Bourne End Railway Bridge Explained

Bridge Name:Bourne End Railway Bridge
Carries:Marlow Branch Line
Thames Path
Crosses:River Thames
Locale:Bourne End, Buckinghamshire
Design:Box girder and cantilever
Material:Iron
Height:15inchesft6inchesin (ftin)[1]
Open:1895
Coordinates:51.575°N -0.7142°W

Bourne End Railway Bridge is a railway bridge carrying the Marlow Branch Line, and a footpath over the River Thames in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, England. It crosses the Thames on the reach between Cookham Lock and Marlow Lock.

The bridge was originally constructed in wood by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as part of the Wycombe Railway, opened in 1854 and operated in broad gauge until 1870.[2] The narrow spans were unpopular with river traffic and the bridge was reconstructed in steel in 1895. A footbridge, cantilevered out from the railway bridge was added in 1992, to take the Thames Path across the river;[3] this substitutes for the historical towpath crossing point at Spade Oak ferry, about 1 km upstream of the bridge.[4]

In 2013, the bridge was restored and repainted in green, and a large number of rivets which had rusted away were replaced. The restoration took nearly a year to complete, being finished in December.[5] There was a plan to electrify the line,[6] but due to cost overruns during electrifying the GWR main line, this has apparently been postponed indefinitely.

See also

Notes and References

  1. River Thames Alliance. Bridge heights on the River Thames.
  2. Book: Theirs were but human hearts. B.B. Wheals. 1983. H.S. Publishing, Bucks. 113.
  3. Book: Cove-Smith, Chris . The River Thames Book . Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson . 2006 . 0-85288-892-9 .
  4. Web site: Bourne End Rail & Foot Bridge - WHERE THAMES SMOOTH WATERS GLIDE.
  5. Web site: Bourne End railway bridge work 'finished by winter'. 13 Aug 2013. Maidenhead Advertiser. 2014-01-10.
  6. News: Electrification for Bourne End and Marlow rail. Bucks Free Press. 21 Jan 2013. 2014-01-10.