J3575 : "Goliath", Belfast (10)

taken 11 years ago, near to Belfast, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland

"Goliath", Belfast (10)
"Goliath", Belfast (10)
The Harland & Wolff crane “Goliath” rising above the modern house in east Belfast. The view is along the Ballymacarrett Walkway (formerly the Belfast and County Down Railway) near the community centre J3674 : The Connswater Community Centre, Belfast.
The Harland and Wolff Building Dock, Belfast

The building dock in Belfast was constructed between 1968-1970 by George Wimpey & Company for the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. A massive 556 metres long by 93 metres wide, it was designed for the construction of massive crude oil tankers and bulkers. Although many ships were constructed here, including two supertankers of 172,174 tonnes (343,423 DWT), the yard was in decline by the early 1970s and the dock never really fulfilled its potential. The last ship to be constructed was the 'Anvil Point' in 2003 and the yard now specialising in ship repair and the emerging renewable energies sector, notably offshore wind turbines and tidal energy projects.
Towering above the dock are the two gantry cranes 'Samson' and 'Goliath'. Now landmarks on the Belfast skyline, the cranes were designed for the yard by the German firm Krupp. Goliath, completed in 1969 and mostly fabricated by the yard, stands at 96 metres and Samson, completed in 1974 and built entirely by Krupp, is taller at 106 metres. Both cranes have a span of 140m and have a safe working load of 840 tonnes each (though I believe were tested for 1,000 which caused the top girders to bend downwards by some 11 inches). They run on 800m of track which spans the length of the dock and each crane has 64 special anti-friction bearing mounted wheels.
Both the dock and the cranes are now protected scheduled monuments. See LinkExternal link for technical information .

LinkExternal link in an informative video from the BBC.

The Belfast and County Down Railway



The Belfast and County Down Railway ran from Queen’s Quay station in Belfast to Castlewellan via Comber, Downpatrick and Newcastle. There were also lines from Comber to Donaghadee via Newtownards, Belfast to Bangor and branches from Ballynahinch Jct to Ballynahinch and Downpatrick to Ardglass. The lines opened between 1848 and 1892. All closed by 1950 except for Castlewellan – Newcastle which survived until 1955 as part of the GNR(I) route from Belfast via Banbridge and the Bangor line which remains open but from Belfast Central.

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J3575, 1038 images   (more nearby search)
Photographer
Date Taken
Monday, 2 September, 2013   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 2 September, 2013
Geographical Context
Paths  Housing, Dwellings  Suburb, Urban fringe  Industry 
Place (from Tags)
Belfast 
Subject Location
Irish: geotagged! J 355 751 [100m precision]
WGS84: 54:36.3775N 5:54.1890W
Camera Location
Irish: geotagged! J 362 744
View Direction
Northwest (about 315 degrees)
Clickable map
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Other Tags
Crane  Harland & Wolff  Houses  Path  Old Railway Line Path 

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