Severn Railway Bridge

Severn Railway Bridge
Severn Railway Bridge in July 1948
Coordinates	51°43′58″N 2°28′26″W / 51.7327°N 2.474°W / 51.7327; -2.474
Crossed	River Severn
Locale	Lydney – Sharpness
Preceded by	Severn Tunnel
Characteristics
Total length	4,162 feet (1,269 m)
Clearance above	70 feet (21 m)
History
Designer	George Baker Keeling
Construction start	1875
Construction end	1879
Collapsed	25 October 1960 (partial)
Location

v t e Severn Bridge Railway
Legend
For canal icons used below, please refer to waterways legend instead. Dean Forest Railway Severn Bridge Tunnel Lydney Town Severn Bridge St Mary's Halt Lydney Junction Lydney Gloucester–Newport line (From Newport to Gloucester) Lydney Harbour Branch Pidcock's Canal Forges Lydney Canal Lower Docks Upper Docks Severn Railway Bridge over River Severn (Dismantled 1970) Swing bridge over Gloucester and Sharpness Canal Locks onto River Severn Sharpness Sharpness Docks Locks onto River Severn Old Docks Branch River Severn Cross Country Route (To Gloucester) Berkeley Berkeley Road (Closed 1965) Berkeley Loop Cross Country Route (To Bristol)

The Severn Railway Bridge (historically called the Severn Bridge) was a bridge carrying the railway across the River Severn between Sharpness and Lydney in Gloucestershire, England. It was built in the 1870s by the Severn Bridge Railway Company, primarily to carry coal from the Forest of Dean to the docks at Sharpness; it was the furthest-downstream bridge over the Severn until the opening of the Severn road bridge in 1966. When the company got into financial difficulties in 1893, it was taken over jointly by the Great Western Railway and the Midland Railway companies. The bridge continued to be used for freight and passenger services until 1960, and saw temporary extra traffic on the occasions that the Severn Tunnel was closed for engineering work.

The bridge was constructed by Hamilston's Windsor Ironworks Company Limited of Garston, Liverpool. It was approached from the north via a masonry viaduct and had twenty-two spans. The pier columns were formed of circular sections, bolted together and filled with concrete. The twenty-one regular wrought iron spans were then put in place, as well as the southernmost span, the swing bridge over the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. The bridge was 4,162 ft (1,269 m) long and 70 ft (21 m) above high water. 6,800 long tons (7,600 short tons; 6,900 t) of iron were used in its construction.

A number of incidents took place at the bridge over the years, with vessels colliding with the piers due to the strong tides. In 1960 two river barges hit one of the piers on the bridge, causing two spans to collapse into the river. Repair work was under consideration when a similar collision occurred the following year, after which it was decided that it would be uneconomical to repair the bridge. It was demolished between 1967 and 1970, with few traces remaining.