Fools Rush In ….
The fool in this case is fbb and not Gustave Eiffel, seen above in a studio portrait with his granddaughters. Trying to cover the worldwide work of the celebrated Engineer, Architect and Meteorologist (who died in 1923 aged 91) in a short blog is just plain daft!
… Where Angels Fear To Tread.
Gus was no angel; he spent a couple of years in prison for fraudulent deals during his work on the locks for the Panama Canal!
But the breadth of his work is simply staggering. This blog will offer a taste, as they say, “in no particular order”, of the scope of his work.
The quote, by the way, is from Alexander Pope’s Essay on Criticism and, to his deep chagrin, fbb had to look it up. He “did” Pope as part of his A Level English course and had failed to remember the source of those well worn words!
Bad house point!
We begin in 1860 when Gus was nobbut a lad of 26. He was consulting engineer, supervising engineer, designer (sources vary) for what became known as the “Passerelle Eiffel”. Passerelle means footbridge or gangway, so the Passrrelle Eiffel was a railway bridge!
It crossed the river Garonne at Bordeaux, effectively linking two chunks of the rail network together. And it did include a footbridge.
It was a long trek!
Until 2008, Eiffel’s bridge carried a double track main line electrified and used by TGV trains!
When the new bridge opened the aim was to demolish Eiffel’s 1860 crossing but, thankfully, protests were huge and the structure remains, but now inaccessible.
One of the key campaigners was one of Gus’s great ((?) granddaughters.
There are proposals to re-open the bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.
And A Double Decker
You can immediately spot the Eiffel style of giant Meccano here in Portugal. The top deck is roadway …
… and below is railway. Hopefully Portugal has not copyrighted it when pictured at night.
From The Sublime …
Eiffel designed and built a simple suspension bridge for a park in Paris …
… but spectacular and delightful.
Gus’s biggie in France is the Viaduc de Gabarit …
… taking an extant railway over a deep gorge.
Bearing in mind it was bult using human power and simple tools, the construction is mind-blowing.
The Viaduc de Garabit is a railway arch bridge spanning the Truyère, near Ruynes-en-Margeride, Cantal, France, in the mountainous Massif Central region.
The bridge was constructed between 1882 and 1884 by Gustave Eiffel, with structural engineering by Maurice Koechlin, and was opened in 1885. It is 1,854 ft in length and has a principal arch of 541 ft span.
Back to girders on piers for this one.
Here fbb has forgotten to note where it was, but he has recorded what it has become. The girders have gone but one pier is equipped with a launch pad for bungee jumping.
Would Gus, as a lover of the spectacular, be impressed with its recycled purpose or disappointed to lose his Meccano?
Not Just Bridges
Here is what looks quite innocently like
a waterside warehouse in Izmir, Turkey.
It looks a bit like a shopping centre now (which it is!) but here is a shot of the renewal and rebuild.
But once inside, we can, once again, see Gus’s Meccano in the roof.
Then
the bus station in La Paz, Bolivia …
… still very much in use today!
And still beautiful …
… maybe the most beautiful bus station in the world!
General Post Office Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam.
Also very much the place to purchase philately and post your post.
Nyugati Station in Hungary …
… also very much in use but due for a massive extension “round the back”.
Nice Observatory …
… iron framed, of course!
Dijon Fruit and Veg Market …
… cuts the mustard!
And beautifully formed in Angola!
Palácio de Ferro is a historical building in the Angolan capital Luanda, believed to have been designed and built by – or by someone associated with – Gustave Eiffel.
Maybe, or matbe not?
The Legacy Lives On …
The Millau Viaduct is so big you simply cannot comprehend it.
From base to tip of the main piers it is taller than the Eiffel Tower!
The bridge deck (but not the towers) was built by the Eiffel Company!
Gus would be oh so proud of that!
Is Gus a greater engineer than Izzy, Nick or Tom? His work was certainly flung wider over the globe than Izzy or Tom. Nick’s AC electricity is a special case because there is an awful lot of it about!
Next Variety blog : Saturday 10th August
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