Battersea Railway Bridge

Infobox Bridge

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bridge_name = Battersea Railway Bridge
caption = Battersea Railway Bridge from the south west
official_name =
locale = London, England
carries = Railway
crosses = River Thames
maint =
open = March 1863
below =
traffic =
design = Arch bridge
toll =
mainspan =
length =
width =

The Battersea Railway Bridge - properly called the Cremorne Bridge, after the pleasure grounds in Chelsea and originally commonly referred to as the Battersea New Bridge - is an east-west bridge across the River Thames in London, between Battersea and Chelsea and forming part of the West London Line of the London Overground from Clapham Junction to Willesden Junction.

History

The bridge was designed by William Baker, chief engineer of the London and North Western Railway, and was opened in March 1863 at a cost of £87,000. [ [http://thames.me.uk/s00200.htm Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide] ] It carries two sets of railway lines and consists of five convert|120|ft|adj=on lattice girder arches set on stone piers. Within Network Rail, this bridge is also referred to as "Chelsea River Bridge" (Engineers Line Reference WLL, Bridge No. 9).

Strictly speaking, this structure may be considered a viaduct as it consists of 5 spans (Network Rail Bridge Book definition).

There is a three-arch brick viaduct on either side of the bridge. An arch on the north side has been opened to provide a pedestrian route under the railway, as part of the Thames Path.

The bridge was strengthened & refurbished in 1969, and again in 1992. During a high tide in late 2003, the structure was struck by a refuse-barge, and some of the lower structural elements damaged significantly. Until the repairs in early 2004, the up line (normal direction from West Brompton towards Clapham (Latchmere junction)) was blocked to locomotive hauled freight traffic, which in turn caused extensive delays to passenger services on the West London Line. Upon completion of the repairs by Edmund Nuttall Ltd, all restrictions were lifted.

Trains crossing the bridge are subject to a 20/30mph speed limit (locomotive-hauled traffic is restricted to 20mph, all other traffic is limited to 30mph). The lines are bi-directionally signalled in this area; thus each line can be travelled in each direction.

The structure is currently being proposed as a listed building by Natural England.

See also

* Crossings of the River Thames

References

Further reading

* Loobet, Patrick — "Battersea Past", 2002, p49. Historical Publications Ltd. ISBN 0-948667-76-1

External links

*

Crossings navbox
structure = Crossings
place = River Thames
upstream=Wandsworth Bridge|downstream=Battersea Bridge|bridge = Battersea Railway Bridge
Grid reference: gbm4ibx|TQ266764