George Ballinger on the Kelpies
The return of our guest speaker George Ballinger, to present his talk on the Design and Construction of the Kelpies, a sequel to his previous talk in February on the Millennium link canals and the Falkirk wheel.
George is a Chartered Structural Engineer, having graduated from Strathclyde University in Structural Engineering, and then worked for 20 years, from 1973 to 1993, as a Structural Engineer with Engineering Consultants Fairhurst and Partners. 
During this period, whilst also studying part time to gain his Masters degree from Glasgow University, he worked on many civil and structural engineering projects, such as the likes of the Crown Plaza Hotel at the SECC in Glasgow, The M8 Motorway section to Glasgow Airport, and many others, including essential structural repairs to North Sea Oil Platforms.
In 1993, George joined British Waterways where he became Head of Engineering from 2006 until his retirement in 2015.
During this period, he helped deliver many iconic projects such as:
o The restoration of the Caledonian and Crinan Canals,
o The Liverpool Waterfront,
o Millennium link canals and Falkirk wheel,
And in particular, concept design of the Kelpies, the subject of his talk
The project was designed to transform under-used land between Falkirk and Grangemouth into a thriving urban greenspace called “The Helix”. This includes a performance area, on which large-scale events can be held, facilities for watersports provided by the construction of a large lagoon, all surrounded by play areas and high quality pathways. The central area is known as Helix Park and the whole development covers some 350 hectares (860 acres). Access around The Helix will be provided by 27 kilometres (17 miles) of cycle ways and footpaths.
The name ‘Helix’ comes from the distinctive shape of the project as it spirals down from Langlees to Laurieston and Polmont.
The most visible feature of the development is the two unique equine structures known as The Kelpies. Each structure measures around 100 feet (30 metres) in height. The Kelpies were the brainchild of Andy Scott who also created the “Heavy Horse” sculpture at the side of the M8 motorway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Another inspiration was the fact that Carnera, the UK’s largest Clydesdale horse, once resided in Falkirk, hauling wagons of the soft drink Irn-Bru for Robert Barr.
Construction of the 1,600-tonne foundations for the Kelpies began in early 2013. The steel structures for the Kelpies were fabricated at Sherburn-in-Elmet in North Yorkshire by SH Structures; delivery of the main steelwork began in March 2013. Each Kelpie weighs 300 tonnes, and once the structural steel framework was erected, they were clad in 990 uniquely shaped stainless steel plates, with construction completed in October 2013.
The Kelpies hosts a visitor experience, enabling visitors to examine the complex and impressive internal structure of The Kelpies. By December 2012, the channel for the canal link had been excavated, and the first major artwork was erected in the Abbotshaugh Community Woodland in early 2013. The project was completed by the summer of 2014.
Paul Williams gave a worthy vote of thanks
