Railway Bridge Over Leeds Liverpool Canal - Thackley, UK - Railroad Bridges on Waymarking.com

The Leeds and Bradford Railway (L&BR) was formed in 1843 to bring the railway to Bradford: the line opened on 1 July 1846. The company was always closely allied with the Midland Railway, and within ten years the L&BR had been absorbed into the Midland, and disappeared.

The engineer in charge of the project was George Stephenson, who had been one of the engineers for the NMR's line. He routed the line up the Aire valley to Shipley, and then south up Bradforddale to Bradford — the only reasonably flat approach to Bradford.

There are two bridges very close together here and this Bradford City website about the area has this information "In the early 20th century the railway was widened from 2 lines to 4 lines, necessitating the widening of the tunnel, embankment and the construction of the second bridge. The older pair of lines has since been closed and the rails removed and as such, the northern bridge is maintained, while the southern bridge has been allowed to deteriorate, though both of these riveted iron bridges are rusty and neglected."

Today the line is run by West Yorkshire Metro: they form parts of the Leeds-Bradford Lines, the Airedale Line and the Wharfedale Line. Most services are provided by Northern Rail, with a few long-distance services from NXEC.

There are two unconnected railway stations in Bradford, both with routes through to Leeds. This line connects to Bradford Forster Square station on the north side of the city. This line is electrified whereas the other one isn't and uses diesel powered trains.

Near to this point the canal tow path shares a track leading to fields and the bridge has to cross this track as well as the canal.

As far as the Leeds Liverpool Canal is concerned this is bridge 212A.

Bridge Type: Girder Bridge Usage: Railroad Moving Bridge: This bridge is static (has no moving pieces)

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