Newport & Transporter Bridges, Middlesbrough, May 2012
With our original target for the night a failure (basically we were too late and it was gone
), we headed over to the trusty, ever present bridges of Middlesbrough.
I've done Newport a few times now but it was my first up the Transporter. Newport is definitely still my favourite of the two in every way... the climb, the views, the bridge its self, all greatly superior imo.
A bit of background on Newport Bridge
Wiki
Opened to traffic on 28 February 1934 by the Duke of York, the Tees Newport Bridge spans the River Tees a short distance upriver from Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge, linking Middlesbrough with the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, England. Designed by Mott, Hay and Anderson and built by local company Dorman Long, who have also been responsible for such structures as the Tyne Bridge and Sydney Harbour Bridge, it was the first large vertical lift bridge in Britain. The bridge was opened by the Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI).
Constructed around twin 182ft (55m) lifting towers, the 270ft (82m) bridge span, weighing 2,700 tonnes, could be lifted by the use of two 325 H.P. electric motors at 52ft per minute to a maximum height of 120ft (37m). In the event of motor failure a standby 450 H.P. petrol engine could be employed to move the bridge, but should both systems fail it was possible to raise or lower the span manually using a winch mechanism. It was estimated in 1963 by Mr R. Batty, long time Bridge Master at Newport Bridge, that "it would take 12 men eight hours" to complete the movement by hand.
Originally 12 men would have been employed to man the bridge around the clock, usually requiring four to drive it at any one time. This was accomplished from the oak-panelled winding house situated midway along the bridge span. During the 1940s and early 1950s this would occur up to twice a day with an average of 800 vessels per week passing under it,[3] however, as the number of ships needing to sail up to Stockton-on-Tees declined, so did the usage of the bridge.
Legal requirement to lift the bridge for shipping traffic was removed in 1989 after the repeal of a parliamentary act. Before mechanical decommissioning Mr Ian MacDonald who worked on the bridge from 1966, finally as Bridge Master, supervised the final lift on 18 November 1990.
Bit of background on The Transport Bridge
Wiki
Following a 1907 Act of Parliament the bridge was built at a cost of £68,026 6s 8d (£5,330,000 as of 2012),[1] by Sir William Arrol & Co. of Glasgow between 1910 and 1911 to replace an earlier steam ferry.[2] A transporter bridge was chosen because Parliament ruled that the new scheme of crossing the river had to avoid affecting the river navigation. The opening ceremony on the 17 October 1911 was performed by Prince Arthur of Connaught.
The Tees Transporter Bridge has an overall length (including cantilevers) of 851 feet (259 m), leaving a span between the centres of the towers of 580 feet (180 m), the beam of the bridge being carried at a height of 160 feet (49 m) above the road. This combined with an overall height of 225 feet (69 m), makes this bridge the second largest example remaining in the world.
It was absolutely freezing and blowing a gale by the time we got there so I didn't take many usable photos but here's a few of what I did take.
All in all a pretty epic back up plan
Cheers for looking
With our original target for the night a failure (basically we were too late and it was gone
), we headed over to the trusty, ever present bridges of Middlesbrough.I've done Newport a few times now but it was my first up the Transporter. Newport is definitely still my favourite of the two in every way... the climb, the views, the bridge its self, all greatly superior imo.
A bit of background on Newport Bridge
Wiki
Opened to traffic on 28 February 1934 by the Duke of York, the Tees Newport Bridge spans the River Tees a short distance upriver from Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge, linking Middlesbrough with the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, England. Designed by Mott, Hay and Anderson and built by local company Dorman Long, who have also been responsible for such structures as the Tyne Bridge and Sydney Harbour Bridge, it was the first large vertical lift bridge in Britain. The bridge was opened by the Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI).
Constructed around twin 182ft (55m) lifting towers, the 270ft (82m) bridge span, weighing 2,700 tonnes, could be lifted by the use of two 325 H.P. electric motors at 52ft per minute to a maximum height of 120ft (37m). In the event of motor failure a standby 450 H.P. petrol engine could be employed to move the bridge, but should both systems fail it was possible to raise or lower the span manually using a winch mechanism. It was estimated in 1963 by Mr R. Batty, long time Bridge Master at Newport Bridge, that "it would take 12 men eight hours" to complete the movement by hand.
Originally 12 men would have been employed to man the bridge around the clock, usually requiring four to drive it at any one time. This was accomplished from the oak-panelled winding house situated midway along the bridge span. During the 1940s and early 1950s this would occur up to twice a day with an average of 800 vessels per week passing under it,[3] however, as the number of ships needing to sail up to Stockton-on-Tees declined, so did the usage of the bridge.
Legal requirement to lift the bridge for shipping traffic was removed in 1989 after the repeal of a parliamentary act. Before mechanical decommissioning Mr Ian MacDonald who worked on the bridge from 1966, finally as Bridge Master, supervised the final lift on 18 November 1990.
Bit of background on The Transport Bridge
Wiki
Following a 1907 Act of Parliament the bridge was built at a cost of £68,026 6s 8d (£5,330,000 as of 2012),[1] by Sir William Arrol & Co. of Glasgow between 1910 and 1911 to replace an earlier steam ferry.[2] A transporter bridge was chosen because Parliament ruled that the new scheme of crossing the river had to avoid affecting the river navigation. The opening ceremony on the 17 October 1911 was performed by Prince Arthur of Connaught.
The Tees Transporter Bridge has an overall length (including cantilevers) of 851 feet (259 m), leaving a span between the centres of the towers of 580 feet (180 m), the beam of the bridge being carried at a height of 160 feet (49 m) above the road. This combined with an overall height of 225 feet (69 m), makes this bridge the second largest example remaining in the world.
It was absolutely freezing and blowing a gale by the time we got there so I didn't take many usable photos but here's a few of what I did take.
All in all a pretty epic back up plan
Cheers for looking
