Sydney Icons

1. Sydney Icons Harbour Bridge Opera House Sydney Tower

2. S Y D N E Y This is how the Sydney Harbour Bridge was built

3. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic The bridge is nicknamed "The Coathanger" because of its arch-based design The bridge was designed and built by English firm Dorman Long and Co Ltd and opened in 1932 It is the world's widest long-span bridge It is also the fifth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world And it is the tallest steel arch bridge Until 1967 the Harbour Bridge was Sydney's tallest structure.

4. How did they get all that steel up there?

7. One of the four main support bearings. When the bridge is at maximum load, each bearing will be carrying 10,160 tonnes (10,000 British tons) Note the US ton is similar to the British ton i.e., 1 British ton = 1.12 US ton

8. One of two giant 579 tonne (570 British ton) creeper cranes which actually built the arches After building each single section they crawled on to it to build the next one

9. Sydney's floating crane "Titan" helps the creeper crane fix the first girders of the bridge in place. Sadly, the Titan met a similar fate to some of the punts. After having been sold to overseas interests, it was being towed to the new owners when, unfortunately, being somewhere off the coast opposite North West Rocks, it turned turtle and sank.

10. In the next series of pictures you can see the huge bunch of 128 steel cables, each 7cm (2 & ¾ inch) diameter and 366m (1200ft) long, holding back each of the partly-built arch-ends. I wonder how many times the engineer, who decided how big the cables had to be and how many, did his calculations. Remember there were no computers. Each cable was tested to 355 tonnes (350 British tons), which was more than twice the expected load, so I guess he didn't trust his slide-rule too much.

11. The cables are attached to the top chord of the arch by two large fish-plates

12. The cables leave the bridge, enter the 45° U shaped tunnel, come out the other side then go back up to the bridge

13. The cables run down one leg of the 40m (132ft) deep U shaped cable tunnel

14. At the bottom of the 40m (132ft) deep U shaped cable tunnel. The cables run in greased grooves. There are 40,642 tonnes (40,000 British tons) of rock above to hold down the 15,241 tonnes (15000 British tons) half-arch

18. The crawler crane weaves its steel web with special rust resistant silicon steel, 30% stronger than normal mild steel

19. Face to face with a crawler crane as it sits on the end of its steel web

20. The North Shore Spans are in place but the restraining cables are yet to be fitted. The building on the right is part of the workshops where the bridge girders were fabricated

21. The workshops rise from the soil

22. Inside the workshops, the first deck hanger is finished

23. That sheet of steel is 5cm (2 inches) thick

24. A pile of deck hangers wait to be called for

25. The Inspector checks one of the large fish-plates which will connect the cables to the Bridge

26. The North Shore arch is under way now that the cables are fitted

28. The arch takes shape, even though all the individual pieces are dead straight

31. What a great lunch-time view!

32. It's back to work for this rivetter as he indicates which hole he wants the next rivet in. The man underneath will push a red-hot rivet up through the hole and hold it there while the rivetter rounds over the end. As it cools, it shrinks, causing it to grab the steel plates tightly. And so another of the approx 6 million rivets will be in place

33. Explanation on the next slide

34. After completion, the two halves sat, just 1m (3 ft) apart, hanging on their support cables. When the wind blew hard enough, the two ends, of the 15,241 tonnes (15000 British ton) half-arches, drifted back and forth approx 7.6 cm (3 inches). It took phenomenal manufacturing accuracy to get the two half-arches aligned this well. The large thick-set man, standing on the tip of the left-hand arch, is Lawrence Ennis, who had the responsibility of actually building the bridge. In the gap beneath the men you can see the 2.1m (7ft) long tapered registration pin which will make sure the arch ends fit perfectly. The photo was taken from the opposite side of the right-hand arch

35. After the cables had been slackened enough to close the gap, the creeper cranes filled in the remaining "v" shaped section above the join.   Milson's Point railway station is down near the water on the left. The Bridge girders were fabricated in the big buildings next to it on the site now partly occupied by Luna Park

36. Workmen join the last section at the centre of the top of the arch

37. The cables have done their job

38. The arch now finished, the deck hanging commenced. Here a part of the first hanger is being hauled into position

39. The first of 21 girders, weighing 99.5 tonnes (98 British tons), is lifted the 48.77m (160ft) above the water to meet the two hangers it will be mated with

40. The first 99.5 tonne (98 British ton) deck-girder is finally in position, suspended on its 58.5m (192ft) hangers

41. And so the roadway in the sky grows

43. A bird's eye view of hanging the deck

44. A closer look at the deck

45. The suspended roadway is almost finished. Deck girder No 21 is the only one left to hang

46. Two lions guard the view from Neutral Bay Heights of a bridge without pylons

47. The pylons nearing completion

48. Not much more to do. Notice the low railing on the pedestrian walkway. What a wonderful view you must have had before a number of suicides forced the current high fence to be fitted

49. Load testing (Notice the locomotives) read next slide

50. Load tests being carried out just before the hand-over from the builders. 7,112 tonnes (7000 British tons) of steam locomotives (96) would have plunged into the harbour had the test failed, but it didn't. The bridge passed with flying colours, placing a thrust of 20 million kilograms (44.1 million lbs) on the Sydney sandstone on each side of the harbour. The combined weight of the steam-locos caused the deck to flex downwards just 7.6cm (3 inches)