Scott Russell Aqueduct

The Scott Russell Aqueduct is an aqueduct carrying the Union Canal over the Edinburgh City Bypass, west of Edinburgh, Scotland.

1. History

The aqueduct was opened in May 1986 to carry the canal over the new Edinburgh City Bypass. This required a great deal of faith in the future of the canal, which culminated with the Millennium Link project when the Union Canal was connected with the Forth and Clyde Canal to form a coast to coast link. One proposal had been to not build an aqueduct to carry the canal across the new road, but instead build a marina to the west of the bypass. It was named after the Scottish naval engineer John Scott Russell in a ceremony on 12 July 1995, who had discovered the soliton or solitary wave near Bridge 11 on the Union Canal in 1834. Russell had observed a bow wave continue to travel forward at a speed of 8 or 9 miles per hour (13 or 14 km/h) when a boat stopped moving, and called it the "wave of translation."

1. Design

The aqueduct is the width of a single canal boat, and crosses the Bypass at a slight angle. It has five spans supported on three piers.

1. References


1. External links

Nearby Places View Menu

National Collection of Aerial Photography

The National Collection of Aerial Photography is a photographic archive in Edinburgh, Scotland, containing over 30 million aerial photographs of worldwide historic events and places. From 2008–2015 it was part of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and since then it has been a sub-brand of Historic Environment Scotland. Many of the aerial reconnaissance photographs were taken during the Second World War and the Cold War, and were declassified and released by the Ministry of Defence. The collection also contains over 1.8 million aerial survey photographs of Scotland, during and in the years after the Second World War, as well as post-war Ordnance Survey, over 4 million photogrammetric images, and over 10 million aerial survey images of international sites as part of The Aerial Reconnaissance Archives (TARA). The collection contains both military declassified and non-military aerial photographs from over a dozen different national and international organisations. NCAP’s historical aerial photography is primarily used to locate unexploded Second World War bombs by European bomb disposal companies and in historical, archaeological and climate change research. It is also used for documentaries and dramas on television and in film.

Historic Site Landmark

Hermiston, Edinburgh

Hermiston is a hamlet formerly in the county of Midlothian and now part of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is north of Heriot-Watt University's Riccarton Campus and west of the Hermiston Gait commercial development. Hermiston is bounded by the A71 Calder Road to the south and the Union Canal to the north with the M8 motorway just beyond. A park and ride site serving western Edinburgh is located south-west of the A71 Calder Road roundabout. The hamlet forms the Hermiston Conservation Area. Hermiston is also notable as the setting of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel Weir of Hermiston. The city of Hermiston, Oregon in turn takes its name from the book.

Landmark Neighbourhood

Edinburgh Park station

Edinburgh Park railway station is a railway station in the west of Edinburgh, Scotland, serving the Edinburgh Park business park and the Hermiston Gait shopping centre. The new station building was designed by IDP Architects, and it opened on 4 December 2003. It is the first intermediate station between Haymarket and Linlithgow since 1951. Ticket barriers came into use on 25 March 2015. There are two platforms, linked by a covered footbridge, which is accessible by either stairs or a lift. There is also a pedestrian underpass just outside the station, accessible from both platforms. Tickets are available from one of the two ticket machines. Edinburgh Park station is on the edge of South Gyle, but should not be confused with South Gyle railway station which is 1 mile (1.6 km) away. The railway through Edinburgh Park station was electrified (using overhead wires at 25 kV AC) in October 2010 as part of the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link project.

Landmark Train

Bankhead, Edinburgh

Bankhead is a non-residential area of western Edinburgh, Scotland. It borders the Edinburgh City Bypass (A720) and Hermiston Gait (M8 motorway terminus) to the west, the Calders neighbourhood to the south – accessed via a pedestrian underpass, Sighthill to the east, and South Gyle/Edinburgh Park to the north. It is mostly occupied by a large industrial park. Amongst the companies here, Royal Mail and Burtons Biscuits have a large presence. Ethicon also had a plant here, but it has closed, and will reportedly be replaced by a sports facilities. Edinburgh College, the former Stevenson College and the Sighthill campus of Napier University are just to the west.

Industrial School