Scottish Infrastructure

[Hedgecutter]

 

14 hours ago, Academically Deficient said:

They didn't even have calculators, never mind computers.

Part of you wishes that the joining of the Forth Bridge segments missed by a few feet.  But no, accurate to the inch.

Edited September 14, 2020 by Hedgecutter

[MONKMAN]

4 hours ago, alta-pete said:

I suspect he was anticipating the bulk of the traffic to come up the M6 and hang a left onto the A75. 

Add to the list of roads that should have been dualed years ago.

[8MileBU]

29 minutes ago, MONKMAN said:

Add to the list of roads that should have been dualed years ago.

Aye, those Irish lorries need an overtaking lane. Nutters.

[Shandon Par]

1 hour ago, MixuFruit said:

Here where is the Kircaldy to Portobello hovercraft?

It was up for sale recently on a hovercraft website. Can’t remember what thread but I spotted it from the reg number thing on the side.

Eta..

https://www.griffonhoverwork.com/products/hovercraft/used-hovercraft/

Edited September 13, 2020 by Shandön Par

[tamthebam]

2 hours ago, MixuFruit said:

This is much smaller fry than roads and rail. I was trying to find a picture but couldn't think what to Google. I've noticed in a few European countries that their rubbish bins in the street are self emptying. There's a big bin dug into the ground and then a visible bin that is at street level. You chuck your rubbish in and instead of it filling up this wee bin, it all goes into this hidden receptacle underneath. Then when the bin lorries come round the whole thing is motorised and rises up out the ground, they empty it and it goes back to normal. The result is no overflowing bins, no flies, no rats etc. Such an elegant solution to lots of individual problems.

I think they have those around the Uni at Potterrow. "Big Belly" they're called. The actual pull out bit you put your rubbish in gets a bit clarty though 

(I'm surprised the corpse of a pissed up student had never been found in one either...!)

[Gaz]

3 hours ago, Shandön Par said:

In that vein, we maybe suffer from being so early to industrialise. We’re stuck with knackered old narrow roads, Victorian era railways etc whereas more “modern” countries have been able to build more modern infrastructure from the start. 

One thing that's always fascinated me is just how many railways Scotland had 150 years ago.

For anyone familiar with the Falkirk area, Slamannan and Avonbridge are two tiny wee villages to the south of the town about three miles apart (less than that in a straight line).

Not only did each of them have their own railway station (which actually had passenger services as well as minerals) , but there was actually a station in the middle of them at a place called Glenellrig, which barely existed then and doesn't exist now.

Mental stuff.

[Ross.]

10 hours ago, MixuFruit said:

This is much smaller fry than roads and rail. I was trying to find a picture but couldn't think what to Google. I've noticed in a few European countries that their rubbish bins in the street are self emptying. There's a big bin dug into the ground and then a visible bin that is at street level. You chuck your rubbish in and instead of it filling up this wee bin, it all goes into this hidden receptacle underneath. Then when the bin lorries come round the whole thing is motorised and rises up out the ground, they empty it and it goes back to normal. The result is no overflowing bins, no flies, no rats etc. Such an elegant solution to lots of individual problems.

They have a few of those built into the old town where I am. General rubbish and various recycling efforts. Definitely helps keep the place looking tidy.

Infrastructure here is phenomenal compared to Scotland. Regular train services through the night, connections timed to work along with the buses and trams to make it easy to go pretty much everywhere from anywhere, and there are plenty of tunnels as well as those protective canopies suggested earlier meaning the roads are usually direct and rarely closed off.

Only real problem is the amount of delays caused by roadworks and line upgrades, which are pretty much constant right now.

[Melanius Mullarkey]

9 hours ago, Hedgecutter said:

.  But no, accurate to the inch.

mm.

SI FFS

[budmiester1]

15 hours ago, alta-pete said:

Your location isn’t clear but for St Mirren fan I’m guessing your in the west. Why the aversion to the ferries? First time I went to Portavadie I came back via the RabT; after a landslide funnily enough. Since then - to me - the ferry is an absolute  hands down no-brainer of a winner. 

Alta, I stay in Paisley, as for the ferries we do use them but they don't save any time as you have to get through Port Glasgow, Greenock and Gourock then it's mostly single track road from Sandbank. 

[Northboy]

10 hours ago, resk said:

There's Dyce train station on the Aberdeen-Inverness line, where you can alight and get a nice view of the runway while you figure out whether you should walk for 50 minutes round to the actual terminal or get an overpriced taxi to take you round.... it's not really an airport train link that the rest of the world would recognise, in which you get off the train and you're basically at the terminal.

A common response to this is that the terminal used to be at the railway station side. Well it not f*@cking there now which makes a mockery of any supposed train link to Aberdeen airport. On occasions I take the train from Inverurie to Aberdeen I have an ironic grin when the guard announces 'alight here for Aberdeen airport' as the train pulls into Dyce station.

