A roundup of what remains in the part of the central Liverpool dock system shown below.
This bit is also known as the Stanley Dock Conservation Area and is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The area is owned by Peel Waters and their initial crass plans to erect tall skyscrapers almost lost the heritage status.
There are many reports on here about the more interesting buildings, namely the tobacco warehouses on either side of Stanley Dock and the Victoria Clock Tower at the Salisbury Dock entrance.
The hydraulic station at the top right corner of the Bramley-Moore Dock has also been covered, but I still haven’t got into the accumulator tower (https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/bramley-moore-pumphouse-liverpool-sept-2017.109887/).
The area covered is mostly wasteland and this post is essentially a record of the minor stuff dotted around, starting at the northern end and moving south.
Pictures are from several visits over the past year or so, some with junior.
Bramley-Moore (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bramley-Moore_Dock).
This dock, like all the others covered here, was built by Hartley (the most famous Liverpool dock engineer) and opened in 1848.
Its main use was a coaling station for steamers, and brickwork for one of the piers supporting the elevated railway which carried coal from Lancashire can still be seen above the main dock wall.
These days the north and east quays are used by a sand supply company, and the port’s tug boats berth on the southern side.
The entire area is due to be filled in when Everton’s new stadium is built here, right next to the sewage plant occupying what used to be the Wellington and Sandon Docks.
A small building at the end of the north quay. Probably built in the 1940’s according to OS maps, parts of this may still be in use as offices and a workshop. Pictures of some of the unused bits.
There are a couple of short tunnels in the sea wall opposite carrying hydraulic mains (pressurised water) for dock machinery.
Nothing much in these except for some surprisingly deep shafts in the floor, covered only by rotten boards and junk.
A bit further down the sea wall one of the control panels in a little substation.
Shed on the south quay. Fairly recent, probably 1960’s, used to have wood in it I think, but now empty and occasionally used as an event venue.
Nelson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Dock,_Liverpool). Unused these days - the last regular trade was bulk rum, piped to the northern Stanley warehouse, now the Titanic Hotel.
Not much to see here except for a couple of wooden gates which were designed to slide through the entrance turrets.
The one pictured below is missing a wheel - the wheel shown is from another one of the three sets in the area, marked with green G’s on the satellite view.
The swing bridge across the entrance to the Salisbury Dock - old maps show there has always been a bridge here - this one probably dates from the 60s and doesn’t look as if it has swung for a while.
There already three 2010 reports on here about the bridge..
jimmy https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threa...e-and-control-room-liverpool-june-2010.51163/
kevsy21 https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/nelson-dock-swing-bridge-control-room-6-10.50991/
georgie https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/nelson-swing-bridge-control-room-liverpool-june-2010.50888/
..so I’ll concentrate on the the most interesting aspect - how the bridge was powered.
Now I’m no engineer and the following could be completely wrong, but it looks like the setup below represents an intermediate stage in hydraulic dock machinery.
A conventional electrically powered oil pump (yellow box in the foreground) leads to a coupling device (yellow box behind the capstan) which produces pressurised water
allowing the original water powered machines to still be used when the hydraulic main was finally retired in 1971.
Below is the pair of jiggers (hydraulic rams with amplifying wheels) which move the bridge by cables attached to a slewing drum - note accidental foot bottom left added for scale.
These jiggers are coupled so that extension of one by pressurised water causes retraction of the other, expelling the used, low pressure water.
The capstan pictured in the foreground of the picture with the yellow boxes was also originally water powered, as suggested by the lagged pipe.
The mechanism underneath represents the obvious solution to obtaining radial motion from linear rams - a crank.
Turbines or Pelton wheel type devices are fine for hight speed rotation e.g. for alternators, but not when you need a tonne of more of torsional grunt to ‘wharf’ a ship through a lock.
This one has three radial rams oscillating on trunnions through which the water was fed.
Another example outside the pump house further south, showing the crank offset more clearly.
