Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
River Tees, Port Clarence to Middlesbrough
associated engineer
Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Co.
date October 1911
era Modern |
category Bridge |
OS grid reference NZ498213
ICE reference number HEW 10
photo PHEW
This is the only working example in England of a transporter bridge. It can carry nine vehicles at a time on its yellow-painted travelling car and takes two and a half minutes to cross the Tees.
Charles Smith of Hartlepool Ironworks put forward the notion of transporter bridges in the 1870s. His idea was taken up by Ferdinand Arnodin, whose first one opened in 1893 in Bilbao, Spain.
Middlesbrough's bridge, which has come to visually define the town, was opened by Prince Arthur of Connaught in 1911. A steel truss spans the 565ft between its two towers, clearing the water by 160ft and balanced by cantilevered end spans of 140ft each. The end spans are anchored to the ground with steel cables.
The suspended travelling compartment has been tested to a load of 80 tons. It hangs by wires from a carriage that runs along the girders.
Contractors: Sir William Arrol & Co., Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Ltd
Location
Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
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