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91-680: The Runcorn Railway Bridge , Ethelfleda Bridge or Britannia Bridge crosses the River Mersey at Runcorn Gap between Runcorn and Widnes in Cheshire , England. It is alongside the Silver Jubilee Bridge . The bridge is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II* Listed building . In 1861, Parliamentary approval for a railway crossing the Mersey was obtained by

182-578: A cantilevered footway providing an alternative crossing to a ferry. In 1905 the now demolished Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge opened and took cars and passengers via a cable car. The Silver Jubilee Bridge , completed in 1961, is immediately adjacent. East of Warrington, the M6 motorway crosses the river and the Manchester Ship Canal on the Thelwall Viaduct . When the viaduct opened in 1963, it

273-499: A polyurethane top coat coloured to match the rest of the structure. Work was carried on bridge's drains and waterproofing , especially the castellated turrets and the timber fenders that protect the piers from damage. Work on the bridge requires authorisation from Halton Borough Council 's planning authority and the Marine Management Organisation because of the potential impact on shipping. The official name of

364-644: A tidal bore from Hale as far upstream as Warrington. On 7 December 2022, the Liverpool City Region mayor announced cooperation between the City Region and K-water of South Korea , who built and operates the Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station , in order to construct a similar operation on the River Mersey. The river gave its name to Merseybeat , developed by bands from Liverpool, notably

455-542: A boundary' and ēa , 'a river'. The Mersey was possibly the 'border river' between Mercia and Northumbria . Its Welsh name is Afon Merswy . Prior to Anglo-Saxon conquest of the region, the river was almost certainly known by a Celtic name - recorded by Ptolemy as "Seteia" (as the Southern border of the Brittonic " Setantii " tribe). "Seteia" and "Setantii" both lack clear Celtic roots, leading some to suggest that this

546-446: A centuries-old ferry and a pedestrian footbridge set alongside the main girders was provided on its eastern side. On completion, the bridge was the longest of its type. An engraved stone plaque on the northerly portal records that the main contractor was Brassey & Ogilvie and the ironworks were manufactured by Cochrane Grove & Co. Large portions of the original ironworks have been restored or replaced with new castings. As built,

637-421: A lathe while larger workpieces are machined on boring mills. Workpieces are commonly 1 to 4 metres (3 ft 3 in to 13 ft 1 in) in diameter, but can be as large as 20 m (66 ft). Power requirements can be as much as 200 horsepower (150 kW). Cooling of the bores is done through a hollow passageway through the boring bar where coolant can flow freely. Tungsten-alloy disks are sealed in

728-419: A primary function, such as jig borers and boring machines or boring mills , which include vertical boring mills (workpiece rotates around a vertical axis while boring bar/head moves linearly; essentially a vertical lathe) and horizontal boring mills (workpiece sits on a table while the boring bar rotates around a horizontal axis; essentially a specialized horizontal milling machine). The dimensions between

819-502: A quarry it owned in Scotland for construction of the quays. Birkenhead grew quickly in the 19th century following the introduction of steamships , the earliest being the wooden paddle steamer Elizabeth in 1815. Docks were developed along with a shipbuilding industry , flour milling and soap manufacture on the river's Cheshire bank. Seaforth Dock , a freeport on the Liverpool side of

910-420: A taper, the tool may be fed at an angle to the axis of rotation or both feed and axial motions may be concurrent. Straight holes and counterbores are produced by moving the tool parallel to the axis of workpiece rotation. The four most commonly used workholding devices are the three-jaw chuck, the four-jaw chuck, the collet , and the faceplate . The three-jaw chuck is used to hold round or hex workpieces because

1001-410: A temperature change of a few hundred degrees takes place (no matter how temporary), the workpiece, or a portion of it, is likely to spring into a new shape, even if the movement is extremely small. In some cases a movement of a fraction of a micrometre in one area is amplified in lever fashion to create a positional error of several micrometres for a feature of the workpiece several decimetres away. It

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1092-487: A tourist attraction offering cruises that provide an overview of the river and surrounding areas. Water quality in the Mersey was severely affected by industrialisation, and in 1985, the Mersey Basin Campaign was established to improve water quality and encourage waterside regeneration. In 2009 it was announced that the river is "cleaner than at any time since the industrial revolution" and is "now considered one of

