The Ladder from the air

Comment by Justin Guest on September 19, 2010 at 11:36

Hugh. This is great, thanks. Funny, I love aerial photos. I am constantly amazed by the view from above- I guess because we so rarely see it. I fly a lot with work, and I have to say I always pause for a second as I look down and see the ladder as the aricraft enters finals for Heathrow, as I know it will be at least 2 hours before I am back there and I can literally see my house as we turn...

Comment by matt on September 19, 2010 at 12:26

Yes I also like aerial photos for they info they give. For example I always thought Harringay Passage ran at the halfway point to all 'ladder' roads but, this appears to be the case to only the top half. Also, what is that bridge over the railway tracks situated betw the rail station pedestrian bridges?

Comment by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on September 19, 2010 at 13:57

Matt, that's my Bridge of Sighs, Moans and Demented Screeches which allows empty trains to shunt along from Hornsey West Side to Finsbury Park Stn East Side. Unfortunately it joins the east embankment just ten metres before my back garden and at the level of my garden shed, before its gradual descent into the cutting before Harringay Stn bridge. The commuter trains are fine, a friendly presence usually halting at our back fence till they get the onward signal. It's the bloody diesel monsters that are the problem, screeching along rails and foundations unfit for their weight, disturbing my radio reception and me. I am quietly contemplating which of the bridge supports would be optimal for well-placed gelignite bundles, a la Bridge on the River Kwai.

Comment by matt on September 19, 2010 at 14:12

OAE, you're not saying that trains use that bridge are you?! Looks pedestrian.

Comment by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on September 19, 2010 at 15:07

I've no doubt that if London Concrete can manage to ship in their aggregate and cement over that bridge I'll be even more seething.

Comment by Alison P on September 19, 2010 at 16:01

Fantastic photo, thanks. The thing that always amazes me when I look at aerial photos is how much things curve. Somehow everything seems that much straighter when seen from the ground.

No idea about that bridge OAE. You have my sympathy.

Comment by Alison P on September 19, 2010 at 16:02

PS Really brings home the scarcity of trees around here. I bet in 50 years there will be even less, as they will all have been replaced by pygmies that will be barely noticeable from the air.

Comment by Clive Carter on September 19, 2010 at 16:42

Matt: that bridge (the grey shape at an angle) is used by trains. But as far as I can tell, not passenger services. You can easily see it from the pedestrian bridge by Harringay railway station.

Comment by matt on September 19, 2010 at 16:46

Thanks Clive!

Comment by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on September 19, 2010 at 17:57

Only passengers I've see passing my back garden were on a returning Steam Train excursion during our family barbecue in the late summer of 1997. They and their train probably weighed less heavily than a diesel locomotive.

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