Runcorn Railway Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Runcorn Railway Bridge, which is also known as the Ethelfleda Bridge or the Britannia Bridge, crosses the River Mersey
at Runcorn Gap from Runcorn
to Widnes
in Cheshire
, England. It was built for the London and North Western Railway
(LNWR) to a design by William Baker
, chief engineer of the railway company. It has been designated by English Heritage
as a Grade II* listed building.
Company obtained an Act of Parliament
to build a bridge to cross Runcorn Gap. A time limit of 7 years was imposed. Shortly after obtaining the Act the Company amalgamated with others to form the London and North Western Railway. Other projects took precedence, the 7 years time limit passed, and so the powers to build the bridge lapsed.
In 1861 Parliamentary approval for a bridge was obtained by the LNWR as part of building a line from Aston, to the southeast of Runcorn where it joined the line from Crewe
to Warrington
at Weaver Junction
, to the west of Widnes, where it joined the line from Warrington to Garston
at Ditton Junction
. The new line was 8.5 miles (14 km) long and reduced by more than 8 miles (13 km) the distance between Liverpool Lime Street
and stations south of the River Weaver
. Preparatory work commenced in 1863 and the first stone was laid in 1864. The bridge was completed by 1868 and on 21 May there was an introductory opening when the contractor's locomotive Cheshire drew 20 wagons over the bridge. It was formally opened for traffic on 10 October. The first goods traffic crossed it on 1 February 1869
and the first passenger train crossed on 1 April of that year.
In the early 1890s the Manchester Ship Canal
was built, passing under the bridge. The footway was closed in 1965. The bridge is still in use today for rail traffic on the Liverpool
branch of the West Coast Main Line
.
spans of 305 feet (93 m), each on two sandstone
abutment
s with foundations
at a depth of about 45 feet (14 m) below water level. The erection of the lattice girder spans was unusual, because instead of floating them down the river and lifting into position, each was built up piece by piece in situ. The bridge carries a double line of tracks
. As the structure superseded a centuries-old ferry, a footbridge alongside the main girders was provided on its eastern side. There is a clearance of 75 feet (23 m) above the high water mark that allowed sailing ships to pass beneath it. There are 6 lattice girder
s, two to each span. Each girder contains 700 tons of iron and is fastened by 48,115 rivets. From the north side of the river the bridge is approached by a viaduct of 49 arches, then a short piece of embankment, followed by 16 more arches. From the south it is approached by a viaduct of 33 arches. On its completion, the bridge was the longest of its time.
burh
erected by her in 915. Parts of the bridge are castellated
to reflect this. There are three shields above the footway showing, from the southern end, the Coat of Arms
of the City of London
, Britannia
(from the crest
of the railway company) and the Liver Bird
of Liverpool
. Because of the crest the bridge is also known as the Britannia Railway Bridge.
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
at Runcorn Gap from Runcorn
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
to Widnes
Widnes
Widnes is an industrial town within the borough of Halton, in Cheshire, England, with an urban area population of 57,663 in 2004. It is located on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England. It was built for the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
(LNWR) to a design by William Baker
William Baker (engineer)
William Baker was a railway engineer.Between 1834 and 1839 Baker was articled to George W. Buck and then worked on the London and Birmingham Railway between London and Tring. From 1837 he worked with Buck on the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
, chief engineer of the railway company. It has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a Grade II* listed building.
History
In 1846 the Grand Junction RailwayGrand Junction Railway
The Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...
Company obtained an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
to build a bridge to cross Runcorn Gap. A time limit of 7 years was imposed. Shortly after obtaining the Act the Company amalgamated with others to form the London and North Western Railway. Other projects took precedence, the 7 years time limit passed, and so the powers to build the bridge lapsed.
In 1861 Parliamentary approval for a bridge was obtained by the LNWR as part of building a line from Aston, to the southeast of Runcorn where it joined the line from Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
to Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
at Weaver Junction
Weaver Junction
Weaver Junction is a railway junction on the West Coast Main Line . It connects Ditton to the WCML via Runcorn Railway Bridge and opened on 1 April 1869. Trains bound for Liverpool from London diverge from the WCML at this junction. Weaver Junction is the oldest flying junction in Britain....
