Most steampunk landmark

[elShoggotho]

I see our Anderton boat lift and raise you one Niederfinow boat lift. Largest in Europe, I'm told, just around the corner from Berlin. More dieselpunk, but still.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Prof_Von_Grumbleflick]

There are some great posts in here. To revisit an old thread on Sparegoggles:

The Witley Wonder? A domed glass and steel ballroom constructed under a lake, accessible via a lovely old folly at the end of a stone pier.

Or my own local landmark, Kew Bridge Steam Museum (I'm fortunate to live but a 5 minute walk away from).. It boasts the largest working beam engine in the world (90 inch) and a 100 inch engine, the world's largest Bull engine, a Boulton and Watt, London's only steam miniature railways and it's an absolutely beautiful building, the grounds of which are scattered with oversized lumps of metal with rivets in.

I've just googled the Witley Wonder. That place looks like a secret lair from a steampunk superhero or villain.
Polaris, most of your links don't work.

So I'm noticing... Which is really disappointing because i can't remember what they were... :\

If I had to guess, they were three Pittsburgh landmarks:

The first blocked picture was possibly a trio of bridges?
The second is a cable car?
The third was the Smithfield bridge?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I tried using the world of stock search engine, looking for only the stuff in bold and deleting the rest from the search box:
worldofstock.com/slides/TAU2582.jpg

[Polaris]

That's not a cable car.... That's one of the world last surviving inclines!




Okay, so yeah, it's a cable car, but it goes up and down a mountain side.



The three sister bridges.


Oldest bridge in the city.  Completed in 1881

[bicyclebuilder]

That's not a cable car.... That's one of the world last surviving inclines!




Okay, so yeah, it's a cable car, but it goes up and down a mountain side.



The three sister bridges.


Oldest bridge in the city.  Completed in 1881

I've seen a cable-car-hillclimbing-train-thing like that somewhere in Canada. I believe it was Quebec or Montreal, I can't remember.
What I do remember is a huge cable-car-hillclim....thingy in Kaprun, Austria.

[Polaris]

Pah! I scoff at Austria's attempts to mimic our beautiful inclines!! That machine has no class!! Where's that old world feel? Where's the wooden rail ties? Where's the wood? Our inclines, specifically the Duquesne Incline- is almost completely original. Everything restored to how it was when it first opened on May 20th, 1877.


But really its the story that makes these so neat.

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The pittsburgh inclines were public transportation for the coal workers who lived on Mt. Washington, and needed to go to the mills down at the water front ever day. The city boasted over a dozen of these "modern contraptions" during the 1870's. As each of the mills closed down during the 60's and 70's, all of the inclines were decommissioned and nearly all were destroyed. Two in the pittsburgh area survived as well as on further up the Monongahela river.

In November of 1962, The Duquesne Incline was closed for repairs. After eighty-five years of service, the six huge cast-iron sheaves that guide the cables at the top of the slope were badly worn and had to be replaced. The Incline, still under private ownership, had been losing passengers and revenue steadily, and The Duquesne Inclined Plane Company felt that such expensive repairs were out of the question. Accordingly, the Incline was shut-down and there its story nearly ended.

But the residents of the Duquesne Heights section of Mount Washington, stunned by the sudden loss of a facility they had long taken for granted, decided to make an effort to save this relic of Pittsburgh's early history and still, for them, the quickest route to Downtown Pittsburgh. A small group of men representing the community, headed by Mr. David Miller, met with the Incline owners and established a working agreement whereby the neighborhood would launch a fund-raising drive and the owners would consent to the repairing and re-opening of the Incline if sufficient money was forthcoming.

To raise $15,000 in a small community of average means, in the middle of the Winter season, concurrent with several other charitable fund drives surely indicates dedication and enthusiasm on the part of the residents. It was truly a community effort; Boy Scouts distributed information fliers produced by Virginia Peden, a columnist for the Mount Washington News, to every family. Later there was more advertising, including the production of pamphlets. Smaller boys counted and bundled the One Dollar Souvenir Tickets which the women of the community sold from door-to-door. Shares of stock in The Duquesne Inclined Plane Company were sold for one hundred dollars, each. There were bake sales and card parties, and as the fund grew the men of the neighborhood began to make minor repairs and to clean and paint the cars and the station houses. At the end of six months the necessary money had been raised, the new sheaves installed, and on July 1, 1963, The Duquesne Incline was triumphantly re-opened to a jubilant community.

Then in 1964, all public transportation was consolidated into one public company ((PAT or Port Authority Transit)) and instead of closing The Duquesne Incline, which as yet could not be operated economically as part of the transit system, the Port Authority graciously leased the Incline to its rescuers for one dollar a year ((which, each year after receipt of the lease fee, PAT promptly returns as a donation to The Duquesne Incline)).

The Society for the Preservation of the Duquesne Heights Incline was formed, in 1964, from the temporary neighborhood committee which rescued the Incline in 1963. Today, the Society assumes full responsibility for operating and maintaining the Incline as a non-profit enterprise. Its officers provide daily supervision and overall direction on a volunteer basis; only the operators, conductors, and a small staff of maintenance personnel are on the payroll. Contributions are many and varied, ranging from Westinghouses' donation of $20,000(in 1972) to the receipts of the donation box in the Upper Station Waiting Room.

Visitors from all over the world have been added to the regular flow of commuter traffic. Summer and Winter, travelers come to absorb the spectacular view of Pittsburgh and to see in The Duquesne Incline a feature of the past which is very old, yet basically practical and durable. Visitors account for more than half of the Incline rides each year, and thus, contribute in a large measure to its preservation and restoration.

