This list is intended to help identify a particular early form of lattice girder bridge which was popular with bridge engineers particularly in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century.
The term "lattice girder", is used in the UK and "lattice truss" is more widely used in the USA. A lattice girder or truss is often defined only in two dimensions, that is (in the case of a bridge) the structure as seen from the side.[1] Such definitions sufficed for the early lattice girders such as the US Town truss which was designed for construction in timber. Early iron structures using a Town-type lattice replicated this appearance, leading to the instantly recognisable lattice-work shown in the bridges in Part A of this list. However, design considerations required that an iron (as opposed to a wooden) structure required many of the latticed bars to be stiffened in the third dimension. Thus, on closer examination, the delicate appearance of these early iron lattices is belied by this much more complex stiffening in the thickness or third dimension. This complex stiffening is itself also sometimes described as a ‘lattice girder’, being composed of (typically) two or four parallel flat or angled steel bars, closely spaced but linked by lattice work. Such a member is better described as a "laced strut", and such members frequently form a significant part of a lattice girder. The use of laced struts within a lattice girder can be seen in the two photographs of the c1860s lattice girder bridge at Llandeilo.
The first table lists these early examples. (Note that some bridges, for example the New Clyde Viaduct (or Second Caledonian Bridge) in Glasgow, appear to be of lattice construction whereas in fact the latticing is used solely for the protective parapet.)
In later forms, various developments took place: for example, the lattice became less dense and each individual diagonal thus much more substantial; vertical members were introduced; and eventually both diagonal and vertical members achieved cross-sectional dimensions comparable to those of the main top and bottom components, thus forming what is more commonly known as a truss.
The second table lists these later developments.
| Notes | Image | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bennerley Viaduct | 1877 | One of only two iron trestle bridges still in situ in the UK. | ||
| Kew Railway Bridge | 1869 | |||
| Runcorn Railway Bridge | 1868 | Also known as Ethelfleda Bridge or Britannia Bridge. Carries the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line over the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal. | ||
| Marton Junction Bridge | 1851 | |||
| Darcy Lever Railway Bridge | 1848 | Rebuilt in 1883, but it is thought that the original girders were used. | ||
| Cadishead Viaduct | 1892 | |||
| Fulham Railway Bridge | 1889 | |||
| Wandsworth Bridge | 1873 | Replaced by the current bridge in 1937 | ||
| Cornbrook Viaduct (Castlefield) | 1877 | |||
| Great Northern Viaduct (Castlefield) | 1894 | |||
| Llandeilo Railway Bridge | 1852 | |||
| Partick Railway Bridge | 1900 | |||
| Westburn Viaduct | 1897 | |||
| Burntisland | 1888 | |||
| Irlam Viaduct | 1873 | |||
| Monk Bridge | ||||
| Sheffield District Railway Bridge, Brightside | 1900 | |||
| Logierait Bridge | 1865 | |||
| Warmsworth Viaduct | 1910 | |||
| Pont Goed Bridge, Pentre Berw, Isle of Anglesey | 1867 | |||
| Halkirk Bridge | 1874 | |||
| Kinbrace Railway Bridge | 1874 | |||
| Darwen Street Bridge, Blackburn | 1847 | |||
| Wishaw Railway Bridge | 1849 | |||
| Gallowgate Railway Bridge | 1870 | |||
| Oykel Viaduct, Invershin | 1868 | |||
| Sainsbury's Bridge, Bath | 1870 | |||
| Waterloo Railway Bridge | 1864 | |||
| Oxford Gasworks Bridge | 1882 | |||
| Llangefni Railway Bridge | 1866 | |||
| Bowshank Railway Bridge | 1849 | |||
| Brixton Railway Bridge | 1867 | |||
| Rochester Railway Bridge | 1891 | |||
| Coatbridge Railway Bridge | 1898 | |||
| Montrose Viaduct | 1880 | The end span (see photo) is a conventional Town-type lattice. However, the bulk of this long viaduct consists of longer spans each of which has been strengthened by adding a small degree of upward curvature to the upper horizontals. This makes this structure a unique example of a Town-type bowstring lattice. | ||
| Bath Station Railway Bridge | 1878 | |||
| Dolemeads Bridge, Bath | ||||
| Croxley Green Railway Bridge | 1912 | |||
| River Trent Bridge, Melbourne, Derbyshire | 1868 | |||
| Dutch River Bridge, Goole | 1848 | |||
| Fortyfoot Bridge, Lincolnshire | 1882 | |||
| Wick River Bridge, Sibster, Caithness | 1874 | |||
| Broadford Bridge, near Guildford, Surrey | ||||
| Cragganmore Railway Bridge | 1863 | |||
| Crow Road Railway Bridge (1), Glasgow | 1885 | Estimated date of construction. Railways in this part of Glasgow were opened in the mid-1880s. | ||
| Crow Road Railway Bridge (2), Glasgow | 1885 | Estimated date of construction. Railways in this part of Glasgow were opened in the mid-1880s. | ||
| Burnham Road Railway Bridge, Scotstoun, Glasgow | 1907 |
| Notes | Image | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dowery Dell Viaduct | 1883 | A rare example of a lattice girder superstructure supported on trestles. Built by the Halesowen Joint Railway. Demolished 1964. | ||
| Hungerford Bridge | 1864 | |||
| Wicker Viaduct | 1848 |