, to the west of Widnes, where it joined the line from Warrington to Garston
Garston, Merseyside
Garston is a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is bordered by Aigburth, Allerton, and Speke.-History:Gaerstun, meaning 'grazing settlement' or 'grazing farm' in Old English, is one possible root of the name....
at Ditton Junction
Ditton railway station
Ditton railway station, earlier known as Ditton Junction, was in the town of Widnes in Cheshire, England on Hale Road on the border between Ditton and Halebank...
. The new line was 8.5 miles (14 km) long and reduced by more than 8 miles (13 km) the distance between Liverpool Lime Street
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
and stations south of the River Weaver
River Weaver
The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, which included eleven locks, was completed in 1732...
. Preparatory work commenced in 1863 and the first stone was laid in 1864. The bridge was completed by 1868 and on 21 May there was an introductory opening when the contractor's locomotive Cheshire drew 20 wagons over the bridge. It was formally opened for traffic on 10 October. The first goods traffic crossed it on 1 February 1869
1869 in rail transport
-January events:* January 9 - Government of India resolves not to create new guaranteed railway companies, thus determining future relationships between private enterprise and state in railway development....
and the first passenger train crossed on 1 April of that year.
In the early 1890s the Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
was built, passing under the bridge. The footway was closed in 1965. The bridge is still in use today for rail traffic on the Liverpool
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
Liverpool Lime Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Liverpool, England. The station lies on a branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston, and on the Wirral Line of the Merseyrail network...
branch of the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
.
Structure
The bridge consists of three wrought ironWrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
spans of 305 feet (93 m), each on two sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
abutment
Abutment
An abutment is, generally, the point where two structures or objects meet. This word comes from the verb abut, which means adjoin or having common boundary. An abutment is an engineering term that describes a structure located at the ends of a bridge, where the bridge slab adjoins the approaching...
s with foundations
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
at a depth of about 45 feet (14 m) below water level. The erection of the lattice girder spans was unusual, because instead of floating them down the river and lifting into position, each was built up piece by piece in situ. The bridge carries a double line of tracks
Rail tracks
The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers and ballast , plus the underlying subgrade...
. As the structure superseded a centuries-old ferry, a footbridge alongside the main girders was provided on its eastern side. There is a clearance of 75 feet (23 m) above the high water mark that allowed sailing ships to pass beneath it. There are 6 lattice girder
Lattice girder
A lattice girder is a girder where the flanges are connected by a lattice web. This type of design has been supplanted in modern construction with welded or bolted plate girders, which use more material but have lower fabrication and maintenance costs...
s, two to each span. Each girder contains 700 tons of iron and is fastened by 48,115 rivets. From the north side of the river the bridge is approached by a viaduct of 49 arches, then a short piece of embankment, followed by 16 more arches. From the south it is approached by a viaduct of 33 arches. On its completion, the bridge was the longest of its time.
Name
The "official" name of the bridge is uncertain. Locally it has been called the Ethelfleda Bridge but more widely as the Britannia Bridge. The bridge is named after Ethelfleda because the southern abutments and pier were built on the site of the SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
burh
Burh
A Burh is an Old English name for a fortified town or other defended site, sometimes centred upon a hill fort though always intended as a place of permanent settlement, its origin was in military defence; "it represented only a stage, though a vitally important one, in the evolution of the...
erected by her in 915. Parts of the bridge are castellated
Battlement
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
to reflect this. There are three shields above the footway showing, from the southern end, the Coat of Arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
(from the crest
Crest (heraldry)
A crest is a component of an heraldic display, so called because it stands on top of a helmet, as the crest of a jay stands on the bird's head....
of the railway company) and the Liver Bird
Liver bird
The Liver bird is the symbol of the city of Liverpool, England.-History:The earliest known use of a bird to represent the then-town of Liverpool was on its corporate seal, dating from the 1350s. The seal is now held by the British Museum. In 1668 the Earl of Derby gave the town council a mace...
of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Because of the crest the bridge is also known as the Britannia Railway Bridge.
See also
- Listed buildings in Runcorn (urban area)
- Listed buildings in Widnes
- Widnes-Runcorn Transporter BridgeWidnes-Runcorn Transporter BridgeThe Runcorn-Widnes Transporter Bridge crossed the river Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal linking the towns of Runcorn and Widnes. It was completed in 1905, it was Britain's first transporter bridge and the largest of its type ever built in the world. It continued in use until 1961 when it was...
- Silver Jubilee Bridge