Staines Railway Bridge

Description

Staines Railway Bridge carries the two tracks of the electrified Waterloo to Reading line across the River Thames in Surrey, South East England. The bridge is 35 mi upstream of London Bridge and has a total length of 279 ft. It is built of wrought iron girders supported on six cast iron pillars, embedded in the river bed.

The central span is 88 ft and the two adjacent spans are 85 ft. There are four brick flood arches on the southern bank, each with a span of 25 ft. The clearance below the bridge for river traffic is 6.4 m.

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. The main bridge girders were strengthened in 1915,

During the Second World War, the line was used to transport supplies to Portsmouth Naval Base and the bridge was guarded by a dedicated army platoon 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 Thames Path, was named in 2021 as one of the country's ten railway bridges most likely to be struck by vehicles.

References

References

1. (21 February 2023). "River Thames: distances and measurements for boaters". Environment Agency.
2. Lunn, Geoff. (2022). "Thames Crossings through Time". Amberley Publishing.
3. Woodgate, Walter Bradford. (1889). "Boating". Longmans, Green and Company.
4. Humber, William. (1861). "A complete treatise on cast and wrought iron bridge construction". E. & F. N. Spon.
5. Davenport, Neil. (2006). "Thames Bridges from Dartford to the Source". Silver Link.
6. Phillips, Geoffrey. (1981). "Thames Crossings: Bridges, Tunnels, and Ferries". David & Charles.
7. Maryfield, Pamela. (2006). "Staines : A history". Phillimore.
8. Mills, John. (1993). "A guide to the industrial history of Spelthorne". Surrey Industrial History Group.
9. Deedes, F.W.. (3 September 1999). "We seem to have started - it's all so silly". Daily Telegraph.
10. (12 October 1995). "A paint job for swans". Staines and Ashford News.
11. Evans, Alec. (29 November 2021). "Surrey railway bridge named as one of Britain 's most-hit by vehicles". Surrey Live.
12. Strudwick, Matt. (16 February 2023). "Notorious Staines bridge recently named among most-hit struck by lorry again". Surrey Live.