Royal Albert Bridge
| Royal Albert Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Coordinates | 50°24′27″N 4°12′12″W / 50.4076°N 4.2034°WCoordinates: 50°24′27″N 4°12′12″W / 50.4076°N 4.2034°W |
| Carries | Railway |
| Crosses | River Tamar |
| Locale | Between Plymouth and Saltash, United Kingdom |
| Maintained by | Network Rail |
| Heritage status | Grade I listed |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Lenticular truss |
| Material | Iron |
| Total length | 2,187.5 feet (666.8 m) |
| Width | 16.83 feet (5.13 m) (inside piers) |
| Height | 172 feet (52.4 m) |
| Longest span | 2 of 455 feet (138.7 m) |
| No. of spans | 19 |
| Piers in water | 3 |
| Clearance below | 100 feet (30 m) |
| History | |
| Designer | I K Brunel |
| Construction begin | May 1854 |
| Construction end | April 1859 |
| Opened | 2 May 1859 |
The Royal Albert Bridge is a railway bridge which spans the River Tamar in England between Plymouth, Devon and Saltash, Cornwall. Its unique design consists of two 455-foot (138.7 m) lenticular iron trusses 100 feet (30.5 m) above the water, with conventional plate-girder approach spans. This gives it a total length of 2,187.5 feet (666.8 m). It carries the Cornish Main Line railway in and out of Cornwall. It is adjacent to the Tamar Bridge which opened in 1962 to carry the A38 road.
The Royal Albert Bridge was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Surveying started in 1848 and construction commenced in 1854. The first main span was positioned in 1857 and the completed bridge was opened by Prince Albert on 2 May 1859. Brunel died later that year and his name was then placed above the portals at either end of the bridge as a memorial. Work was carried out during the twentieth century to replace the approach spans and strengthen the main spans. It has attracted sightseers since its construction and has appeared in many paintings, photographs, guidebooks, postage stamps and on the UK £2 coin. Anniversary celebrations took place in 1959 and 2009.
Two rival schemes for a railway to Falmouth, Cornwall were proposed in the 1830s. The 'central' scheme was a route from Exeter around the north of Dartmoor, an easy route to construct but with little intermediate traffic. The other, the 'coastal' scheme, was a line with many engineering difficulties but which could serve the important naval town of Devonport and the industrial area around St Austell. The central scheme was backed by the London and South Western Railway while the coastal scheme was promoted by the Cornwall Railway and backed by the Great Western Railway which wanted it to join up with the South Devon Railway at Devonport. The Cornwall Railway applied for an Act of Parliament in 1845 but it was rejected, in part because of William Moorsom's plan to carry trains across the water of the Hamoaze on the Devonport-to-Torpoint Ferry. Following this Isambard Kingdom Brunel took over as engineer and proposed to cross the water higher upstream using a bridge at Saltash instead. The Act enabling this scheme was passed on 3 August 1846.
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