Bridge 89A Over The Shropshire Union Canal (Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal - Main Line) - Nantwich, UK - Railroad Bridges on Waymarking.com

The Canal
Before canals became popular in the UK there was a port on the River Dee at Chester.

After the Trent and Mersy Canal was built a loat of boat traffic diverted to the canal and Chester was worried about losing all its trade and so proposed a canal from the River Dee to connect to the Trent and Mersey Canal at Middlewich with a branch to Nantwich.

After the canal was built to Nantwich the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal was built to connect Nantwich to Authley near Wolverhampton. Eventually these canals and a number of others merged to form the Shropshire Union Canal.

The Railway
The railway line was originally built in 1858 as part of The Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway. "The Crewe and Shrewsbury Railway was a railway owned by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) company, built to connect Crewe with the jointly owned with the GWR Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway.

Authorised in 1853, planning difficulties accessing the GWR station at Shrewsbury delayed opening until 1858. Proving so successful for both companies to transport coal from the South Wales Valleys to industrial Northwest England, and finished goods in the opposite direction, it was doubled tracked by 1862.

Amalgamated into the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923, post nationalisation into British Railways, its services reduced as motor transport proved quicker more cost effective than its various branch lines. It now forms the northern section of Network Rail's Welsh Marches Line. link

The line now forms part of the modern Welsh Marches Line.
"The Welsh Marches line (in Welsh: Llinell y Mers), known historically as the North and West Route, is the railway line running from Newport in south-east Wales to Shrewsbury in the West Midlands region of England by way of Abergavenny, Hereford and Craven Arms and thence (by some definitions) to Crewe via Whitchurch. The line thus links the south of Wales to north-west England via the Welsh Marches region, bypassing Birmingham. Through services from south-west Wales, Swansea and Cardiff to Manchester (hourly in each direction) and from Cardiff to Wrexham, Chester, the north coast of Wales and Anglesey (every two hours in each direction) constitute the bulk of passenger operations on the route...Arriva Trains Wales operate all passenger services on the line. Typically, there is an hourly service from Manchester Piccadilly to Cardiff Central, Carmarthen, Milford Haven, calling at principal stations. A service every two hours from Holyhead to Cardiff also uses the Marches line from Shrewsbury southwards. Additionally, local stopping services operate between Crewe and Shrewsbury and services via the Heart of Wales line use the Marches line between Shrewsbury and Craven Arms." link

The Bridge
The bridge crosses the canal at an angle very close to farm bridge 89. The canal is also on a slight bend here and in the days of horse drawn boats the tow ropes used to rub against the bridge. To prevent damage metal rubbing posts were installed, even these became badly scored but prevented further damage to the bridge.

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

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