As most people here probably know, the DLR Pudding Mill Station is the
closest to the Olympic site at Stratford, but as it's too small to
cope with large crowds, it'll close during the Olympics. It'll reopen
after the Olympics, but not for long: it's being replaced by a larger
station about 50m to the south, with the current site then being taken
over by the Crossrail tunnel portal. Work on the construction of the
new DLR station and the new viaduct is well underway, though the work
will be suspended during the Olympics.

This poster outside the station gives an overview of the project:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/recline...in/photostream
You can see how Crossrail has to pass under the River Lea, then climb
sharply up to the GEML viaduct.

I went along yesterday to have a look at both the Olympics site and
the construction of the new station, and have uploaded a couple of
large panorama images (8192x1856) taken from the existing DLR station
before it closes. The weather was dull and wet, so the images aren't
bright and sparkling, but you can get a feeling for all the work going
on in the area.

The first panorama shot, looking south, shows the new station
construction:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/recline...n/photostream/

The second, facing north, shows the Olympic park across the GEML
tracks:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/recline...n/photostream/

The Games may only be a couple of months away, and all the venues may
be 'complete', but there still seems to be an awful lot of building
work underway. This pic was taken from the Greenway ViewTube area,
which closes this week:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/recline...ream/lightbox/

Just in case you've not had your fill of Orbit pics, here's another:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/recline...ream/lightbox/
What's impressive with this sculpture is just how quickly it moved
from concept to completion.

Another project that's moved remarkably quickly is the new Thames
cable car. I really didn't think it would be running in time for the
Olympics. It looks technically impressive, with rather elegant tall
pylons, fast and frequent gondolas, and it's very high. But, like
others here, I can't quite work out why the two stations were located
where they a the southern station isn't anywhere near the Dome, and
nor is the northern station nearly as close to the ExCel centre as I'd
expected. In essence, it looks like it goes from the middle of nowhere
in the Greenwich Peninsular to a block of flats on the north bank.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/recline...ream/lightbox/
Anyone who actually wants to go from the Dome to the ExCel would do a
lot better using the Jubilee Line and DLR, changing at Canning Town.

In message , at 15:08:11 on
Tue, 15 May 2012, Paul Corfield remarked:
it is not too far from the Dome to the Cable Car Station but it
is a tad windswept.

When I went down there a couple of months ago to look at the Cable Car,
it was bitterly cold (wind) and most of the Dome site seemed to be
barricaded off. I gave up.
--
Roland Perry

"Recliner" wrote in message
...
As most people here probably know, the DLR Pudding Mill Station is the
closest to the Olympic site at Stratford, but as it's too small to
cope with large crowds, it'll close during the Olympics.

Wouldn't it be smarter to use it as an "outbound only" option during the
Olympics?

--
Brian
"Fight like the Devil, die like a gentleman."

On Wed, 16 May 2012 13:01:34 +0100, "Brian Watson"
wrote:


"Recliner" wrote in message
.. .
As most people here probably know, the DLR Pudding Mill Station is the
closest to the Olympic site at Stratford, but as it's too small to
cope with large crowds, it'll close during the Olympics.

Wouldn't it be smarter to use it as an "outbound only" option during the
Olympics?

I think the problem would be that it looks like the only exit from the
Olympic Park in that area leads to the southern coach park. It would
be confusing to also have signage pointing to Pudding Mill Lane
station, without also risking huge numbers of people heading towards
what is quite a small unmanned station without escalators or a lift.
Pudding Mill Lane itself is obviously closed.

In any case, I suspect that DLR trains leaving Stratford will already
be pretty full. The service can't be made more frequent because of the
remaining single track section (due to be doubled as part of the new
station project).