High Level Bridge

2008-12-03T15:31:35Z

Tadramgo: image clarification

{{otheruses}}
{{Infobox Bridge |
|image =
|bridge_name = High Level Bridge
|caption = A [[British Rail Class 156|Class 156]] DMU crossing the bridge, which is clad whilst being restored
|official_name =
|locale = [[NewcastleGateshead|Newcastle-Gateshead]], [[England]]
|carries = Motor vehicle<br>Locomotives<br>Pedestrians
|crosses = [[River Tyne]]
|maint =
|open = [[27 September]] [[1849]]
|below =
|traffic =
|design = [[Girder bridge]]
|toll =
|mainspan = 38.1 m
|length = 407.8 m
|width = 12.2 m
}}

[[Image:High Level Bridge - Newcastle - circa 1852.jpg|thumb|The High Level Bridge behind which is the 1781 stone bridge, in a circa 1852 illustration taken from the [[Gateshead]] bank looking north east]]
[[Image:High Level and Low Level bridges - Newcastle - 1861.jpg|thumb|The High Level Bridge and the 1781 stone bridge, in an 1861 illustration taken from the Gateshead bank looking north west]]
[[Image:High Level Bridge and Swing Bridge - Newcastle Upon Tyne - England - 14082004.jpg|thumbnail|right|The High Level Bridge before its most recent restoration work, towering above the [[Swing Bridge, River Tyne|Swing Bridge]] across the [[River Tyne, England|River Tyne]]; photograph facing [[Newcastle Upon Tyne|Newcastle]]]]
[[Image:High Level Bridge - Medal - 1849.jpg|thumb|Obverse of a medal struck in 1849 to celebrate the 7th June completion of the structure of the High Level Bridge]]
The '''High Level Bridge''' is a road and railway [[bridge]] spanning the [[River Tyne, England|River Tyne]] between [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] and [[Gateshead]] in [[North East England]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Addyman, John|coauthors=Fawcett, Bill|title=The High Level Bridge and Newcastle Central Station – 150 years across the Tyne|publisher=North Eastern Railway Association|date=1999|isbn=1-873513-28-3}}</ref>

==Design==
Designed by [[Robert Stephenson]] and built between 1847 and 1849, it is the first major example of a [[wrought iron]] tied arch or bow-string girder bridge. It is a fine and long standing engineering solution to a difficult problem; the spanning of 1337 feet of river valley, including 512 feet across water. The High Level Bridge has six river spans of 125 feet (38 m) length, sitting on masonry piers, 46 by 16 feet in section and up to 131 feet (40 m) height. There are also four land spans on each side, of 36 feet 3 inches. The single carriageway road and pedestrian walkways occupy the lower deck of the spans, 85 feet above the high water mark, and the railway the upper deck 112 above the high water mark. The total weight of the structure is 5,000 tons.<ref name=Norrie>Charles Matthew Norrie (1956). ''Bridging the Years - a short history of British Civil Engineering''. Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd.</ref><ref name=Measom>George S. Measom, ''The Official Illustrated Guide to the Great Northern Railway'', 1861, Griffin Bohn, London</ref>

According to a contemporary encyclopedia:<ref name=cyclopædia>G. Long, editor. ''The penny cyclopædia'', 1863, Society for the diffusion of useful knowledge.</ref>
:Each river span is crossed by four main [[cast iron]] arched ribs, with horizontal [[tie bar]]s. The roadway is situated between a pair of ribs some 20 feet apart; and walkways are sited on either side of the roadway in a 6 foot gap between the central and outside ribs. The upper, railway, platform, rests on the arches of the ribs, whilst the lower roadway is suspended from the ribs on [[wrought iron]] rods. Each arched rib was cast in five sections. Besides the tie-bars, the ribs are braced by horizontal and vertical bracing frames, while diagonal bracings are inserted in the [[spandrel]]s, or spaces between the arches and the girders which carry the railway. On the tops of the spandrel pillars, girders extend length-wise, from which other stretch at right-angles across the arched ribs. The whole thus has a perfectly rigid character and is found to bear the heaviest weights without deflection.

==History==

The bridge was built for the [[York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway]], and together with Stephenson's [[Royal Border Bridge]] at [[Berwick upon Tweed]], completed the line of a London-Edinburgh railway nowadays known as the [[East Coast Main Line]]. The bridge was opened to rail traffic, without ceremony, on [[15 August]] [[1849]]. It was officially opened on [[27 September]] [[1849]] by [[Victoria of the United Kingdom|Queen Victoria]]; and brought into ordinary use on [[4 February]] [[1850]].<ref name=LocalRecords>John Latimer. ''Local Records, or, Historical Register of Remarkable Events''. 1857</ref>.

The total cost of the bridge was £491,153, broken down as follows: The bridge proper cost £243,096, including £112,000 for the metal work, which was produced by Messers Hawks, Crawshay & Co (and subcontractors). The approaches to the bridge cost £113,057, and land and compensation - including to the 650 Newcastle and 130 Gateshead families who were relocated to enable its construction - £135,000.<ref name=LocalRecords />

It is worth remarking that there were competing plans - not taken forwards - for a low level bridge; in 1836 [[Richard Grainger]] with engineer [[Thomas Sopwith]] proposed a crossing 20 feet above highwater mark, running the Newcastle & Carlisle, Great North of England and Brandling Junction railways into a low level terminus. Under their plans, the Scotland railway would follow contour lines to the east and north, whilst the Carlisle line would be taken up inclined planes.<ref name=Grainger>Richard Grainger, ''A proposal for concentrating the termini of the Newcastle and Carlisle, the Great North of England, and proposed Edinburgh railways; and for providing spacious and eligible depots, with convenient access, from these several railways to the town of Newcastle, submitted to the consideration of the respective companies, and to the proprietors of property.'' Newcastle, 1836</ref>

