Staines Railway Bridge is a railway viaduct in

Staines-upon-Thames Staines-upon-Thames, also known simply as Staines, is a market town in northwest Surrey, England, around west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne, at the confluence of the River Thames and River Colne, Hertfordshire, Colne. ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, around west of central London. It carries the

Waterloo to Reading line Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia *Waterloo, New South Wales ...

across the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

. Immediately to the east is Thames Street bridge, which carries the railway over the B376 and the

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from one of its sources near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 ...

Description

Staines Railway Bridge carries the two tracks of the electrified

across the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

, South East England. The bridge is upstream of

London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...

and has a total length of . It is built of

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

girders supported on six

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

pillars, embedded in the river bed. The central span is and the two adjacent spans are . There are four brick flood arches on the southern bank, each with a span of . The clearance below the bridge for river traffic is .

History

The Staines, Wokingham and Woking Railway Act 1853 ( 16 & 17 Vict. c. lxxxv) authorised the Staines, Wokingham and Woking railway (SWWR) to build a line between and railway stations. Staines Railway Bridge was designed by John Gardner and was built by Cochrane & Co at a total cost of around £10,000. The bridge was completed in 1856, and the first part of the railway line, between Staines and , opened on 6 July that year. The SWWR merged with the

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exete ...

in 1878. The main bridge girders were strengthened in 1915, and the line across the viaduct was

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

in 1937. During the Second World War, the line was used to transport supplies to

Portsmouth Naval Base His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is loc ...

and the bridge was guarded by a dedicated army

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

of around 25 soldiers. In 1995, a yellow stripe was painted onto each side of the viaduct in a £15,000 experimental project to prevent swans from flying into it.

Thames Street bridge

The adjacent Thames Street bridge, which carries the railway over the B376 and the

, was named in 2021 as one of the country's ten railway bridges most likely to be struck by vehicles.

References

{{River item box Bridges across the River Thames Railway bridges in Surrey Bridges completed in 1856 Staines-upon-Thames

Description

History

Thames Street bridge

See also

References