Staines Railway Bridge Explained

Bridge Name:Staines Railway Bridge
Carries:Waterloo to Reading line
Crosses:River Thames
Locale:Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey
Maint:Network Rail
Designer:John Gardner
Material:Cast iron and wrought iron
Spans:3
Pierswater:6 (two groups of three)
Clearance Below:[1]
Open:1856
Coordinates:51.4306°N -0.5112°W

Staines Railway Bridge is a railway viaduct in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, around 17.25miles west of central London. It carries the Waterloo to Reading line across the Thames. Immediately to the east is Thames Street bridge, which carries the railway over the B376 and the Thames Path.

History

An act of parliament was granted in 1853, authorising the Staines, Wokingham and Woking railway (SWWR) to build a line between Staines and Wokingham railway stations. Construction of the Staines Railway Bridge, across the River Thames, was completed in 1856. The SWWR merged with the London and South Western Railway in 1878.[2] [3] The line across the viaduct was electrified in 1937.[4]

Staines Railway Bridge was designed by John Gardner and cost £10,000 to build. It is constructed of wrought iron girders supported on six cast iron pillars, embedded in the river bed. The main span is wide and the total length of the bridge is .[5] It is upstream of London Bridge.[6]

During the Second World War, the line was used to transport supplies to Portsmouth Naval Base and the bridge was guarded by a dedicated army platoon of around 25 soldiers.[7] In 1995, the viaduct was painted bright yellow in a £15,000 experimental project to prevent swans from flying into it.[8]

Thames Street bridge

The adjacent Thames Street bridge, which carries the railway over the B376 and the Thames Path, was named in 2021 as one of the country's ten railway bridges most likely to be struck by vehicles.[9] [10]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: River Thames: distances and measurements for boaters . 21 February 2023 . 12 February 2020 . Environment Agency . 16 December 2023 .
  2. Book: Maryfield, Pamela . 2006 . Staines : A history . Chichester . Phillimore . 98 . 978-1-86-077420-1.
  3. Book: Mills, John . 1993 . A guide to the industrial history of Spelthorne . Surrey Industrial History Group . Guildford . 4 . 978-0-95-096976-3 .
  4. Book: Mitchell . Vic . Smith . Keith . 1989 . Branch lines around Ascot : from Ash Vale, Weybridge, Staines and Wokingham. Midhurst . Middleton . Introduction . 978-0-90-652064-2.
  5. Book: Humber, William . 1861 . A complete treatise on cast and wrought iron bridge construction . I . E. & F. N. Spon . London . 178–179 . 16 December 2023 .
  6. Book: Woodgate, Walter Bradford . 1889 . Boating . Longmans, Green and Company . London . 309 . 16 December 2023 .
  7. News: Deedes . F.W. . Bill Deedes . 3 September 1999 . We seem to have started - it's all so silly . Daily Telegraph . 44856 . 15 .
  8. News: A paint job for swans . 12 October 1995 . Staines and Ashford News . 1.
  9. News: Evans . Alec . 29 November 2021 . Surrey railway bridge named as one of Britain 's most-hit by vehicles . Surrey Live . 16 December 2023 .
  10. News: Strudwick . Matt . 16 February 2023 . Notorious Staines bridge recently named among most-hit struck by lorry again . Surrey Live . 16 December 2023 .