Stephenson's High Level Bridge was designed after, but completed before his more famous and equally innovative [[Britannia Bridge]] (constructed 1846-50) over the [[Menai Strait]]; it can be seen as a second and more elegant version of the Britannia Bridge, and was to influence [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]] in his design of the [[Royal Albert Bridge]] (1855; constructed 1859) across the [[River Tamar]] at [[Saltash]].<ref name=Norrie />

The High Level Bridge ''began to vibrate like a piece of thin wire''<ref name=vibrate>''Great Conflagration and Explosion at Newcastle and Gateshead'' in The Illustrated London News, October 14th 1854</ref>, but provided an excellent vantage point for the [[Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead]] in 1854.

In 1906, construction of the [[King Edward VII Bridge]], some 500 yards to the west of the High Level Bridge, was completed. This second bridge addressed the central operational weakness of the single bridge, which was that trains entering the station from the south had to be reversed back across the bridge when returning in that direction. It also meant that locomotives had to switch ends before a train could head north towards Edinburgh.

Since the newer bridge opened, the High Level no longer forms part of the [[East Coast Main Line]]. Instead, it provides a route for trains going towards Sunderland, Middlesbrough and, formerly, the [[Leamside Line]]. It is also occasionally used for London trains wanting to turn around as the two bridges are linked on the Gateshead side to form a loop. For this reason, the western track across the bridge is electrified.

==Antecedents==
One of the first to suggest the idea of a high level bridge between Newcastle and Gateshead was [[Edward Hutchinson (master-mason)|Edward Hutchinson]], a Newcastle master-mason, who, when the old Tyne Bridge was swept away in 1771, brought a prospectus and plan before the Newcastle Corporation; but the plan was premature and nothing was done. In 1833 a plan was presented for an elevated suspension bridge, by [[B. R. Dodd]], a Newcastle civil engineer, at an estimated cost of £77,000; but this project was also abandoned. About the year 1839 Messers John and Benjamin Green published a scheme for a high level bridge. Although a committee of the Newcastle Corporation reported in favour of the plan, it likewise was abandoned.

Another plan for a high level bridge was that of [[Richard Grainger]], who proposed to erect a superstructure on the Tyne Bridge, consisting of a viaduct for passengers and other traffic, supported on metal tubes resting upon piers of the bridge. Grainger's proposals, which, like others, left the railway connection severed, did not meet with much favour.

The most important proposal of all was that of [[John Dobson (architect)|John Dobson]], the architect of many of Newcastle's finer buildings. His plan provided a road for horse carriages and foot passengers in addition to two lines of railway, and included the formation of a grand central railway station in Neville Street.<ref>[http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q=&scope=books&FORM=BCBB#q=High%20Level%20Bridge%20Newcastle&filter=all&start=5&t=unwW0Mas_rOjCvmZNgp3bA&sq=High%20Level%20Bridge%20Newcastle The Monthly Chronicle of North-country Lore and Legend], Newcastle Weekly Chronicle, W. Scott, 1891, from [[Live Search Books]]</ref>

==Restoration==
To ensure its long-term future the bridge was closed to road traffic in February 2005. Essential maintenance included replacement of wooden supports beneath the road deck. Although originally expected to reopen in late-2005 the bridge remained closed until 2 June 2008 as severe cracks were found in some of the bridge's iron [[girder]]s. In March 2006 the bridge's footpath, which was to have been kept open during the restoration project, was closed at the request of Network Rail due to vandalism and the increasing scale of required works. <ref>
{{cite news
| title =Bridge path set to close
| work =[[The Journal (North East England)|The Journal]]
| publisher =icNewcastle.co.uk
| date =[[2006-02-09]]
| url =http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/eveningchronicle/eveningchronicle/tm_objectid=16684487%26method=full%26siteid=50081-name_page.html
| accessdate =2007-02-20}}
</ref>
Extra crash barriers on each side of the roadway were added leaving space for only one lane of traffic. The bridge now operates only in a southbound (towards Gateshead) direction<ref>[http://www.newcastle.gov.uk/press.nsf/newsbyid/56025254CFD1B5B68025735C002CBD2A?opendocument New start for High Level Bridge - Press Office]</ref> and carries only bus, taxi and north- and southbound pedestrian traffic.

The bridge reopened to restricted traffic on 2 June 2008 <ref>[http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2008/06/02/first-traffic-in-three-years-crosses-bridge-61634-21007417/ First traffic in three years crosses bridge - JournalLive]</ref>.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.newcastle-arts-centre.co.uk/high-%20level.htm High Level: 150 years at Newcastle]
* {{Structurae|id=s0002252|title=Newcastle High Level Bridge}}
*[http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~tynesidehistory/bridges.html Tyne Bridges]
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{{TyneCrossings|west=[[Queen Elizabeth II Metro Bridge]]|east=[[Swing Bridge, River Tyne|Swing Bridge]]}}

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[[Category:Bridges completed in 1849]]
[[Category:Bridges in Tyne and Wear]]
[[Category:Transport in Tyne and Wear]]
[[Category:Grade I listed bridges]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Newcastle upon Tyne]]
[[Category:Road-rail bridges]]
[[Category:Grade I listed buildings in Tyne and Wear]]
[[Category:Crossings of the River Tyne]]

[[fr:High Level Bridge]]

Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

High Level Bridge