"Bruce" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:44:54 +0100, Tom Anderson
wrote:
On Mon, 12 Jul 2010, wrote:
On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:24:52 +0100, Neil Williams
wrote:
On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:57:44 +0100, Bruce
wrote:
Even if there was an intention to close the line to Shanklin,
there
would still need to be a shuttle train service from the Pier
Head to
and from Ryde Esplanade, and probably to Ryde St John's Road, to
connect with the ferries.
Why? Many people would walk (it isn't *that* far, and most
people seem
to use trolley luggage these days), many are collected by car,
and a
minibus shuttle could be run between the ferry and the bus
station for
anyone who couldn't or didn't want to walk. Far cheaper than
maintaining the infrastructure.
Walking along the pier on a nice sunny day might be pleasant.
In November with a strong North Easterly gale it would be awful
so
you need something along the Pier.
Like a perspex tunnel, you mean?
A perspex tunnel would need a strong structural frame to support the
weight of the perspex and also resist the much greater loads imposed
on the perspex structure by the weather. You would then need to
carry
out a major strengthening of the pier structure to support the
perspex
tunnel and the loads it would impose on the pier structure, mostly
from the weather.
That would not be a trivial undertaking, nor a cheap one. Victorian
piers were built light and spindly, and not covered in, for a
reason -
it massively reduced the loads on the structure.
Also, the walk from the landing stage to the kerb at the Esplanade
is
slightly over 400 metres - it is longer than the train journey
because
the train cuts off a corner at the pier head. So those who think
"it
isn't *that* far" are somewhat wide of the mark. As I already
stated,
a shuttle service of some kind would definitely be needed.
Meanwhile, the hovercraft deposits its load MUCH closer to the main
road. Pity its Southsea terminus is at Southsea, and not anywhere near
the rail station....
Main reason Ryde Pier is so long, is that the tide goes out a long
way, and the need to land at all states of the tide. That is also the
reason for the continued success of the hovercraft, which can travel
over the sandbanks exposed at lowtide as if they did not exist.