Grosvenor Bridge, originally known as, and alternatively called Victoria Railway Bridge, is a railway bridge over 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 ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, between Vauxhall Bridge and Chelsea Bridge. Originally constructed in 1860, and widened in 1865 and 1907, the bridge was extensively rebuilt and widened again in the 1960s as an array of ten parallel bridges. There are now eight tracks across the bridge.

History

The original bridge was constructed in the mid-nineteenth century in two stages: the first bridge was built by the Victoria Station and Pimlico Railway between 1859 and 1860 at a cost of £84,000 to carry two tracks into Victoria Station; it was the first railway bridge across the Thames in central London. The engineer was Sir John Fowler. The bridge was widened by four tracks on the eastern side for the

London, Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR (known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton)) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at ...

and

London, Chatham and Dover Railway The London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR or LC&DR) was a railway company in south-eastern England. It was created on 1 August 1859, when the East Kent Railway was given parliamentary approval to change its name. Its lines ran through Lond ...

between 1865 and 1866, at a cost of £245,000. Sir Charles Fox was the engineer. In 1907 the bridge was widened again with a further track, on the western side, for the

. ''Railway Magazine'', 1963, p.533 In 1963–1967, the structure of the bridge was completely renewed and modernized, leaving only the cores of the original piers. At the same time, a tenth track was added in a space formerly used for gas mains. To minimize disruption to traffic, each track was renewed separately, and put back into service before the next one was closed. The designer for this work was Freeman Fox & Partners, and the project engineer was A. H. Cantrell, chief civil engineer of the Southern Region of British Rail. ''Railway Magazine'', 1963, pp.534, 542 It was said to be the busiest railway bridge in the world with 1000 trains crossing per day in 1968.

Location

On the north bank is

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

to the north and east and Chelsea to the west; the Lister Hospital and the Royal Chelsea Hospital lie immediately to the north west. On the south bank is

Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth, with some parts (including the Nine Elms tube station, tube station) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. It lies on the River Thame ...

to the east and Battersea to the west. Battersea Power Station is immediately to the south of the bridge, and

Battersea Park Battersea Park is a 200-acre (83-hectare) green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea, London, Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies ...

to the south west.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * *, republished with permission via ''https://sremg.org.uk'' * Video of 1960s reconstruction

External links

* *
Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide
{{coord, 51, 29, 05, N, 0, 08, 51, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Bridges completed in 1860 Bridges completed in 1967 Railway bridges in London Bridges across the River Thames Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Wandsworth Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Transport in the London Borough of Wandsworth Transport in the City of Westminster 1860 establishments in England