1183-640: Is a major river in North West England . Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria . For centuries it has formed part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire . The Mersey starts at the confluence of the River Tame and River Goyt in Stockport . It flows westwards through south Manchester , then into

1274-465: Is a typical follow-up operation. Often a part will be roughed and semifinished in the machining operation, then heat treated , and finally, finished by internal cylindrical grinding. The limitations of boring in terms of its geometric accuracy (form, position) and the hardness of the workpiece have been shrinking in recent decades as machining technology continues to advance. For example, new grades of carbide and ceramic cutting inserts have increased

1365-639: Is alleged to be the reason why LNWR had opted to have elements of the bridge castellated . There are three shields above the footway showing, from the southern end, the coat of arms of the City of London , and on the central and Widnes end, Britannia (from the crest of the railway company). Because of the presence of the crest, the bridge is also known as the Britannia Railway Bridge, and has also been referred to as "Tueller's Girder". River Mersey The River Mersey ( / ˈ m ɜːr z i / )

1456-466: Is also used for irregular shapes. Collets combine self-centering chucking with low runout, but they involve higher costs. For most lathe boring applications, tolerances greater than ±0.010 in (±0.25 mm) are easily held. Tolerances from there down to ±0.005 in (±0.13 mm) are usually held without especial difficulty or expense, even in deep holes. Tolerances between ±0.004 in (±0.10 mm) and ±0.001 in (±0.025 mm) are where

1547-618: Is approached by a 33-arch viaduct. The viaduct piers, bridge abutments and the bridge's central piers are of sandstone and the viaduct arches are of brick. Maintenance of the bridge poses challenges; as it is exposed to high winds, the prevailing conditions must always be considered. The limited space, particularly on the narrow walkway, makes access difficult, sometimes requiring suspended scaffolding and climbing ropes. More elaborate methods of moving supplies and equipment have included bespoke trolleys and lifting frames and helicopters . Maintenance staff wear harnesses and are tied onto elements of

1638-472: Is expensive, with 100% inspection and loss of nonconforming parts adding to the cost. Grinding, honing, and lapping are the recourse for when the limits of boring repeatability and accuracy have been met. Surface finish ( roughness ) in boring may range from 8 to 250 microinches, with a typical range between 32 and 125 microinches. Sometimes a part may require higher accuracy of form and size than can be provided by boring. For example, even in optimized boring,

1729-484: Is factors such as these that sometimes preclude finishing by boring and turning as opposed to internal and external cylindrical grinding. At the extreme, no perfection of machining or grinding may be enough when, despite the part being within tolerance when it is made, it warps out of tolerance in following days or months. When engineers are confronted with such a case, it drives the quest to find other workpiece materials, or alternate designs that avoid relying so heavily on

1820-725: Is now part of the Merseyrail network. Two road tunnels pass under the estuary from Liverpool. By road, the Queensway Tunnel opened in 1934 connecting the city to Birkenhead, and the Kingsway Tunnel , opened in 1971, connects with Wallasey . Further upstream, the Runcorn Railway Bridge over the river at Runcorn Gap was built in the 1860s for the London and North Western Railway on the mainline between London and Liverpool. It had

1911-543: Is situated about 1 mile upstream from the Runcorn Gap where the river is considerably wider. From the Runcorn Gap, the river widens into a large estuary , which is 3 miles (4.8 km) wide at its widest point near Ellesmere Port . The course of the river then heads north, with Liverpool to the east and the Wirral Peninsula to the west. The Manchester Ship Canal enters the river at Eastham Locks . The eastern part of

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2002-517: Is tidal from Howley Weir in Warrington. The canal let river traffic reach Warrington during low tides. During high spring tides, water levels often top the Howley Weir. Before construction of the ship canal, work to improve navigation on the Mersey included Woolston New Cut, bypassing a meander, and Howley Lock for craft to avoid the weir; the new cut and lock are still evident. The island formed between

2093-521: The Grand Junction Railway obtained an Act of Parliament authorising the construction of a bridge over the River Mersey at the Runcorn Gap . A time limit of seven years was imposed. The Grand Junction Railway amalgamated with several other companies to form the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). The seven-year time limit passed without construction taking place and the powers granted by

2184-558: The Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line . The lines on the bridge are electrified with 25 kV AC overhead lines . An ongoing maintenance programme to address 150 years of wear and tear began in the 2010s. The programme is being carried out in three phases. Phase One involved intrusive surveys, including bores into the main deck, in preparation for the following phases. Phase Two involved mechanical repairs and waterproofing

