Royal Albert Bridge - Devon/Cornwall, UK
N 50° 24.409 W 004° 11.875
30U E 414876 N 5584549
The Royal Albert Bridge carries a railway across the River Tamar between the counties of Devon and Cornwall.
Waymark Code: WMBQXC
Location: South West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/15/2011
Views: 2
Designed by Brunel and finished in 1859, this is the fairly unique rail bridge that spans the River Tamar, between Plymouth and Saltash, which still to this day, is the only rail connection between Cornwall and England. It has two main spans both of 139m and the rail deck is 30m above then the mean spring high tide. It is best described as a Bowstring Suspension Bridge, which is actually 3 bridges in one. It is an arch bridge, it is a suspension bridge, and it is also a truss. It is predominately made out of wrought iron, including the two iconic tubular arches.
The bridge was designed in 1855 for the Cornwall railway company, due to parliament rejecting Brunel’s original idea for a train ferry across the estuary. Brunel then intended to build a single span bridge of 260m; however the Admiralty of the Royal navy rejected this proposal, as it was not suitable for their vessels to navigate from the river Tamar to the open sea. The Navy demanded that the bridge of the deck must be 30m above mean high tide, and the river must be fully accessible to the Navy at all times, including the construction phase.
A bridge with 2 91.5m spans and 2 61m spans was then proposed, but rejected after a site investigation found no suitable rock to build 3 piers. He decided on the current format with 2 spans of 139m resting on a single pier in the middle of the river. It would also require 10 approach spans from the Cornish side, and 7 from the Devon side. Brunel’s ideas were limited by the fact that there ground on either side was unsuitable for tension foundations using the technology of the day. (There is now an adjacent road suspension bridge with tension foundations).
Brunel then designed a bridge that is very similar to the one you see today, other then it was wider and carried two lines of track. During this stage, the Cornish Railway company was experiencing some financial difficulties, so Brunel reduced the width and removed a line to save £100,000. The appointed contractor when bankrupt shortly before construction, so Brunel decided to take it on its self. This showed a determination to get the bridge built just as he wanted it.
The dates of construction milestones will be covered in Section 8.
The bridge was completed on the 11th April 1859, when the first train crossed it. The bridge was officially opened by His Royal Highness Price Albert on 2nd May 1859. Brunel did not attend any of these occasions due to ill health, and finally crossed his bridge on 4th May 1859 on a specially constructed open top wagon where he laid to
view the bridge. He died on 5th September 1859, following a stroke. As a tribute, some friends raised some money and put up the big signs on the outer sides of the portals, simply stating “I.K BRUNEL ENGINEER
1859.”
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