Bridge 8 On Rufford Branch Of Leeds Liverpool Canal - Burscough, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 38.482 W 002° 48.889
30U E 512242 N 5943638
This swing bridge was built as an accommodation bridge.
Waymark Code: WMQEJH
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/16/2016
Views: 2
The main line of the canal is 127.25 miles long and flows from the inland woollen town of Leeds to the coastal sea port of Liverpool, crossing the Pennines along the way. Work on the canal started in 1770 and built in a number of sections and was finally completed in 1816.
This branch off the main line links Burscough to the River Douglas at Tarleton. This was also built in stages between 1760 and 1805.
The canal is a broad canal and the maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 62 feet long and 14 feet wide. The maximum headroom is 7 feet and 8 inches. The maximum draught is 3 feet and 7 inches.
The Bridge
The bridge known as Town Meadow Bridge was originally built in 1820 as a wooden manually operated swing bridge. It is now a steel counterweight manually operated bridge.
"John Powell reports that the 1965 BW bridge survey recorded the bridge as a timber swing accommodation bridge owned by British Waterways. It had a span of 38 feet 11 inches over a clear waterway width of 17 feet 10 inches indicating that it was of a balanced cantilever design.
The timber bridge has subsequently been replaced by a counterweighted steel swing bridge."
link
The bridge has a board with the following operating instructions.
Welcome to
Town Meadow Swing Bridge
Bridge 8
To open
Unlock lock using anti-vandal key
Release chain
Open swing bridge
To close
Close swing bridge checking alignment
Replace lock and chain using ant-vandal key