The Scotswood Railway Bridge is a disused railway

Rail transport

Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...

 bridge crossing the River Tyne

River Tyne

The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...

 in North East England

North East England

North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...

, formerly part of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway

Newcastle and Carlisle Railway

The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, occasionally referred to as the Tyne Valley Line, is a railway line in northern England. The line was built in the 1830s, and links the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear with in Cumbria. Formal opening took place on 18 June 1838.The line follows the...

, carrying the main line between the Scotswood and Blaydon

Blaydon railway station

Blaydon railway station is a railway station serving Blaydon in Tyne and Wear, northern England. It is located on the Tyne Valley Line which runs from Newcastle upon Tyne to Carlisle, and is managed by Northern Rail....

 stations.

History

The first railway bridge across the River Tyne at this location was a timber bridge completed in 1839. This was destroyed by fire caused by hot ash from a passing train in 1860. A wooden replacement opened in 1861 which was then replaced by a temporary single track bridge in 1865.

The current bridge

The fourth bridge on this site was opened in 1871 and cost £20,000 to build. It is a six-span wrought-iron hog-back bridge on five cast-iron cylinder piers. It was set at an angle to the river so that trains could approach the bridge at speed, there being no sharp curve onto the bridge. It required strengthening in 1943. It was taken out of use permanently in November 1982, along with Scotswood and Elswick stations, when the trains on the N&CR were re-routed across the King Edward VII Bridge

King Edward VII Bridge

The King Edward VII Bridge is a railway bridge spanning the River Tyne between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, in North East England.-History:...

 and through Dunston

Dunston, Tyne and Wear

Dunston was originally an independent village on the south bank of the River Tyne. It has now been absorbed into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in the English county of Tyne and Wear...

. Goods trains continued to use the line on the north side of the Tyne up until 1982 when British Rail

British Rail

British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

closed the bridge as it was uneconomical to repair, train services were diverted via the King Edward Bridge into Newcastle.

The bridge is still used to carry water and gas mains over the river but the railway tracks have been removed and it is no longer possible to cross safely.