August 30 2007
Commercial traffic returned to a Scottish river for the first time in decades yesterday in a trial geared towards showing it can once again be used to transport cargo.
The £1.4m refurbishment of the A-listed Inchinnan bascule bridge crossing the River Cart in Renfrewshire meant it could be raised drawbridge-style for the first time in many years, paving the way for the historic moment.
Taking advantage of the development, two huge steel spools, with a combined weight of 80 tonnes, were taken on a 20m barge by Steel Engineering of Renfrew along the Cart on the first leg of a 600-mile sea journey to Newcastle to show-test the operation of the bridge.
advertisement
It was raised to its full 30m height yesterday to allow the barge to pass.
The 8.6m-wide spools were then taken to George V Dock on the Clyde before making the onward journey and will be used by oil industry operators in the laying of pipes.
Built in 1922, it is one of the last remaining fully operational drawbridge-style bridges in the country.
With the closure of Paisley harbour and much of the heavy industry upstream on the Cart from the 1960s onwards, use of the bridge opening facility has reduced greatly.
Renfrewshire Council took ownership 11 years ago and was immediately faced with an ongoing and expensive maintenance liability.
After it was granted Grade A-listed status in 1994 as the only bridge of its kind in Scotland, conservation legislation meant the unreliable opening facility had to be maintained under the watchful eye of Historic Scotland.
But the council has seized the opportunity to use its refurbishment to investigate the opening of the upper part of the Cart to the transportation of cargo once again.
It has already carried out a multi-beam sonar survey of the river bed in the upper reaches of the Cart to look into the possibility of dredging the area to allow more accessibility to waterborne craft.
Iain Nicolson, convener of Renfrewshire Council's Planning and Economic Development Board, said: "The strengthening and refurbishing of the historic bascule bridge means the Cart remains available as a working asset."
Peter Breslin, director of Steel Engineering, said: "We intend to use this facility for other contracts now that we have proved the principle. There are a number of companies we work for which will be interested in using the Cart to move fabrications which are too large for road transport."
The earliest attempts to improve navigation of the river were made in 1753 and 1834.
An engineering paper referring to the opening bridge said it would form "an important link in road communications between Glasgow and the lower reaches of the Clyde and also provide a gateway giving improved access from Paisley harbour to the Clyde and the sea".
The Inchinnan bascule bridge was built to the design of renowned engineer Sir William Arrol, one of Houston's most famous sons, who was also responsible for London's Tower Bridge. The Cart bridge was constructed in 1922 and formally opened in March the following year.
It allowed the width of the navigation channel to be increased from 50ft to 90ft improving access to Paisley Harbour and helping the town's aspirations to port status.
But silting was always a problem with the river, along with a reliance on favourable tidal conditions.
Add Comment
Posted by: Duncan Macniven, East Kilbride. on 10:26pm Wed 29 Aug 07
Great news there are still people with vision alive and well in Scotland. The other much overlooked option is to utilise the River Cart as a means of getting people swiftly from the centre of Glasgow to Glasgow Airport. A lot cheaper than the proposed rail link and a lot less disruptive. Alex Gilmour and family have been running the waterbus from Jamaica Quay to Brahead for 6 years now. They are keen to set up a commuter run into the city for 0830 each weekday morning, but the only landing stage they have is Braehead. And the Bells Bridge owned by Scottish Enterprise is so lacking in upgrading that it cannot open in high winds so causing further blight on the river. Not very enterprising is it. Arse's need a severe kicking.
.
Posted by: Archie, Argyll on 11:15pm Wed 29 Aug 07
There is most definitely a dire lack of facilities for the practical use of our rivers and lochs for transportation of goods and commuting, be it in your own boat or that of a commercial concern like the one mentioned in Duncan Macnivens post above, so any movement toward improvement, like this bridge being restored to its proper functionability, is to be welcomed. Jetties and small piers would be a guaranteed boost to the Scottish Infra-structure and are easily and cheaply constructable, so one has to ask the questions: Why are restrictions on this happening apparently in place, and in whose interests are these restrictions serving? Is it the Scottish Public?
