The worldwide craze for 'love locks' - New York puts its foot down

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I miss clackers.

Never heard that, intend to use it though

 

[lizzieloo]

That lamp makes me sad

 

[TodayIsCaturday]

Looks like litter to me. What a waste of good locks.

 

[moochedit]

Do the locks have any scrap value? Seems like one could make a pretty penny out of it if they do...

I'll tip off the scrap iron vans about it. perhaps they'll stop driving up my road with their annoying loud hailers every fucking sunday morning.

 

[Silva]

This lamp post looks a bit unhappy with all the lock action going on.

I wonder what could mean locking on another couple's lock. swingers?

 

[wiskey]

Weird, I have never noticed this ... I really like the Moscow Trees but on bridges it seems a bit daft.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I think they should just get matching tattoos.

 

[purves grundy]

Looks like litter to me. What a waste of good locks.

Locky litter, exactly.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

It was probably the lock manufacturers got this going.

 

[Edward Kelly]

It's a bit like lovers carving their names on a tree or writing on a wall. The close up photos show names and hearts on some of the locks so it seems to be a lovers' token and as such each lock will in some way mean something to the owner/s.
It's not new. Lovers have made their marks probably from as far back as cave dwellers.[snip]

When I lived in a cave I carved me and my girls name on a bat.

 

[albionism]

Weird, I have never noticed this ... I really like the Moscow Trees but on bridges it seems a bit daft.

 

[girasol]

Most of those relationships will last a lot less than it takes for the locks to rust

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Most of those relationships will last a lot less than it takes for the locks to rust

I've often suspected as much about elaborate weddings. I bet the bills last longer than most of the marriages.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I've often suspected as much about elaborate weddings. I bet the bills last longer than most of the marriages.

That's especially true if the wedding somehow involves helicopters.

 

[EastEnder]

That's especially true if the wedding somehow involves helicopters.

I had no idea helicopters could get married.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I had no idea helicopters could get married.

I don't know if they can either; but they are able to hover overhead, filled with paparazzi.

 

[equationgirl]

I was completely unaware of this trend until I went to Frankfurt last year and saw a bridge festooned with the things. I like the Moscow trees idea, although that might not work on every bridge.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I'd not heard of this at all. Never seen and sign of it in Manchester. Fair enough on crappy metal fences but not on bridges where structural integrity is rather important. Most of those photos just look tawdry in my opinion. I don't care if some couple are smitten - don't be so bloody tacky in public and get a bloody room.

I wonder how much additional loading would be added to a bridge if it was smothered in padlocks on both sets of railings. I'd guess a typical padlock weighs an ounce or two, and one of those pictures looks like there are hundreds of the damn things on a small section of railings.

On bridges where they pose a structural danger, they should have guards on duty and anyone who tries to attach a padlock is thrown off the bridge.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Fucking hell this has being going on for years it has even reached NZ:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_locations_with_love_locks

neonwilderness - apparently they have some on the Gateshead side of the High Level Bridge. Wondered if you'd seen them on your photo travels?

 

[MrSki]

When I lived in a cave I carved me and my girls name on a bat.

when I lived in a cave I found a marker pen on the wall did the trick. How the fuck could you catch the bat?

 

[twentythreedom]

Can anyone be arsed to do a backofafagpacket guesstimate of total weights of the locks, just a ballpark figure. My dinner's ready

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Can anyone be arsed to do a backofafagpacket guesstimate of total weights of the locks, just a ballpark figure. My dinner's ready

No! That's why I posed the same question too as I'm too lazy to calculate it myself.

I am genuinely curious about how much additional loading these shitty locks would put on a bridge though.

 

[neonwilderness]

neonwilderness - apparently they have some on the Gateshead side of the High Level Bridge. Wondered if you'd seen them on your photo travels?

Yeah, there's not as many as in other places. In this instance I quite like them, otherwise there'd just be the wire grid.

foggy day in newcastle love locks by akidd19700, on Flickr

Not my photo

 

[twentythreedom]

No! That's why I posed the same question too as I'm too lazy to calculate it myself.

I am genuinely curious about how much additional loading these shitty locks would put on a bridge though.

Ok Let's work it out. How much does an average one weigh?

Eta: let's use this one as an example:

 

[twentythreedom]

I reckon there's 2 or 3000 in that pic.

How much do they weigh? Say 200g (total guess) then 2000 x 200g = 0.4 tons in that pic

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I reckon there's 2 or 3000 in that pic.

How much do they weigh? Say 200g (total guess) then 2000 x 200g = 0.4 tons in that pic

http://nolovelocks.com/2014/03/16/a-bridge-too-far/comment-page-1/

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

How much do they weigh? Say 200g (total guess) then 2000 x 200g = 0.4 tons in that pic

The Pont des Arts is just a little footbridge and is now holding 93 metric tonnes from the locks; regularly the grill work collapses

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/mar/31/campaign-paris-love-locks-banned

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I reckon there's 2 or 3000 in that pic.

How much do they weigh? Say 200g (total guess) then 2000 x 200g = 0.4 tons in that pic

Ok, based on a quick search...

Assuming each lock is a 20mm brass one (the second type down on the site below), each lock would weigh 0.53kg. That's not counting the weight of the loved up smugness of course.

http://www.globelock.com/brasspadlock.htm

So if we stick to an average weight of around 0.5kg for simplicity, if there is 2,000 in a roughly five metre stretch of railing that adds up to a fair amount of additional loading for the whole bridge.

Assuming a bridge is 100m long:

0.5kg x 2,000 = 1,000kg
1,000kg x 20 to run the length of the bridge = 20 tons

So assuming the railings on both sides of the bridge are equally festooned with this soppy shit, that would be an additional 40 tons. I'm sure modern bridges have a fair amount of over engineered strength but that might not be the case for historic bridges.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Ok, based on a quick search...

Assuming each lock is a 20mm brass one (the second type down on the site below), each lock would weigh 0.53kg. That's not counting the weight of the loved up smugness of course.

http://www.globelock.com/brasspadlock.htm

So if we stick to an average weight of around 0.5kg for simplicity, if there is 2,000 in a roughly five metre stretch of railing that adds up to a fair amount of additional loading for the whole bridge.

Assuming a bridge is 100m long:

0.5kg x 2,000 = 1,000kg
1,000kg x 20 to run the length of the bridge = 20 tons

So assuming the railings on both sides of the bridge are equally festooned with this soppy shit, that would be an additional 40 tons. I'm sure modern bridges have a fair amount of over engineered strength but that might not be the case for historic bridges.

Not bad with the calculations. Pont de l'Archeveche is just under half the length of Pont des Arts - 68 and 155 metres respectively. If des Arts has 93 tons, then l'Archeveche would b e about 40

 

[twentythreedom]

Given the fairly even spread of the load, if doesn't sound like much tbh. I am no bridge engineer though other than Lego, that is.