Engineering Milestones and Curiosities from the Pages of the Engineer
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160 years of innovation Engineering milestones and curiosities from the pages of The Engineer Going underground Forth wonder War winner How Bazalgette’s The engineering Looking back at London sewer system story behind the development brought the ‘Great Britain’s most of the Lancaster Stink’ to an end »05 iconic rail bridge »14 bomber »32 »35 Moon shot The technology behind mankind’s biggest leap TES_011216 1 28/11/2016 17:39 Apex_FP_TES_010916.ps 1 23/08/2016 10:47 editor comment fromthearchive ouropinion Past performance 1850s–1860s 05 London’s sewer Dealing with the ’Great Stink’ in the capital city 06 SS Great Eastern Scepticism greets s you may have noticed, we have been celebrating a the arrival of the iron-clad warship signifi cant milestone over the past 12 months: The Engineer’s 160th birthday. Earlier this summer, we published a special 160th 1870s–1880s anniversary edition of the publication in which – as well 11 Channel tube Previous proposals as looking at some of the great developments of the past – we gazed into the crystal ball and examined to link Britain and France the technological trends that will shape the world 12 Electric light Scorn greets Edison’s of engineering in the decades to come. latest invention But for this special supplement we’ve put the crystal ball away and looked firmly into the past, directing our gaze towards the dusty leather-bound tomes of our classic archive. 1890s–1900s The stories over the following pages are just a taster of the engineering milestones 18 Panama Canal Slow and sometimes and technical curiosities therein: a fascinating window on the past, and a powerful reminder of the astonishing technological progress that has taken place during The lethal progress towards a 1914 opening Engineer’s lifetime. 19 Channel crossing French aviators Alongside the big stories – we’ve also focused on some of the more esoteric inventions that have caught The Engineer’s eye over the course of the last century tackle sea crossing and a half. An innovations such as the horse tank looks ridiculous but, to The Engineer of the 1850s, it was a perfectly plausible vision of the future of warfare. 1910s–1920s One wonders whether any of today’s much-trumpeted innovations will provoke a similar response from future historians? 23 Gretna rail disaster Counting the cost of a truly disastrous event “ The stories are a powerful reminder 1930s–1940s of some astonishing technological 28 Whittle engine Inventor presents his ideas to The Engineer progress that has taken place” Or will future generations regard our current era, with its autonomous cars, new 1950s–1960s forms of power generation and dawning artificial intelligence, as a golden period of innovation every bit as world-changing as the Victorian era? History will be the judge. 35 Apollo 11 Concentrating on technical In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this little romp through Britain’s industrial history. matters, not personalities Finally, we’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of our readers a very happy Christmas and a prosperous new year. 38 Lovell Telescope Still one of the world’s most powerful radio telescopes Click here for more stories, insights and classic inventions from The Engineer’s archive Jon Excell Editor Your number-one website for engineering news,views, [email protected] jobs and products theengineer.co.uk UK subscriptions £75 pa UK/£117 pa overseas. Order online at www.theengineer.co.uk/subscribe or by telephone Centaur Media Plc, 79 Wells Street, London, W1T 3QN on +44 (0207) 292 3705. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without prior permission from the publisher. Direct dial 020 7970 followed by extension listed Advertising fax 020 7970 4190 Editor Jon Excell (4437) [email protected] Features editor Stuart Nathan (4125) [email protected] Senior reporter Andrew Wade (4893) [email protected] News editor Jason Ford (4442) jason.ford@ ISSN 0013-7758. 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