James May builds Meccano bridge in Liverpool

TV personality James May has proved that Meccano is still "top gear" when it comes model-building kits.

Top Gear presenter James and student engineers at the University of Liverpool built a Meccano bridge spanning the canal in front of the Three Graces.

It took about 100,000 pieces of Meccano and mor than 1000 man-hours to build the structure across the 40 foot wide waterway at the Pier Head.

The project was filmed for Jame's new TV series, 'James May's Toy Stories', which makes life-size constructions with some of Britain's best-loved toys.

Students have been responsible for the construction of the bridge over the Leeds-Liverpool canal, with help from the North East Meccano Guild.

Dr Tim Short, from the University of Liverpool, said: "We've taken inspiration from James May, the design proposal from the architecture students and the design drawings from Atkins, added an enormous amount of Meccano and created a bridge that is unique and impressive.

"It is fitting that Meccano has been brought back to Liverpool as the city was home to Meccano for more than 70 years until the Binns Road 'Factory of Dreams' in Wavertree was finally closed in 1979."

James May said: "This is a really impressive structure and it shows just what can be achieved with Meccano which was the first - an some say the best - construction toy."

The bridge design was engineered by Hayden Nuttal, Design Director of Atkins Structural Engineering, and is made out of normal, half inch-wide Meccano strips, girders and bolts, rather than giant Meccano.

Laid end-to-end the total length of the Meccano used would stretch about three-and-a-half miles.

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