OPENING THE SYDNEY MONORAIL AT PYRMONT BRIDGE

摘要

On 30 April the last opening of the monorail beam over the swing span on Pyrmont Bridge occurred before the system closed. On that day the beam was opened at 0500 to allow a tall ship, the Soren Larsen, to enter Cockle Bay for an event and then again at 2300 for the vessel to depart. The photographs here show the early morning opening. The Monorail track crosses Pyrmont Bridge between Darling Park and Harbourside Stations. Normal openings of the Bridge are possible without interruption to the Monorail operation and vessels up to a height of 14.5 m can enter under the Monorail track. However for taller vessels the beam over the Bridge is raised by means of two hydraulic jacks at either end of the swing span. The jacks are located within innocent looking seats whose hinged lids open to allow the jacks to swing into position and raise the ends of the beam. Once the beam is raised it disconnects from the rest of the track and will rotate with the Bridge swing span. Interlocking ensures the Bridge end lifts are raised before the beam is jacked up.