Scottish Infrastructure

[GordonS]

On 07/02/2021 at 09:48, Juanhourjoe said:

Denmark really taking a lead I'm the future tech, at the moment. Can we get some of these set up in our cities. Seen a Scottish company was look to set up a few of these sorts of towers. Albeit on a much smaller scale.

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20201207-a-wind-powered-vertical-farm-giant-urban-farm-opens-in-denmark

These things are fine for salad stuff, but there's still no realistic prospect of them producing food that, y'know, keeps you alive.

You often hear it said that the Netherlands is one of the world's great agricultural exporters, but what they don't tell you is that it's one of the most calorie deficient countries in the world. This is because you don't get much nutrition from lettuce, flowers and herbs.

But they're good for what they do. One way to make the most of them would be to have them located at supermarket distribution centres, and robots would pick your order for delivery with the rest of your shopping.

18 minutes ago, Highland Capital said:

I was trying to think recently how many tunnels are there in Scotland?  Aside from the Glasgow Subway, some of the Glasgow lines and between Haymarket and Waverley and the Clyde Tunnel there's not many.  I can't think of any between Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh and despite being a fairly mountainous region there's only one between Inverness and Perth (around Blair Atholl as I recall).  There'll definitely be some I've forgotten, but even then it's not many.

The Faroese, despite having a population akin to Perth, build tunnels for 300-odd cars a day and do it because they're good for business.  You could propose a tunnel in Scotland for ten times that amount of traffic and people would be against it.

Wee double tunnel alongside Loch Carron. 

[Highland Capital]

13 minutes ago, GordonS said:

 

Wee double tunnel alongside Loch Carron. 

Forgot about that one!  You don't see that sort of thing railway/road tunnel box thing in Britain much - think the only time I've ever seen another one was in Norway.

Edited February 19, 2021 by Highland Capital

[GordonS]

7 minutes ago, Highland Capital said:

Forgot about that one!  You don't see that sort of thing railway/road tunnel box thing in Britain much - think the only time I've ever seen another one was in Norway.

There are loads of them in the Alps though they tend to be longer. 

[Juanhourjoe]

19 minutes ago, GordonS said:

These things are fine for salad stuff, but there's still no realistic prospect of them producing food that, y'know, keeps you alive.

You often hear it said that the Netherlands is one of the world's great agricultural exporters, but what they don't tell you is that it's one of the most calorie deficient countries in the world. This is because you don't get much nutrition from lettuce, flowers and herbs.

But they're good for what they do. One way to make the most of them would be to have them located at supermarket distribution centres, and robots would pick your order for delivery with the rest of your shopping.

Aye. I know, at the moment they're not producing much of nutrition value. But It can be done. It's just that's probably the easiest money for larger investment in something that is relatively new.

[GordonS]

6 minutes ago, Juanhourjoe said:

Aye. I know, at the moment they're not producing much of nutrition value. But It can be done. It's just that's probably the easiest money for larger investment in something that is relatively new.

I don't think it will ever be practical to grow cereals or root veg like that, you need so much soil and light that you're as well doing it in a field, but I'd like to be proven wrong.

[GordonS]

7 hours ago, RiG said:

A contract to design and assess the most appropriate plan to redevelop Edinburgh Waverley has been awarded. 

https://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/articles/network-rail-awards-ps900k-design-contract-edinburgh-waverley-masterplan

I know that's just an artists impression but exposing most of the station to the elements is probably not going to score highly with people.

That's just a floor plan, the whole thing would be covered.

[Hedgecutter]

1 hour ago, Chicken Wing said:

On the routes I drive with the exception of The mound tunnels (Waverley), Calton tunnels (Waverley), Haymarket tunnels and Queen St tunnel the list is as follows:

Winchburgh, Falkirk High, Kippenross, St Margaret's, Bowshank, Torwoodlee, Inverkeithing, Kinghorn, Eglington St.

I actually thought there were more!!!

Edit - forgot about North Queensferry

Although the tracks were ripped out yonks ago, the disused tunnels at Glenfarg (old Edinburgh-Perth line) are a fun afternoon out.  I especially like the bit where you come out of one tunnel straight onto a viaduct over the road below and then go straight into another tunnel through the hill.

http://www.abandonedscotland.com/glenfarg-railway-tunnels-guest-article/

 

Eta: similarly, you can still walk along the Tower Burn from the Glen beside Dunfermline Abbey right through to the Glen Bridge below the car park beside the City Hotel (if you don't mind getting wet for the second half). 

Edited February 19, 2021 by Hedgecutter

[tamthebam]

There are a couple of cycle track tunnels in Edinburgh- one at Balerno and one on the old Innocent Railway. These are old railway lines.

There is also the Scotland Street tunnel that goes into Waverley. I always thought you could use it for an underground cycle track from Canonmills into the city centre.