[Shandon Par]

1 minute ago, MixuFruit said:

much they want for it. Quite like the idea of cutting about in a hovercraft.

It’s maybe sold but it was something like £120k IIRC. 

I remember doing the sums around the trams and working out it would be cheaper to run a fleet of Chinook helicopters back and forth from the airport. Miles quicker too. Hovercraft  would work too to get to Leith. Over the fields to Cramond then scoot along the water.

[Sherrif John Bunnell]

Inverness Airport is getting a railway platform at some point, but it will be the same situation as Aberdeen with the station being on the opposite side of the runway to the terminal.

[welshbairn]

5 minutes ago, Sherrif John Bunnell said:

Inverness Airport is getting a railway platform at some point, but it will be the same situation as Aberdeen with the station being on the opposite side of the runway to the terminal.

I don't see the point when it's 20 minutes by bus from Inverness or Nairn. Aberdeen is really annoying, they've even cancelled the shuttle bus, last time I was there the options were one bus, change, another bus, or walk/taxi. 

Edited September 14, 2020 by welshbairn

[G51]

6 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

I don't see the point when it's 20 minutes by bus from Inverness or Nairn. Aberdeen is really annoying, they've even cancelled the shuttle bus, last time I was there the options were one bus, change, another bus, or walk/taxi. 

It'll be because the line is right next to the Airport, so it's a cheap and easy way of showing us that they're serious about investing in infrastructure in the Highlands (lol).

We couldn't even get the hairpin at Berriedale eliminated without an absolute ton of moaning from folk in the south who couldn't understand why it was necessary.

 

[harry94]

Re the Edinburgh Airport rail link, Gateway's location is actually decent enough, I'm sure there are other airports where they have branded train stations that are actually a 5 minute light rail connection to. I think they just need to properly brand it and not take the piss with the additional charge.

That being said, when you have a much faster and cheaper route from Dundee via the national express coach from the centre to the terminal building that runs into all hours of the night, it's a relatively poor solution. You can have the rail station as close as you like but there's no point if the other rail links from other major population centres aren't practical enough.

[Gaz]

36 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

I don't see the point when it's 20 minutes by bus from Inverness or Nairn. Aberdeen is really annoying, they've even cancelled the shuttle bus, last time I was there the options were one bus, change, another bus, or walk/taxi. 

It'll help Ross County who, as we all know, have an advantage over Central Belt clubs when it comes to signing players due to their proximity to Inverness Airport.

[Florentine_Pogen]

From today's Guardian. Presumably many H&I communities are stuck in this situation with BT ?

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2020/sep/14/bt-broadband-bills-could-reach-100000-for-rural-users

EDIT : Just come across this :-

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jul/29/millions-of-rural-homes-in-uk-to-get-next-generation-full-fibre-broadband

Edited September 14, 2020 by Florentine_Pogen

[The Moonster]

A rather personal one for me but Dumbarton desperately needs another road in from the Glasgow side. All it takes is a bit of rain and you can have huge delays on the A82. It's a complete nightmare for emergency vehicles too. 

They've been talking about a relief road from Bowling heading alongside the Clyde for as long as I've been alive but nothing has ever happened. A few weeks back we had some heavy rain and I saw that traffic was starting to build up on the A82, so I left work at 4.45pm and even with me leaving that wee bit earlier than usual I still didn't get home until 7.30pm. I work 6 miles from home. If it wasn't absolutely hooring it down I'd have abandoned the car and walked.

I really want to buy a wee electric scooter and use that for commuting but finding a reasonable one that can work in the rain is difficult.

[Gaz]

As someone who has spent most of my working life commuting from Falkirk to West Lothian, could I also suggest the oft-proposed bridge at the Avon Gorge?

It's mental stuff that a major thoroughfare between two of Scotland's main motorways used by HGVs is reduced to a single lane, narrow, windy A-Road that's prone to flooding.

West Lothian started to build an access road to the bridge but Falkirk didn't. There are rumours that the guy who owns the chalets on the Falkirk side refused to sell off the land.

[welshbairn]

19 minutes ago, The Moonster said:

A rather personal one for me but Dumbarton desperately needs another road in from the Glasgow side. All it takes is a bit of rain and you can have huge delays on the A82. It's a complete nightmare for emergency vehicles too. 

They've been talking about a relief road from Bowling heading alongside the Clyde for as long as I've been alive but nothing has ever happened. A few weeks back we had some heavy rain and I saw that traffic was starting to build up on the A82, so I left work at 4.45pm and even with me leaving that wee bit earlier than usual I still didn't get home until 7.30pm. I work 6 miles from home. If it wasn't absolutely hooring it down I'd have abandoned the car and walked.

I really want to buy a wee electric scooter and use that for commuting but finding a reasonable one that can work in the rain is difficult.

Electric pushbikes are getting cheaper, haven't heard anything about them not working in the rain.