It has nearly 25,000 windows and a mind-boggling 120,000 square metres of glass. ibid.
These incredible feats of engineering are the real hidden secrets within super-skyscrapers. ibid.
They are set to become taller, stronger, smarter and more luxurious than ever before. Rob Bell, World’s Tallest Skyscrapers II aka Secrets of the World’s Super Skyscrapers II
Large parts of the building are for appearance only. ibid.
Britain’s very first super-skyscraper The Shard completed in July 2012. ibid.
The Walkie-Talkie was sold for a record-breaking £1.3 billion in 2017. ibid.
This kind of prefabrication is changing the way the insides of super-skyscrapers are being created. ibid.
Majestic. Dramatic. Awe-inspiring. There are the bridges that are worldwide icons as well as engineering marvels. Each of them broke new ground. The first, the biggest, the longest, and the tallest. Rob Bell, World’s Greatest Bridges s2e1: Golden Gate Bridge, Channel 5 2018
The Golden Gate Bridge, 1937: I’m in California driving along the Pacific Coast Highway … It’s more than 1.7 miles long. Its two towers rise 746 feet above the water, and between them the main span stretches 4,200 feet across. ibid.
‘There are 600,000 rivets in each of these towers.’ ibid. workman
The Sydney Harbour Bridge, 1932: Rising to a height of 440 feet, it’s the world’s tallest steel-arched bridge connecting the northern suburbs of Sydney with the city centre … It spans 1,650 feet and is 160 feet wide. It carries eight lanes of traffic, two railway lines, a footpath and a dedicated cycle path. Every day more than 200,000 cars travel across it. Rob Bell, World’s Greatest Bridges s2e2: Sydney Harbour Bridge
At last Sydney north and Sydney south were united. ibid.
Across the world metal bridges dominate the landscape. These iconic structures come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Many attract thousands of sightseers from across the globe. But one bridge came before them all: it’s located in a small village in Shropshire … The most important bridge ever made because it was the very first in the world to be made entirely from iron. A massive 378 tons of it. The Iron Bridge stretches almost 200 feet across Britain’s longest river, the Severn. Rob Bell, World’s Greatest Bridges s2e3: The Iron Bridge, Shropshire
A marvel of industrial engineering, it’s the forerunner to every other metal bridge. ibid.
So few records of the bridge’s construction exist. ibid.
It inspired Thomas Telford …a young engineer and architect … The most magnificent is this: the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, this breathtaking waterway suspended in the sky. Built in 1805 this remains the highest navigable aqueduct in the world. ibid.
He built hundreds of miles of canals and roads and bridges. ibid.
The Tay Railway Bridge in Dundee opened in 1878. Constructed mainly from cast iron, it was at 10,709 feet the longest bridge in the world at the time … Then on Sunday 28th December 1879, only 19 months after the bridge had opened, disaster struck. That night a violent storm raged across the Tay. And at 7.31 p.m. just as a passenger train was going across it, the bridge collapsed. At least 74 passengers died when the train plunged into the icy waters. ibid.
The Brooklyn Bridge 1883: Rising 276 feet above the water it stretches 5,989 feet from end to end. Four massive cables hold up a suspended central span of 1,595 feet and 6 inches. When the bridge opened in 1883 it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Rob Bell, World’s Greatest Bridges s2e4: Brooklyn Bridge
Ohio 1866: The John A Roebling Suspension bridge. ibid.
It [Brooklyn] shattered accepted notions about how long bridges could stretch, what they should look like and even how their built. ibid.
The Tarn Valley in the south of France, a magnet for tourists … Now there’s another reason people flock here. This – the Millau Viaduct. It’s arguably the most beautiful bridge in the world … This is the world’s tallest bridge. Rob Bell, World’s Greatest Bridges s2e5: Millau Viaduct
One of the great names invited to bid was Sir – now Lord – Norman Foster. ibid.
Now considered one of the greatest engineering achievements of modern times. ibid.
Opened in 2004 the Millau Viaduct is record breaking. ibid.
The Millennium bridge wobbled from side to side … The engineering teams fitted 91 dampeners along the length of the bridge. ibid.
The Severn Bridge, 1966: This is the Severn, the longest river in Britain … The Severn Bridge: it’s virtually a mile long, 446 feet high, and with a central span of 3,240 feet. Rob Bell, World’s Greatest Bridges s2e6: Severn Bridge
The first bridge across the Severn would be a railway bridge. ibid.
The Clifton Suspension Bridge showcased Brunel the engineering radical. Rob Bell, Brunel: Building a Great Britain, Channel 5 2020
Bridges are at the heart of all our lives. They connect people and places. But they also change things for ever. I want to find out how London’s bridges changed Britain. Rob Bell, London’s Greatest Bridges I: Secrets of London Bridge, Channel 5 2021
I’m looking at the first bridge of them all. For over 1,700 years the only bridge in the city – London Bridge. ibid.
Until the 12th century when some descriptions of a truly spectacular bridge appear … It is covered in buildings … the churches. ibid.
The heads of enemies of the state were a feature of the bridge for nearly 400 years. ibid.
The houses came down, as did the shops and the businesses. ibid.
One of the designs came from an engineering legend, Thomas Telford … It is utterly spectacular … This single arch … This is stunning. So clean. So why wasn’t it built? ibid.
It becomes a tourist attraction on the other side of the ocean. ibid.
The most iconic bridge of them all: Tower Bridge … Why it became the bridge at the centre of the world. Rob Bell, London’s Greatest Bridges II: Tower Bridge: Gateway to London
What was at one time London’s port … One of the most multicultural corners of the world in the nineteenth century. ibid.
It was the design changes once Barry was on board that turned Jones’s concept into a workable bridge. ibid.
Peel back that masonry and the skeleton is made up of 11,000 tons of steel. ibid.
A bridge shrouded in dirty politics right from the start – Westminster bridge. Its history is entwined with the governance of Britain, its politicians and people. Because from its construction in the eighteenth century to its modern-day incarnation Westminster bridge’s story is one of argument, protest and sabotage. Rob Bell, London’s Greatest Bridges III: Westminster Bridge
For the first time in 500 years a new bridge was to be built in London … The bridge was finally completed in 1750. ibid.
What of the bridge that would replace it? And how would that define a new Victorian London? ibid.