[ajwffc]

9 hours ago, parsforlife said:

Retail space, sakes,  beyond network rail looking to cash in there’s no justification for that, there’s more than enough nearby retail,  It’s city center FFS.  What is unavailable at Waverley that you would expect to find?

it was/is all about getting more money into Network Rail 

[Tutankhamen]

9 hours ago, virginton said:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/14/rail-bosses-revive-plan-to-build-tunnel-from-scotland-to-northern-ireland

1) Rebuild the bulk of the old Dumfries-Castle Douglas-Newton Stewart line for this immediately (sticking to the cost instead of a pointless loop up to New Galloway)

2) Ditch the pointless and expensive tunnel project and run the train onto the ferry instead like the one that goes to Sicily. No more ridiculous 'connecting bus' routes running down to Cairnryan from Ayr either.

Make it happen.

Different railway gauge on the Irish side

[Le Tout P'ti FC]

Auchendinny has a quick succession of viaduct > tunnel > tunnel > bowstring bridge > abandoned railway platforms. On the old Penicuik to Dalkeith railway. Lovely place to walk.

The first tunnel always reminds me of Back to the Future.

[Melanius Mullarkey]

On 07/02/2021 at 09:48, Juanhourjoe said:

Denmark really taking a lead I'm the future tech, at the moment. Can we get some of these set up in our cities. Seen a Scottish company was look to set up a few of these sorts of towers. Albeit on a much smaller scale.

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20201207-a-wind-powered-vertical-farm-giant-urban-farm-opens-in-denmark

Happening just outside Dundee as well.

https://www.intelligentgrowthsolutions.com/approach

[Highland Capital]

There is a tunnel on the old Fort Augustus to Fort William route that was ended in the 1930s.  Wonder if that would be successful as a heritage railway - can imagine a lot of tourists would go for a railway trip to Loch Ness.

[G51]

Say what you like but a tunnel between Scotland and NI would be absolutely class. 

Imagine being able to take a train from Dublin to Glasgow in the same time it takes to go from Inverness to Glasgow. What a time to be alive.

[Highland Capital]

28 minutes ago, G51 said:

Say what you like but a tunnel between Scotland and NI would be absolutely class. 

Imagine being able to take a train from Dublin to Glasgow in the same time it takes to go from Inverness to Glasgow. What a time to be alive.

As I say earlier in the thread, the Faroe Islands build these tunnels because they're good for business.  For a country that seems to strive to be better, Scotland's attitude to infrastructure is very small time.  I know the distance isn't as long, but the Øresund Bridge is another example of how some countries attitudes are better than ours - if Copenhagen was a Scottish city people would be screaming "Whits wrong with a ferry?!?1?" 

Edited February 20, 2021 by Highland Capital

[G51]

2 minutes ago, Highland Capital said:

As I say earlier in the thread, the Faroe Islands build these tunnels because they're good for business.  For a country that seems to strive to be better, Scotland's attitude to infrastructure is very small time.  I know the distance isn't as long, but the Øresund Bridge is another example of how some countries attitude are better than ours - if Copenhagen was a Scottish city people would be screaming "Whits wrong with a ferry?!?1?" 

Correct. A country with so many islands should have more bridges, not less. 

 

[Highland Capital]

Just now, G51 said:

Correct. A country with so many islands should have more bridges, not less. 

 

And a country with such a mountainous landscape should have more tunnels.

[Moomintroll]

19 minutes ago, Highland Capital said:

As I say earlier in the thread, the Faroe Islands build these tunnels because they're good for business.  For a country that seems to strive to be better, Scotland's attitude to infrastructure is very small time.  I know the distance isn't as long, but the Øresund Bridge is another example of how some countries attitudes are better than ours - if Copenhagen was a Scottish city people would be screaming "Whits wrong with a ferry?!?1?" 

The Danes in particular are miles ahead when it comes to renewable energy & general infrastructure. They have a biomass plant just outside Copenhagen that has to import rubbish from Sweden & Norway as there isn't enough in Denmark alone to keep it running at peak efficiency. 

[jamamafegan]

Nah, get the Scotland - Northern Ireland tunnel idea in the bin where it belongs. The billions it would cost to build would be better spent on our own shite infrastructure and improving connectivity in Scotland.

The “Boris burrow” as the Tories are labelling it is simply an attempt to strengthen the Union, we don’t need a tunnel to Northern Ireland but we do need to improve our own infrastructure. I would sooner have a tunnel built to the Outer Hebrides than to NI.

I’d file it under the same category as HS2 which is a monumental waste of money, just so people can get to London quicker.

[GordonS]

3 hours ago, Highland Capital said:

There is a tunnel on the old Fort Augustus to Fort William route that was ended in the 1930s.  Wonder if that would be successful as a heritage railway - can imagine a lot of tourists would go for a railway trip to Loch Ness.

I think chunks of it have been built on so it would be very expensive to restore. That's justifiable when you have regular commuters but probably not for tourism. And I wonder if it might not add all that many passengers, it might just take some from the Jacobite steam train.