A couple of manual capstans nearby showing the ratchets and holes for the handspikes - these would have been worked by gangs of men.
Salisbury and Collingwood. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salisbury_Dock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collingwood_Dock).
There are two 2010 reports on this dock on here:
jimmy https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/collingwood-dock-liverpool-june-2010.51148/
kevsy21 https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/collingwood-dock-liverpool-4-10.49337/
Not much to see apart from the small dock office near the Collingwood entrance https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/collingwood-dock-office-liverpool-dec-2017.111149/, and of course the clock tower on the outer wall.
The southern quay of Collingwood is occupied by a training company and a canoe club.
A view of the tobacco warehouses, and a little hut whose chimney can be seen poking up over the wall from the road.
Clarence.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Dock_(Liverpool)).
This is somewhat earlier than the others (1829). The branch docks were filled in to build a power station in 1929, which was demolished in 1994 leaving an expanse of wasteland, now occasionally used as an event venue.
An aerial view of Clarence Dock in 1936 showing the power station, and one from the top of the Victoria tower last year.
Another view from the south tobacco warehouse.
One of the entrances, complete with rouge apostrophe, and another one showing one of the sawn off stanchions - black stump in front of the hut - for the overhead railway which used to run along above the dock wall.
All that remains are the two graving docks which were last used in the early 2000s and a few small buildings.
There are three reports from 2010 on here which cover the small buildings so no need for any pictures of these - most of them are in fact tinned up and inaccessible now, and one, the canteen, has gone.
agour https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/clarence-graving-docks-liverpool-19-02-10.47481/
kevsy21 https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/clarence-graving-docks-liverpool-4-10.58623/
georgie https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threa...s-ship-builders-ltd-liverpool-feb-2010.47183/
A couple of unrecorded sheds down the side of the graving docks - said to be air raid shelters, but could be just storage.
The graving docks are famous for their stonework, but you can’t see any of this because it’s underwater.
Instead a few old photos of what’s down there; I wonder what Peel will do with the dry docks.
This bit is also known as the Stanley Dock Conservation Area and is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The area is owned by Peel Waters and their initial crass plans to erect tall skyscrapers almost lost the heritage status.
There are many reports on here about the more interesting buildings, namely the tobacco warehouses on either side of Stanley Dock and the Victoria Clock Tower at the Salisbury Dock entrance.
The hydraulic station at the top right corner of the Bramley-Moore Dock has also been covered, but I still haven’t got into the accumulator tower (https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/bramley-moore-pumphouse-liverpool-sept-2017.109887/).
The area covered is mostly wasteland and this post is essentially a record of the minor stuff dotted around, starting at the northern end and moving south.
Pictures are from several visits over the past year or so, some with junior.
Bramley-Moore (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bramley-Moore_Dock).
This dock, like all the others covered here, was built by Hartley (the most famous Liverpool dock engineer) and opened in 1848.
Its main use was a coaling station for steamers, and brickwork for one of the piers supporting the elevated railway which carried coal from Lancashire can still be seen above the main dock wall.
These days the north and east quays are used by a sand supply company, and the port’s tug boats berth on the southern side.
The entire area is due to be filled in when Everton’s new stadium is built here, right next to the sewage plant occupying what used to be the Wellington and Sandon Docks.
A small building at the end of the north quay. Probably built in the 1940’s according to OS maps, parts of this may still be in use as offices and a workshop. Pictures of some of the unused bits.
There are a couple of short tunnels in the sea wall opposite carrying hydraulic mains (pressurised water) for dock machinery.
Nothing much in these except for some surprisingly deep shafts in the floor, covered only by rotten boards and junk.
A bit further down the sea wall one of the control panels in a little substation.
Shed on the south quay. Fairly recent, probably 1960’s, used to have wood in it I think, but now empty and occasionally used as an event venue.
Nelson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Dock,_Liverpool). Unused these days - the last regular trade was bulk rum, piped to the northern Stanley warehouse, now the Titanic Hotel.