Posted by: Stephen from Erskine, San Francisco on 1:24am Thu 30 Aug 07
I'm always pleased to see things like this. Water transport is particularly well suited to moving large heavy objects safely and cheaply. It is not however an alternative to an Airport Rail link. The reason that water transport (the canals) fell into disuse was competition from the railways in terms of speed. Before anyone writes to remind me of the high speed ferries currently running in the Irish Sea please remember that they can only run at high speed in open water. Once these ferries enter Belfast Loch or Loch Ryan they must slow down to the speed of a conventional vessel to prevent damage to the shore line and risk of injury or drowning to anyone on the shore line. Glasgow Airport to City Centre by boat - might be quicker walking.
Posted by: Archie, Argyll on 2:45am Thu 30 Aug 07
Archie, Argyll on 2:58am Thu 30 Aug 07
P.S Stephen. They do not have to be large ferries but 20 to 25ft. Power Boats. The SBS cut about at around 40 knots so 25 would be a skoosh quite literally.
Posted by: The Ghost of Dan Archer, Firhill in the sky on 10:17am Thu 30 Aug 07
Some yars ago the Paisley Daily Express ran a front page April Fool story abou cruise liners being able to sail up the White cart to disembark their passengers in the heart of Paisley. The barge leaving story is therefore a clear case of life imitating art. More seriously, Glasgow Airport rail access would have been better run through the disused Arkeston Spur which once went to Babcock's Renfrew Works - a viaduct from there to the airport would have been better than the proposal to obliterate some of the best and most-used public football pitches in Scotland, at Paisley Racecourse. By the way - can I have an English translation of Yok Finney's post please?
Posted by: BM, Glasgow on 10:50am Thu 30 Aug 07
You wouldn't be suggesting that there's an opportunity for an experienced waterbus driver, would you, Duncan?
Posted by: Duncan Macniven, East Kilbride. on 9:32pm Thu 30 Aug 07
No problem BM I am indeed an experienced water-bus skipper currently employed as such.. Since there is only one Water-bus on the Clyde, at the moment, then it is no secret who I work for. These views are my own and not that of any company who may employ me. It was such a great sight watching the progress of this barge to KG5. Not forgetting the seaplane service we now see every day. Archie in Argyle knows what he is talking about. An Airport service would be cost effective as the artery is there. All we need is the infrastructure at either end and the vessels. Oh and the political will.
The construction and disruption required for a rail link is massive, the river route could be utilised for a tiny fraction of the cost. Venice seems to do it just fine. The Clyde for some strange reason seems to be an embarrassment to some of our political masters with there hands on the levers of power. OK in places it is, but that is through lack of investment and vision. Semi submerged chunks of quay side up to 40ft. long are regular hazards now for us the Waverly and the Seaplane. St. Mungo takes a lot of flotsam out of the river but no one can spot every piece.
To me the greatest folly has been the Clyde Arc which has now made the river to the east of it unnavigable for craft with an air draft greater than small vessels such as the water-bus, the intention had been to make it even lower. So we have the Kingston Bridge which was built with an air draft that would allow passage for large sea going vessels, but only if they can navigate under the Clyde Arc to the West, what a total farce. The priority appears to be to build office towers, (The BBC shed,) and luxury housing and forget quays such as the Broomielaw etc. which are world famous and synonymous with Glasgow.
The danger to Glasgow from a silted up undredged Clyde and a surging winter tide is not one that anyone seems to recognise. Unless you work on the river and see the water lapping at Clyde Street as I have. Most large cities like Glasgow would be overjoyed to have a river such as the Clyde running through the centre. Look at what has been done with The Tyne, The Mersey, and the Liffey to name but a few. Would you not like to be able to get a boat from central Glasgow to Rothesay or Arran or the Airport. Platform 13 Glasgow central is only a few short steps from Jamaica Quay water-bus terminal, with a bit of imagination and innovation they could be even closer.
Which brings me back to where I started and how great it was to see the barge knowing it came from the Cart. And the innovative and courageous thinking behind it, is that not what Scotland has always been about. William Arroll, Alexander Kennedy Smith, Thomas Smith, Alan Stevenson, Charles Alexander Stevenson, David Stevenson,David Alan Stevenson, Robert Stevenson, Thomas Stevenson,Thomas Telford and many other great Scottish engineers and innovators must be birling in their graves, watching there legacy being ignored and undone. Steel Engineering of Renfrew, The Council and Historic Scotland are to be applauded for their vision and dedication. Lets see some more.