2275-451: The London and North Western Railway (LNWR). The design for a bridge and viaducts was produced by William Baker , the company's chief engineer. In 1863, preparatory work for the bridge and approach viaducts commenced. The bridge was completed in 1868 and was opened for traffic on 10 October. The first goods traffic crossed the bridge on 1 February 1869 and the first passenger train on 1 April. The bridge has received few alterations. In 1965,

2366-670: The Manchester Ship Canal just south of Irlam Locks. At this point the Ship Canal is the canalised section of the River Irwell . The old course of the Mersey has been obliterated by the canal past Hollins Green to Rixton although the old river bed can be seen outside Irlam and at Warburton . At Rixton the River Bollin enters the canal from the south and the Mersey leaves the canal to the north, meandering through Woolston , where

2457-401: The Manchester Ship Canal near Irlam Locks, becoming a part of the canal and maintaining its water levels. After 4 miles (6.4 km) it exits the canal, flowing towards Warrington where it widens. It then narrows as it passes between Runcorn and Widnes . The river widens into a large estuary , which is 3 miles (4.8 km) across at its widest point near Ellesmere Port . The course of

2548-431: The Manchester Ship Canal was constructed passing underneath the railway bridge. During the 1880s and 1890s, champion diver Tommy Burns was known to jump off the railway bridge in front of spectators or as a challenge. The footway was closed to pedestrians in 1965 but remains intact for access by railway personnel and carries an 11 kV electrical cable between Widnes and Runcorn. The bridge remains in use for rail traffic on

2639-536: The River Weaver by more than 8 miles (13 km). The bridge at Runcorn gap was the responsibility of William Baker , the chief engineer of the LNWR. The cost of the deviation line from Ditton to Dutton including the bridge was £611,772 (equivalent to £71,380,000 in 2023) and Baker was paid a bonus of £1,000 (equivalent to £120,000 in 2023) when it was completed. During 1863, preparatory work commenced at Runcorn and

2730-532: The Woodside ferry terminal in Birkenhead. On the Liverpool side, Liverpool Docks stretch for over 7.5 miles (12.1 km), the largest enclosed interconnected dock system in the world. American author Herman Melville described Liverpool Docks as being comparable to the pyramids in the vast scale of their construction. The docks were built out into the river bed. The Mersey Docks and Harbour Board used granite from

2821-635: The Beatles . In 1965 it was the subject of the top-ten hit single " Ferry Cross the Mersey " by Gerry and the Pacemakers , and a musical film of the same name . The Liverpool poets published an anthology of their work, The Mersey Sound , in 1967. The river's stretch through Manchester is the main theme in the Stone Roses song "Mersey Paradise", included on the B-side of the 12" version of their 1989 hit " She Bangs

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2912-541: The Drums ", and on their 1992 compilation album Turns into Stone . The Tall ships' fleet has visited the Mersey on four occasions, first in 1984, then in 1992, 2008 and 2012. The traditional song " Leaving of Liverpool " mentions the river in its opening line. The Mersey is considered sacred by British Hindus , and worshipped in a similar way to the River Ganges . Festival of Immersion ceremonies are held annually on

3003-455: The Liverpool banks to New Brighton on the Wirral, forces water to flow faster creating a deep channel along the section of river. For 200 years an admiral was appointed as a conservator to ensure the river remained navigable. Mary Kendrick was the first woman to the post and she had spent years studying a Mersey barrage in the 1980s. Taylor's Bank is a large sandbank extending out to sea on

3094-578: The Mersey Narrows and North Wirral Foreshore, are also Ramsar sites . Capt. William Gill of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company , charted a safe, navigable channel (the Victoria Channel) through the treacherous uncharted waters of the estuary in 1836. Since the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal, large commercial vessels do not usually navigate the estuary beyond Garston on the north bank, or

3185-470: The Mersey's tributaries, the River Goyt and the River Bollin . Atlantic grey seals from Liverpool Bay occasionally venture into the estuary along with bottlenose dolphin and harbour porpoise . Otter tracks have been observed near Fiddlers Ferry. Other fish in the estuary include cod , whiting , dab , plaice and flounder . Spiny dogfish , mackerel and tope feed on shrimp and whitebait in

