LittleMike
December 23rd, 2008, 01:46
2008 has been a great year for drains, but with december drawing to a close there was still time for Manchester to sqeeze out one last surprise. One of the last pieces in the image archive puzzle remained, and for me it was my own personal equivalent of London's "this is it"!
It started about a year ago with tales of giant brick chambers and sleek penstock gagetry...
http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/1317/33075686xf2.jpg
http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/5521/28211835gs0.jpg
After 2 prior failed attempts me and scott finally managed to come more equipped, packing some serious heat to match the equally sketchy locale. An amazing decision by scott to lift probably the most unlikely lid in the entire world paid off and in we dropped to the top of the main chamber, housing the finest example penstock machinary I've seen to date. Far below at the bottom of the chamber was a veritable ocean of turd, eminating from a not-so-modest 20ft diameter brick tunnel. The year of the boat has been superceeded, 2009 - year of the submarine?
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3107/3128867205_d5822b841e_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128867205/)
Mechanisation
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3222/3128867635_d6663ae235_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128867635/)
P6
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3288/3128868469_e0681760e3_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128868469/)
P7
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/3128869319_600cf13796_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128869319/)
4.7m
With the main tunnel inaccessable from where we were, we headed out to another chamber in the same system, first dropping into a strange chamber behind the main penstock, housing only a narrow walkway and the giant counterweight
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3251/3128869707_f9f54e87fe_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128869707/)
Counterweight
With our options running low, we popped the final lid, a heavy concrete affair in the middle of a road. Scott stood guard while I quickly dropped in. Success! Another chamber the same as the first, but only on a slightly smaller scale and now disused judging by the state of the machinary.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/3128870145_85c86389eb_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128870145/)
Rustorium
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3251/3128870681_bf513d9db4_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128870681/)
P8/P9
With our legitimacy now looking somewhat like an etch-a-sketch in a playschool we had begun to attract some undue attention from the local residents. "Err, I think it's time to go" scott shouts down, so we slammed the lid and made like a tampon.
Ok...just one more...a lid in the middle of a busy dual-carriageway dropped us nicely further upstream into one of the trunks. A nice bit of extra fresh just to round the night off!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3118/3128870991_d138b2daf6_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128870991/)
It started about a year ago with tales of giant brick chambers and sleek penstock gagetry...
http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/1317/33075686xf2.jpg
http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/5521/28211835gs0.jpg
After 2 prior failed attempts me and scott finally managed to come more equipped, packing some serious heat to match the equally sketchy locale. An amazing decision by scott to lift probably the most unlikely lid in the entire world paid off and in we dropped to the top of the main chamber, housing the finest example penstock machinary I've seen to date. Far below at the bottom of the chamber was a veritable ocean of turd, eminating from a not-so-modest 20ft diameter brick tunnel. The year of the boat has been superceeded, 2009 - year of the submarine?
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3107/3128867205_d5822b841e_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128867205/)
Mechanisation
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3222/3128867635_d6663ae235_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128867635/)
P6
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3288/3128868469_e0681760e3_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128868469/)
P7
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/3128869319_600cf13796_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128869319/)
4.7m
With the main tunnel inaccessable from where we were, we headed out to another chamber in the same system, first dropping into a strange chamber behind the main penstock, housing only a narrow walkway and the giant counterweight
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3251/3128869707_f9f54e87fe_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128869707/)
Counterweight
With our options running low, we popped the final lid, a heavy concrete affair in the middle of a road. Scott stood guard while I quickly dropped in. Success! Another chamber the same as the first, but only on a slightly smaller scale and now disused judging by the state of the machinary.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3201/3128870145_85c86389eb_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128870145/)
Rustorium
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3251/3128870681_bf513d9db4_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128870681/)
P8/P9
With our legitimacy now looking somewhat like an etch-a-sketch in a playschool we had begun to attract some undue attention from the local residents. "Err, I think it's time to go" scott shouts down, so we slammed the lid and made like a tampon.
Ok...just one more...a lid in the middle of a busy dual-carriageway dropped us nicely further upstream into one of the trunks. A nice bit of extra fresh just to round the night off!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3118/3128870991_d138b2daf6_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/little-mike/3128870991/)