Approaching Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge
Our group gathering at Tower Bridge
ARTS Tower Bridge tour 8th August 2018
Two of the original boilers for raising the bascules - no longer in service
Watching an animation of the water and steam powered mechanisms
Peter waxing lyrical about operation of steam engines
Boiler detail
Peter comtemplating the coal delvery
Pump
Counter for bridge lift operations
Pump detail
The Guv'ner
Maintenance tools
Explanations from our excellent guide Richard
All important guages
Two of the 100-ton accumulators
Guide Richard explains the Bascule drive engines
The lifting gear
Bridge House Estates, which manages several Thames bridges
Walking to the next part of our tour
Plaque
The high-level walkways, where we are next heading
Inside one of the towers
A view from the walkway (looking west towards the City)
A view from the walkway (South Bank detail)
View through the glass floor of the walkway
The mirrored ceiling of the walkway
Standing looking down through the glass floor.
A chance to see the 'William B', which was formerly our very own Sir Thomas More
Tower of London now dwafed by the city of London
The top of the Shard
Intently listening to our guide Richard!
A view from the walkway (looking east towards Greenwich)
More facts from our guide
I guess you could call this a 'floor plan'!
Copy of an original drawing plan
You should know our guide Richard's father: Sgt. Cryer in The Bill.
Quite safe! Look just how thick that glass floor is.
Gathering after our tour before moving on to lunch
What a view!! St Catherine's Dock
Another bridge in St Katharine docks
Lunch venue - the Dickens Inn at St Catherine's Dock
The Dickins Inn sign
After lunch some of us headed back towards Waterloo via river ferry