3276-485: The River Mersey until the advent of safe passage via bridges and tunnels. Many of these deaths were of people who earned their living on the river, either as mariners or dock workers. The majority of mariners to die worked on the Mersey flat boats and drowned due to the weather conditions or poor craft maintenance, although many ordinary civilians perished too. Another ferry existed at Runcorn Gap and by today's safety standards

3367-637: The Tame and Goyt, in central Stockport , Greater Manchester . However, older definitions, and many older maps, place its start a few miles up the Goyt at Compstall ; for example the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica states "It is formed by the junction of the Goyt and the Etherow a short distance below Marple in Cheshire on the first-named stream." The 1784 John Stockdale map shows the River Mersey extending to Mottram , and forming

3458-413: The accuracy and surface quality that can be achieved without grinding, and have increased the range of workpiece hardness values that are workable. However, working to tolerances of only a few micrometres (a few tenths) forces the manufacturing process to rationally confront, and compensate for, the fact that no actual workpiece is ideally rigid and immobile. Each time a cut is taken (no matter how small), or

3549-418: The act lapsed. In 1861, the LNWR received Parliamentary approval to build a line crossing the Mersey from Aston southeast of Runcorn, to join the line from Crewe to Warrington at Weaver Junction west of Widnes, where it met the line from Warrington to Garston at Ditton Junction . The line was 8.5 miles (14 km) long and reduced the distance between Liverpool Lime Street and the stations south of

3640-430: The amount that the diameter varies on different portions of the bore is seldom less than 3 micrometre (.0001 inches, "a tenth"), and it may easily be 5 to 20 micrometre (.0002-.0008 inches, "2 to 8 tenths"). Taper, roundness error, and cylindricity error of such a hole, although they would be considered negligible in most other parts, may be unacceptable for a few applications. For such parts, internal cylindrical grinding

3731-399: The appalling conditions were reported in the local and national press consistently for over 40 years. In the early 19th century steam operated ferries were introduced. The Mersey Ferry , managed and operated by Merseytravel , operates between Pier Head in Liverpool and Woodside in Birkenhead and Seacombe . It has become a tourist attraction offering cruises that provide an overview of

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3822-441: The bar to counteract vibration and chatter during boring. The control systems can be computer-based, allowing for automation and increased consistency. Because boring is meant to decrease the product tolerances on pre-existing holes, several design considerations apply. First, large length-to-bore-diameters are not preferred due to cutting tool deflection. Next, through holes are preferred over blind holes (holes that do not traverse

3913-629: The boundary between Cheshire and Derbyshire . In the west of Stockport it flows at the base of a cliff below the road called Brinksway before reaching flat country. An early Ordnance Survey map indicates the spring at Red Hole on the border of Cheshire and Yorkshire at the head of one of the Etherow's longest headwaters, as being the Source of the River Mersey . From Central Stockport the river flows through or past Heaton Mersey , Didsbury , Northenden , Chorlton-cum-Hardy , Stretford , Sale , Ashton on Mersey , Urmston and Flixton , where it flows into

4004-430: The bridge and, on occasion, rescue boats have been on standby in case personnel fall from the bridge. From the mid-2010s, extensive repairs and modifications have been carried out. The cantilevered walkway's cast iron parapets were removed and restored, its cantilevered beams and bottom chords were grit-blasted, the end plates were removed and replaced for greater strength. It was painted with two-pack epoxy paint, with

4095-438: The bridge consisted of three wrought iron spans of 305 feet (93 m), each located on top of two sandstone abutments with foundations at a depth of about 45 feet (14 m) below water level. The trusses support the metal bridge deck, which carries the railway lines. The erection of the lattice girder spans was unusual, because instead of floating the finished sections down the river and lifting them into position, each

4186-588: The bridge has been a subject of debate. Locally, it has been called the Queen Ethelfleda Viaduct, but is also called the Britannia Bridge . It has been claimed that it was named after Ethelfleda , a ruler of the historic Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia , and that the southern abutments and pier of the bridge have been built on the site of the Saxon burh that had been erected by her in 915. This connection

