Monkwearmouth railway bridge
| Monkwearmouth railway bridge | |
|---|---|
Wearmouth Rail Bridge (left), Wearmouth road bridge (right), 2006
|
|
| Carries | Rail, 2 tracks |
| Crosses | River Wear |
| Locale | Sunderland, England |
| Heritage status | Grade II listed |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Vierendeel truss bowstring arch |
| Longest span | 300ft |
| Clearance below | 86ft |
| History | |
| Opened | 1879 |
Coordinates: 54°54′36″N 1°23′01″W / 54.9099°N 1.3835°W
The Monkwearmouth railway bridge (also Sunderland railway bridge or Wearmouth railway bridge) is a rail bridge built 1879 crossing the River Wear at Sunderland and Monkwearmouth. The bridge lies adjacent to and upstream of the Wearmouth road bridge.
Originally built as part of the Monwearmouth Junction Line, it provided the first direct railway link between Newcastle and Sunderland. As of 2012, the bridge remains in use and is used by Tyne and Wear Metro and Durham Coast Line services.
The bridge was built as part of the infrastructure for the Monwearmouth Junction Line, opened 1879; a connecting line across the wear built to connect the line of the former Brandling Junction Railway at Monkwearmouth to the south bank at Sunderland and the line of the former Durham and Sunderland Railway.
The bridge was designed by T.E. Harrison: it consisted of a 300 ft (91 m) main span, an iron bowstring bridge, constructed from box girders connected by a Vierendeel truss with curved corner strengthening to create elliptical voids in the bracing. The iron bridge was supported 86 ft (26 m) above high water level on the Wear. At either end of the bridge were three 25 ft (7.6 m) span masonry arches. Hawks Crawshay and Sons built the ironwork, John Waddell was contractor for the stonework. At the time of its construction it was claimed to be the largest hogsback iron bridge in the world.
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