A transporter bridge, also known as a ferry bridge or aerial transfer bridge, is a type of
movable bridge that carries a segment of roadway across a river. The
gondola is slung from a tall span by
wire
file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample d ...
s or a metal frame. The design has been used to cross navigable
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
s or other bodies of water, where there is a requirement for ship traffic to be able to pass. This has been a rare type of bridge, with fewer than two dozen built. There are just twelve that continue to be used today.
History
The concept of the transporter bridge was invented in 1873 by Charles Smith (1844–1882), the manager of an engine works in
Hartlepool
Hartlepool ( ) is a seaside resort, seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is governed by a unitary authority borough Borough of Hartlepool, named after the town. The borough is part of the devolved Tees Valley area with an estimat ...
, England. He called it a "bridge ferry" and unsuccessfully presented his ideas to councils in Hartlepool,
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...
, and
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
.
The first transporter bridge,
Vizcaya Bridge was built between
Las Arenas and
Portugalete, Spain, in 1893. The design from
Alberto Palacio
Alberto de Palacio y Elissague (1856–1939) was a Spanish engineer and architect born in Sare, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Sare (Northern Basque Country) and grown up in Gordexola.ferries
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus.
...
are not easily able to cross. Because transporter bridges can carry only a limited load, the idea was little used after the rise of the
automobile
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
.
The first such bridge built in France, the 1898
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
bridge crossing the
Seine
The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
, was destroyed by the French Army to slow down German troops in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Transporter bridges were popular in France, where five were erected and another partially completed.

The United Kingdom has four transporter bridges, though
Warrington Transporter Bridge is disused and the modern
Royal Victoria Dock Bridge, though designed with the potential to be used as a transporter bridge, has so far only been used as a high-level footbridge. The
Newport Transporter Bridge was built in 1906 across the
River Usk
The River Usk (; ) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it flows north int ...
in
Newport. Because the river banks are very low at the crossing point (a few miles south of the city centre) a traditional bridge would need a very long approach ramp and a ferry could not be used at low tide. The Newport Bridge was a
Ferdinand Arnodin design. The
Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge opened in 1911 crossing the
River Tees
The River Tees (), in England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea in the North East of England. The modern-day history of the river has been tied with the industries ...
.
[ It was featured in the 2002 series of the popular British TV show '']Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' () is a British comedy-drama television programme about seven British construction workers who leave the United Kingdom to search for employment overseas. In the first series, the men live and work on a building site ...
''; the programme's plot had the bridge being dismantled and re-erected in Arizona, US. The Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge, demolished in the early 1960s, was the first of its type in Britain, and the largest ever built.
In the United States, two such bridges were built. The first was the Aerial Bridge built in Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...
in 1905, although the city had originally planned to build a vertical lift bridge at the site. The transporter design was used for about 25 years before the structure was reconfigured to lift a central span in 1930.
The second American transporter bridge was different from other designs and partially resembled gondola lifts used in mountainous regions. The Sky Ride was part of the 1933–34 Chicago World's Fair (" Century of Progress"). It was taken down after two years, and was the longest bridge of this type ever built at the time.
Two historic transporter bridges survive in Germany. The bridge
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
at Rendsburg
Rendsburg (, also ''Rensborg'', , also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the Eider (river), River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Eckernfoerde, Rends ...
, from 1913 is two bridges in one: a railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
link crosses on the top span, and the suspended ferry carries traffic on the valley floor. The Osten Transporter Bridge at Osten is four years older and was the first transporter bridge in Germany.
List of transporter bridges
Existing bridges
Historic bridges
See also
* Movable bridges for a list of other movable bridge types
References
Related Articles
* Southwest Line
External links
The Friends of Newport Transporter Bridge
BBC Article on the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
Warrington Transporter Bridge
BBC article on the Bridges of the River Tees
Structurae: Transporter bridges
The World of Transporter bridges
Rochefort Transporter Bridge official website
Transporter Bridges on historic postcards
Transporter Bridges
o
Skyscraperpage.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transporter Bridge
1873 introductions
British inventions
Spanish inventions
Bridges by structural type