4277-708: The challenge begins rising. In deep holes with tolerances this tight, the limiting factor is just as often the geometric constraint as the size constraint. In other words, it may be easy to hold the diameter within .002" at any diametrical measurement point, but difficult to hold the cylindricity of the hole to within a zone delimited by the .002" constraint, across more than 5 diameters of hole depth (depth measured in terms of diameter:depth aspect ratio ). For highest-precision applications, tolerances can generally be held within ±0.0005 in (±0.013 mm) only for shallow holes. In some cases tolerances as tight as ±0.0001 in (±0.0038 mm) can be held in shallow holes, but it

4368-711: The city to Birkenhead, and the Kingsway Tunnel , opened in 1971, to Wallasey . A road bridge, completed in 1961 and later named the Silver Jubilee Bridge , crosses between Runcorn and Widnes, adjacent to the Runcorn Railway Bridge which opened in 1868. A second road bridge, the Mersey Gateway , opened in October 2017, carrying a six-lane road connecting Runcorn's Central Expressway with Speke Road and Queensway in Widnes. The Mersey Ferry operates between Pier Head in Liverpool and Woodside in Birkenhead and Seacombe , and has become

4459-525: The cleanest in the UK". The Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service manages local nature reserves such as Chorlton Ees and Sale Water Park . The river gave its name to Merseybeat , developed by bands from Liverpool, notably the Beatles . In 1965 it was the subject of the top-ten hit single " Ferry Cross the Mersey " by Gerry and the Pacemakers . The name "Mersey" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon mǣres , 'of

4550-424: The cutting tool moves parallel to the axis of rotation. For tapered holes, the cutting tool moves at an angle to the axis of rotation. Geometries ranging from simple to extremely complex in a variety of diameters can be produced using boring applications. Boring is one of the most basic lathe operations next to turning and drilling. Lathe boring usually requires that the workpiece be held in the chuck and rotated. As

4641-426: The east and west bottom chords along all three spans. Phase Three will replace the structure's main bearings involving jacking up the span structures. The bridge carries a double-tracked railway across the River Mersey; it has been recognised as a Grade II* listed structure . The tracks are laid on a metal deck supported by top and bottom box-girder chords, carried on 8.5 metre-high trusses. The bridge superseded

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4732-434: The estuary is much affected by silting, and part of it is marked on modern maps as dry land rather than tidal. The wetlands are of importance to wildlife, and are listed as a Ramsar site . Most of the conurbation on both sides of the estuary is known as Merseyside . The estuary narrows between Liverpool and Birkenhead , where it is constricted to a width of 0.7 miles (1.1 km), between Albert Dock in Liverpool and

4823-399: The estuary where it meets Liverpool Bay, opened in 1971. The dock deals with around 500,000 containers, over 1.2 million tonnes of oil, over 2.5 million tonnes of grain and animal feed, 452,000 tonnes of wood per year. About 25% of all container traffic between the UK and USA passes through the port making it one of the most successful in the world and known as the "Atlantic Gateway". Liverpool

4914-583: The estuary. For ducks, the estuary is important to common shelducks and Eurasian teal . Waders include redshank , black-tailed godwit , dunlin , pintail and turnstone . The section of the estuary between Runcorn Railway Bridge and Bromborough , including Hale Duck Decoy and Mount Manisty , is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, the SSSI citation describing it as an "internationally important site for wildfowl". There are further SSSIs at New Ferry and Mersey Narrows. The Mersey Estuary, and

5005-533: The event has not returned. During the 1990s the festival was the largest event if its kind in Europe. In the 2010s the event attracted tens of thousands of people and included music stages and other waterside attractions alongside regattas, visiting vessels, and tall ships on the river. Notable musical artists who have performed at the event include Katie Melua , Shola Ama and Russell Watson . Captain David Hawker

5096-403: The existing Silver Jubilee Bridge will also be tolled. Water quality in the Mersey was severely affected by industrialisation, and in 1985, the Mersey Basin Campaign was established to improve water quality and encourage waterside regeneration. In 2002, oxygen levels that could support fish along the entire length were recorded for the first time since industry began on the Mersey. In 2009 it

5187-438: The existing hole is a through hole), or it may be supported at one end (which works for both, through holes and blind holes ). Lineboring (line boring, line-boring) implies the former. Backboring (back boring, back-boring) is the process of reaching through an existing hole and then boring on the "back" side of the workpiece (relative to the machine headstock). Because of the limitations on tooling design imposed by