Much work has been done to restore and rehabilitate the entire operation. The interior of the Incline cars has been stripped of gray paint to reveal the original hand-carved cherry panels trimmed with oak and birdseye maple. The transoms have some of the original amber glass. Much time has also been devoted to the Waiting Rooms, the cable and motor rooms, and to track maintenance and idler replacement.

In 1987, contributions from major foundations, as well as the general public, made it possible to replace the ancient tar-paper roof over the cable room and shop with a sturdy concrete slab. This provides a large, handsome Observation Deck offering the most spectacular view of Pittsburgh's Central Business District, affectionately known as "The Golden Triangle;" much of the rest of the city, as well as some nearby suburban areas, can also be viewed from this summit. Two binocular telescopes, for public use on the Observation Deck, assist with the view of the city and environs.

In addition, a small wing was added to house administrative offices and an enlarged gift shop, as well as a small extension of the Upper Station's museum gallery. Income from the sale of souvenirs has been most important in providing funds for the Incline's capital-improvement program.

The Duquesne Incline received a visit from two of the world's leaders on February 24, 1994. On that day, the Incline hosted William Jefferson Clinton, President of the United States of America, and John Major, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. At the invitation of President Clinton, Prime Minister Major was in Pittsburgh to visit the area where his father lived as a young man. After riding the Incline, the two leaders had a "boys' night out" at the nearby Tin Angel Restaurant.

[Polaris]

sorry... i'm a history buff....

[Prof_Von_Grumbleflick]

Or the Great Orme tramway in Llandudno, North wales? Climbs up to the top of a gigantic rocky outcrop populated by huge white mountain goats, past a bronze age quarry, leading to spectacular views from the top looking out towards Ireland or inland towards Snowdonia.

[Mercury Wells]

Newport Transporter bridge

[Cpt.Pugwash]

How about the Laxey Wheel Lady Isabella ?   Where have I heard that name ...

[cazzer]

Perhaps not on the same scale. But quietly impressive.
And its at the bottom of my street

[bicyclebuilder]

Newport Transporter bridge

That thing is huge! I like it.

[Mercury Wells]

Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
Scarborough funiculars

[Polaris]

*snip*
Scarborough funiculars

Yay! it's one of the other last surviving inclines in the world.

[Stormcat]

Well... We've got plenty of Historic stuff in our area (What with the women's rights movement being started here, Fredrick Douglas settled here, And not to mention all the Twihards who walk up and down our streets trying to figure out "which house belonged to Rosalie Hale") But the only thing "steampunk" I guess would be this museum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Eastman_House

[The Corsair]

I know it's not quite a 'landmark' as such but I say the Great Wester railroad and Box Tunnel (which was made specifically for the railroad)
The railroad was incredibly useful and necessary in its time and Box Tunnel was a massive step forward in tunnel digging and building.

[r_is_for_rachel]

That's not a cable car.... That's one of the world last surviving inclines

Okay, so yeah, it's a cable car, but it goes up and down a mountain side.

they're called funicular railways and i'm personally a bit obsessed with the things!

love this one even though it doesn't work anymore
http://www.cliftonrocksrailway.org.uk/

also Aberystwyth has a working one with a camera obscura at the top
http://www.aberystwythcliffrailway.co.uk/railway.htm

Quite a few in the UK and suprisingly Barcelona(which has an amazing antique tram that takes you to a funicular which takes you to Tibidabo and it's 1889 funfair at the top of a mountain! -been there and it's brill)

[James Harrison]

The title 'landmark' is probably a misnomer for it, but this gets my vote:

http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/c/channel_tunnel_1880_attempt/index.shtml

[J. Wilhelm]

I don't know if these buildings qualify as Steampunk.  Perhaps more in line with Victorian or even Edwardian aesthetic (due to the actual construction period of turn of the Century), but these two places I show on the thread below will be visited during the first steampunk meeting in that country this 12th. of March....  Should be a nice stroll  

http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,29562.msg644081.html

[Mercury Wells]

Last inland Funicular

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

and its up for sale

[Cal Lugosi]

I probably would of classes it more as diesel punk myself, but as my friend told me, steam and diesel are backwards compatible.

Im gonna say the the old Liverpool overhead railway http://www.photobydjnorton.com/LOR.html

The worse thing the council ever done was tear it down... lucky enough, there gonna have the only surviving tram in the museum of Liverpool life when it opens!

[Wormster]

I know it's not quite a 'landmark' as such but I say the Great Wester railroad and Box Tunnel (which was made specifically for the railroad)
The railroad was incredibly useful and necessary in its time and Box Tunnel was a massive step forward in tunnel digging and building.

There Sir you have it in one, With the S.S. Great Britain in its original dock!

I reckon that the latter is the BEST steampunk landmark, afterall without I.K.B. there would be nowt!

[Cubinoid]

Well, for me I'm afraid that whilst I love funiculars and things, I have a fondness for landmarks that are a little more like this:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/real-war-of-the-worlds-tripod.html

[bicyclebuilder]

What the ....!
Someone highjacked this thread. 
Ah, well. He/She's from China.
Is the Chinese wall Steampunk? Sort of? Kind of?...

[Xenos]

It looks like a cryptic warning of impending attack...

Just sayin'...

[JohnOdin]

The War of the Worlds tripod is cool. Wish I lived nearer to Woking.