Not much to see here except for a couple of wooden gates which were designed to slide through the entrance turrets.
The one pictured below is missing a wheel - the wheel shown is from another one of the three sets in the area, marked with green G’s on the satellite view.
The swing bridge across the entrance to the Salisbury Dock - old maps show there has always been a bridge here - this one probably dates from the 60s and doesn’t look as if it has swung for a while.
There already three 2010 reports on here about the bridge..
jimmy https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threa...e-and-control-room-liverpool-june-2010.51163/
kevsy21 https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/nelson-dock-swing-bridge-control-room-6-10.50991/
georgie https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/nelson-swing-bridge-control-room-liverpool-june-2010.50888/
..so I’ll concentrate on the the most interesting aspect - how the bridge was powered.
Now I’m no engineer and the following could be completely wrong, but it looks like the setup below represents an intermediate stage in hydraulic dock machinery.
A conventional electrically powered oil pump (yellow box in the foreground) leads to a coupling device (yellow box behind the capstan) which produces pressurised water
allowing the original water powered machines to still be used when the hydraulic main was finally retired in 1971.
Below is the pair of jiggers (hydraulic rams with amplifying wheels) which move the bridge by cables attached to a slewing drum - note accidental foot bottom left added for scale.
These jiggers are coupled so that extension of one by pressurised water causes retraction of the other, expelling the used, low pressure water.
The capstan pictured in the foreground of the picture with the yellow boxes was also originally water powered, as suggested by the lagged pipe.
The mechanism underneath represents the obvious solution to obtaining radial motion from linear rams - a crank.
Turbines or Pelton wheel type devices are fine for hight speed rotation e.g. for alternators, but not when you need a tonne of more of torsional grunt to ‘wharf’ a ship through a lock.
This one has three radial rams oscillating on trunnions through which the water was fed.
Another example outside the pump house further south, showing the crank offset more clearly.
A couple of manual capstans nearby showing the ratchets and holes for the handspikes - these would have been worked by gangs of men.
Salisbury and Collingwood. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salisbury_Dock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collingwood_Dock).
There are two 2010 reports on this dock on here:
jimmy https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/collingwood-dock-liverpool-june-2010.51148/
kevsy21 https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/collingwood-dock-liverpool-4-10.49337/
Not much to see apart from the small dock office near the Collingwood entrance https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/collingwood-dock-office-liverpool-dec-2017.111149/, and of course the clock tower on the outer wall.
The southern quay of Collingwood is occupied by a training company and a canoe club.
A view of the tobacco warehouses, and a little hut whose chimney can be seen poking up over the wall from the road.
Clarence.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Dock_(Liverpool)).
This is somewhat earlier than the others (1829). The branch docks were filled in to build a power station in 1929, which was demolished in 1994 leaving an expanse of wasteland, now occasionally used as an event venue.
An aerial view of Clarence Dock in 1936 showing the power station, and one from the top of the Victoria tower last year.
Another view from the south tobacco warehouse.
One of the entrances, complete with rouge apostrophe, and another one showing one of the sawn off stanchions - black stump in front of the hut - for the overhead railway which used to run along above the dock wall.
All that remains are the two graving docks which were last used in the early 2000s and a few small buildings.
There are three reports from 2010 on here which cover the small buildings so no need for any pictures of these - most of them are in fact tinned up and inaccessible now, and one, the canteen, has gone.
agour https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/clarence-graving-docks-liverpool-19-02-10.47481/
kevsy21 https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/clarence-graving-docks-liverpool-4-10.58623/
georgie https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threa...s-ship-builders-ltd-liverpool-feb-2010.47183/
A couple of unrecorded sheds down the side of the graving docks - said to be air raid shelters, but could be just storage.
The graving docks are famous for their stonework, but you can’t see any of this because it’s underwater.
Instead a few old photos of what’s down there; I wonder what Peel will do with the dry docks.