5278-546: The fact that the workpiece mostly surrounds the tool, boring is inherently somewhat more challenging than turning, in terms of decreased toolholding rigidity, increased clearance angle requirements (limiting the amount of support that can be given to the cutting edge), and difficulty of inspection of the resulting surface (size, form, surface roughness ). These are the reasons why boring is viewed as an area of machining practice in its own right, separate from turning, with its own tips, tricks, challenges, and body of expertise, despite

5369-571: The fact that they are in some ways identical. The first boring machine tool was invented by John Wilkinson in 1775. Boring and turning have abrasive counterparts in internal and external cylindrical grinding . Each process is chosen based on the requirements and parameter values of a particular application. The boring process can be executed on various machine tools , including (1) general-purpose or universal machines, such as lathes (/turning centers) or milling machines (/machining centers), and (2) machines designed to specialize in boring as

5460-413: The first stone was laid in 1864. The bridge's approach viaducts were major structures. By 1868, the bridge was completed and on 21 May the contractor's locomotive Cheshire drew a train of 20 wagons over the bridge. It was opened for traffic on 10 October. The first goods traffic crossed the bridge on 1 February 1869 followed by the first passenger train on 1 April. During the early 1890s,

5551-415: The initial position, and so on. These are called using G-codes such as G76, G85, G86, G87, G88, G89; and also by other less common codes specific to particular control builders or machine tool builders. Lathe boring is a cutting operation that uses a single-point cutting tool or a boring head to produce conical or cylindrical surfaces by enlarging an existing opening in a workpiece. For nontapered holes,

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5642-506: The locks into the ship canal at Eastham . Deep-water channels are maintained to both. Until the early 20th century, commercial traffic bound for further upstream carried cargo in large flat-bottomed sailing barges known as Mersey Flats to Howley Wharf in Warrington and (via the Sankey Canal ) to St Helens . Motor barges delivered to riverside factories at Warrington until at least the 1970s, but nowadays only pleasure craft and yachts use

5733-590: The main river and adjacent salt marshes. The average amount of Hg in the Mersey was found to be 2 mg/kg with the highest amounts of 5 mg/kg occurring below the surface at concentrations harmful to sediment dwelling biota. The vertical rise and fall in Hg pollution observed at four Mersey salt marshes indicated a decline in metal pollution since the 1980s. Salmon have returned to the river and have been seen jumping at Woolston and Howley Weirs between September and November. Salmon parr and smolt have been caught in

5824-406: The middle of the range of similarly industrial-urban river-estuaries. The distribution of individual PAH compounds suggests that the Mersey has contaminants mainly derived from combustion sources such as vehicle exhaust as well as coal burning. The distribution of the toxic heavy metal Mercury (Hg) has been assessed by measuring 203 sediments taken from shallow cores (0.4 – 1.6 m) extracted from both

5915-448: The north side of the channel entrance to the river on which many ships have come to grief over the years. Historically the lowest bridging point on the Mersey was at Warrington where there has been a bridge since medieval times. The first ferry across the estuary was introduced in medieval times by monks from Birkenhead Priory . They transported travellers or accommodated them at the priory in bad weather. Countless people died on

6006-408: The original river channel became Warrington Dock (Walton Lock) in the ship canal. In the 1960s, the former river channel was filled. The area is now Wilderspool Causeway Park. At the western end of the canalised section in Warrington is the old entrance to the former Runcorn to Latchford Canal . This waterway was abandoned with the construction of the ship canal. It was constructed because the Mersey

6097-405: The pedestrian footway alongside the railway was closed to the public but retained for maintenance access. The bridge is used by rail traffic on the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line . The lines are electrified and 25 kV AC overhead lines installed. Starting in the 2010s, the bridge has undergone a lengthy maintenance programme that will extend its life for another 150 years. In 1846,

6188-467: The piece and the tool bit can be changed about two axes to cut both vertically and horizontally into the internal surface. The cutting tool is usually single point, made of M2 and M3 high-speed steel or P10 and P01 carbide . A tapered hole can be made by simultaneously feeding the cutting edge in both the radial and axial directions. Boring machines come in a large variety of sizes and styles. Boring operations on small workpieces can be carried out on

6279-515: The river Meteia meaning "reaping one" or "she that cuts down" (Breeze notes the possibility of a local deity associated with the river, but highlights that this is only a supposition based on known deities like Sulis and Aerfen ). The Mersey is formed from three tributaries : the River Etherow , the River Goyt and the River Tame . The modern accepted start of the Mersey is at the confluence of

