Monkwearmouth Railway Bridge

Monkwearmouth Bridge, in front of the Wearmouth Bridge

in Sunderland

Also known as Sunderland railway bridge or Wearmouth railway bridge.

Opened in 1879, crossing the River Wear between Sunderland and Monkwearmouth, adjacent to and upstream of the Wearmouth Bridge.

Designed by Thomas Elliot Harrison. 300 ft main span, it is an iron bowstring bridge, constructed from box girders connected by a Vierendeel truss with curved corner strengthening to create elliptical voids in the bracing. At either end of the bridge are three 25 ft span masonry arches. Hawks, Crawshay and Sons built the ironwork, and John Waddell was contractor for the stonework.

The above information is largely condensed from the Wikipedia entry.

Some excellent illustrations here, including a photograph of a steam-driven 'goliath' crane used in the construction of the bridge.

See Also

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