Conwy Railway Bridge

Conwy Railway Bridge Pont Rheilffordd Conwy
Conwy Railway Bridge across the River Conwy
Coordinates	53°16′49″N 3°49′25″W / 53.280278°N 3.823611°W / 53.280278; -3.823611Coordinates: 53°16′49″N 3°49′25″W / 53.280278°N 3.823611°W / 53.280278; -3.823611
Carries	North Wales Coast Line
Crosses	River Conwy
Locale	Conwy
Maintained by	Network Rail
Heritage status	Grade I listed
Cadw	3236
Followed by	Conwy Suspension Bridge
Characteristics
Design	Tubular bridge
Material	Wrought iron Limestone
Total length	463 ft (141 m)
Width	42 ft (13 m)
Clearance below	46 ft (14 m) (low tide)
Design life	1899: cast iron piers are added to reduce the load on the tubes and permit heavier trains
History
Architect	Francis Thompson
Engineering design by	Robert Stephenson in collaboration with William Fairbairn and Eaton Hodgkinson
Constructed by	William Evans
Construction begin	1846
Construction end	1848
Opened	1849

The Conwy Railway Bridge carries the North Wales coast railway line across the River Conwy between Llandudno Junction and the town of Conwy. The wrought iron tubular bridge, which is now Grade I listed, was built in the 19th century by Robert Stephenson. It is the last surviving example of this type of design by Stephenson after the Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait was destroyed in a fire in the 1970s.

The bridge was constructed to carry the Chester and Holyhead Railway across the River Conwy. Robert Stephenson, in collaboration with William Fairbairn and Eaton Hodgkinson, provided the engineering plans. Before their involvement it was intended to be a suspension bridge, complementing the 1826 Conwy Suspension Bridge by Thomas Telford. However, after Stephenson's appointment as chief engineer, the design changed because a suspension bridge was considered not robust enough to carry trains. Stephenson and his collaborators invented wrought-iron box-girder construction in order to bridge the River Conwy in a single span.

The project's architect was Francis Thompson, who dressed the pylons at either end as barbicans, complete with crenellated turrets, arrow slits and bartizans to complement the adjacent Conwy Castle, an Edwardian fortification that had stood on the promontory since the late 13th century. The bridge contractor was a William Evans. Construction began in 1846. The ironwork was constructed by Easton & Amos.Steam-powered hydraulic engines were used to lift the wrought-iron girders and beams into place from barges moored in the river.