6370-407: The river and surrounding areas. The Mersey Railway completed its tunnel through the estuary's underlying Triassic sandstone using manual labour in 1885. Intended as a pneumatic railway , the company opted for steam trains from its opening until it was electrified in 1903. The centre of the running tunnel is between 30 feet (9.1 m) and 70 feet (21.3 m) below the river bed. The railway

6461-632: The river as fish such as perch , barbel , grayling , carp , roach , chub , trout , pike , bream and dace have been caught. Warrington Anglers Association have fishing rights on a large stretch of the River through most of Warrington. Prince Albert Angling Society also have a small stretch near Rixton. The river has also faced problems regarding the poaching of fish despite a strict 'catch and release' policy imposed on anglers for ecological reasons which applies to most UK waterways. The Mersey River Festival, rebranded in 2018 as ‘River Festival Liverpool’,

6552-488: The river between Stockport and Carrington. Liverpool Sailing Club located at Garston Coastal Park on the north bank of the estuary has a 1000 feet slipway giving access to river for water sports. The wooded suburban stretch of the river from above Howley Weir to Woolston is also used for recreational and competitive rowing, operated from the Warrington Rowing Club. Angling has become popular on some stretches of

6643-470: The river then turns northwards as the estuary narrows between Liverpool and Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula to the west, and empties into Liverpool Bay . In total the river flows 69 miles (111 km). Part of the Mersey Railway , a rail tunnel between Birkenhead and Liverpool opened in 1886. Two road tunnels pass under the estuary from Liverpool: the Queensway Tunnel opened in 1934 connecting

6734-515: The river, in which clay figures representing the Hindu Lord Ganesha , the elephant deity riding a mouse, are submerged in the river from a ferry boat. Followers throw flowers, pictures and coins into the river. From its lowest point, moving upstream, confluences and tributaries of the Mersey catchment include: Boring (manufacturing) There are various types of boring. The boring bar may be supported on both ends (which only works if

6825-497: The ship canal company's dredgings have formed the Woolston Eyes nature reserve, and on to Warrington . During the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal, the original course of the river through Wilderspool (which is north of Stockton Heath and Lower Walton) was diverted westward into a canalised section. Wilderspool Causeway remains the only remnant of the original eastern bank of the Mersey at this point in Warrington. Part of

6916-415: The ship canal, a lock bypassing Howley Weir allowed navigation further upstream via a straight "cut" avoiding a meander around Woolston. The Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service manages local nature reserves such as Chorlton Ees and Sale Water Park recreational sites and provides an educational service along the Mersey from Manchester to the Manchester Ship Canal. It is possible to canoe on parts of

7007-742: The thickness of the work piece). Interrupted internal working surfaces—where the cutting tool and surface have discontinuous contact—are preferably avoided. The boring bar is the protruding arm of the machine that holds the cutting tool(s), and must be very rigid. Because of the factors just mentioned, deep-hole drilling and deep-hole boring are inherently challenging areas of practice that demand special tooling and techniques. Nevertheless, technologies have been developed that produce deep holes with impressive accuracy. In most cases they involve multiple cutting points, diametrically opposed, whose deflection forces cancel each other out. They also usually involve delivery of cutting fluid pumped under pressure through

7098-507: The tool to orifices near the cutting edges. Gun drilling and cannon boring are classic examples. First developed to make the barrels of firearms and artillery, these machining techniques find wide use today for manufacturing in many industries. Various fixed cycles for boring are available in CNC controls. These are preprogrammed subroutines that move the tool through successive passes of cut, retract, advance, cut again, retract again, return to

7189-427: The upper estuary and the tidal river where a number of sailing clubs are based. On most high tides, seagoing yachts with masts raised can navigate as far upstream as Fiddlers Ferry – about 3.1 mi (5.0 km) downstream of Warrington – where there is a small marina accessed via a river lock. Although river craft can continue upstream to Howley Weir, there are no landing or mooring facilities. Before construction of

7280-495: The weir and the lock is known locally as "Monkey Island". West of Warrington the river widens, and then narrows as it passes through the Runcorn Gap between the towns of Runcorn and Widnes , in Halton . The Manchester Ship Canal passes through the gap to the south of the river. The gap is bridged by the Silver Jubilee Bridge and Runcorn Railway Bridge . Another crossing, the Mersey Gateway road bridge opened in October 2017, and

7371-473: The work is automatically centered. On these chucks the runout faces limitations; on late-model CNCs, it can be quite low if all conditions are excellent, but traditionally it is usually at least .001-.003 in (0.025-0.075 mm). The four-jaw chuck is used either to hold irregular shapes or to hold round or hex to extremely low runout (with time spent indicating and clamping each piece), in both cases because of its independent action on each jaw. The face plate

7462-504: The workpiece is rotated, a boring bar with an insert attached to the tip of the bar is fed into an existing hole. When the cutting tool engages the workpiece, a chip is formed. Depending on the type of tool used, the material, and the feed rate, the chip may be continuous or segmented. The surface produced is called a bore. The geometry produced by lathe boring is usually of two types: straight holes and tapered holes. Several diameters can also be added to each shape hole if required. To produce

7553-533: Was an annual event held on the river Mersey during a weekend in May or June between 1981 and 2019 to celebrate Liverpool's maritime tradition. Originally organised by the Merseyside Development Corporation , the festival was later overseen by Liverpool City Council and Culture Liverpool. The last event was planned to take place between the 8 and 10 May 2020, but was cancelled due to COVID . As of 2024,

7644-509: Was announced that the river is "cleaner than at any time since the industrial revolution" and is "now considered one of the cleanest [rivers] in the UK". Persistent organic and mercury (Hg) pollution contained within sediments of the Mersey estuary have been evaluated by British Geological Survey . Mersey river sediments from outer to inner estuary (Alfred Dock to Widnes) contain a variety of common organic pollutants, including polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) with concentrations which fall in

7735-413: Was built up piece by piece in situ. There are six lattice girders, two for each span. Each girder contains around 700 tons of iron and is fastened by 48,115 rivets. During the first half of the 20th century, some of the wrought iron girders were replaced by steel counterparts. The bridge has a clearance of 75 feet (23 m) above the high-water mark allowing sailing ships to pass beneath. The height

7826-402: Was highly dangerous. Passengers had to traverse wooden planks over the mud flats to reach the ferry boats which themselves were often poorly maintained and leaking. Even the steps down to the river bank were described as "beautifully slippery". In the dark the ferry was particularly worrying as there were few or no lights and the journey was only undertaken on a "needs must" basis. Complaints about

7917-453: Was likely a corruption of the actual name. Some, including David Parsons, have suggested the original forms "Segeia" and "Segantii" - based on the root "sego" meaning "strong". Andrew Breeze instead suggests the original forms "Meteia" and "Metantii" - from "met" meaning "cut" or "harvest" - with the likely meaning being that the Metantii were "reapers (of men), cutters-down (of enemies)", with

8008-461: Was stipulated by the Admiralty which had insisted on a clearance of at least 75 feet. The approaches to the bridge on both sides accommodated its considerable height and a gradient of 1 in 114 was needed to obtain the necessary clearance beneath the central spans. On the north side of the river, the bridge is approached by a 49-arch viaduct and a short embankment followed by 16 arches. From the south, it

8099-519: Was the Mersey River Festival's official artist from the late 1990s until the last event in 2019. The painter attended annually to capture on paper the boats, attractions, visitors, and events as they unfolded. Proposals continue for the construction of the Mersey Barrage , a tidal scheme to generate electricity and create another crossing of the river. Very high spring tides can generate

8190-561: Was the first UK port with radar assisted operations. The river empties into Liverpool Bay on the Irish Sea , after a total course of 69 miles (111 km). From 4 metres (13.1 ft) neap tide to 10 metres (32.8 ft) spring tide , the River Mersey has the second highest tidal range in Britain – second only to the River Severn . The narrows in the river estuary between Dingle Point on

8281-621: Was the longest motorway bridge in England. A second viaduct alongside opened in 1995; northbound traffic uses the old viaduct and southbound the new. A new 6-lane bridge, the " Mersey Gateway ", between Runcorn and Widnes began its construction phase in May 2014 and opened just after midnight on 14 October 2017. At the same time the Silver Jubilee Bridge was closed to undergo maintenance for approximately 6–12 months, but will remain open to pedestrians and cyclists. The new bridge uses tolls and

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