Any modern bridge ever raised for electrification?

[snowball]

Has any bridge or structure newly built over a UK railway since, say, 1930 ever had to be rebuilt or have its deck raised to provide electrical clearance for subsequent overhead electrification of the railway?

I'm not counting parapets that need to be raised to make it safer for people on the bridge.

I suspect there are no examples. The only bridges I seem to hear about being raised or rebuilt for electrification are ones that date from the 19th century.

However a poster in the Holyhead electrification thread appears to believe that there is a possibility that modern structures such as the 1970s road deck on the Britannia bridge may not have electrical clearance. I think this is an entirely bogus worry and needs to be put to sleep.

Edit: just remembered there were some newish signal gantries in south Wales! I'd better exclude signal gantries.

 

[mmh]

Has any bridge or structure newly built over a UK railway since, say, 1930 ever had to be rebuilt or have its deck raised to provide electrical clearance for subsequent overhead electrification of the railway?

I'm not counting parapets that need to be raised to make it safer for people on the bridge.

I suspect there are no examples. The only bridges I seem to hear about being raised or rebuilt for electrification are ones that date from the 19th century.

However a poster in the Holyhead electrification thread appears to believe that there is a possibility that modern structures such as the 1970s road deck on the Britannia bridge may not have electrical clearance. I think this is an entirely bogus worry and needs to be put to sleep.

Edit: just remembered there were some newish signal gantries in south Wales!

Of course there have been. If you're referring to me as the poster, I have no opinion on the Britannia Bridge. I do suggest you consider routes like the WCML and think about the stations on them, and how some clearly don't retain original footbridges. Stafford station didn't always look like it does now.

 

[snowball]

I must admit I was thinking about road bridges. I'm not too aware of the state of station footbridges. Are there a lot of stations where new footbridges would have built in recent decades but before electrification?

Edit: Maybe there's a common thread here? The railway is stupid enough to put up structures that are obstacles to electrification (station footbridges, signal gantries). Other people who put up structures over railways (new road bridges) stick to the rules and provide electrification clearance.

 

[edwin_m]

I must admit I was thinking about road bridges. I'm not too aware of the state of station footbridges. Are there a lot of stations where new footbridges would have built in recent decades but before electrification?

Edit: Maybe there's a common thread here? The railway is stupid enough to put up structures that are obstacles to electrification (station footbridges, signal gantries). Other people who put up structures over railways (new road bridges) stick to the rules and provide electrification clearance.

With signal gantries it's one of the many symptoms of lack of forward planning. When electrification is considered possible, higher gantries are put in with the signals hanging down from them, as with the Leicester re-signalling in the 1980s. But the ones put in around Severn Tunnel Junction were the lower and no doubt slightly cheaper sort with the signals above them, and not very long after that electrification was announced. Having said that, signal gantries are a lot easier to replace than bridges - some safety-critical wiring, but all within the railway boundary and no impact on anyone outside.

 

[mmh]

Edit: Maybe there's a common thread here? The railway is stupid enough to put up structures that are obstacles to electrification (station footbridges, signal gantries). Other people who put up structures over railways (new road bridges) stick to the rules and provide electrification clearance.

The railway is also stupid enough to put up temporary erections in accordance with its rules on new structures. While New Cross Gate station was being modernised, including to its fast line platforms which are now never used, there was an elaborate temporary overbridge which was higher than the station building over the lines.

 

[Elecman]

Crossleys bridge by Layton station needed full reconstruction

 

[snowball]

Crossleys bridge by Layton station needed full reconstruction

Wasn't that due to salt-related deterioration rather than not being designed high enough?

 

[mmh]

Looking at it now, I'd be very surprised if the 6G Road bridge at Llandudno Junction was built with any idea of electrification. It's a lot lower than it feels driving over it.

So I think this idea that all bridges are built with provision for electrification is just that, an idea, surely.

 

[snowball]

Looking at it now, I'd be very surprised if the 6G Road bridge at Llandudno Junction was built with any idea of electrification. It's a lot lower than it feels driving over it.

So I think this idea that all bridges are built with provision for electrification is just that, an idea, surely.

I looked up the clearances many years ago (probably 1980s) and I'm reasonably sure the document said they applied to any new road bridge over a line that "may" be electrified.

 

[Elecman]

Wasn't that due to salt-related deterioration rather than not being designed high enough?

Both I think

 

[snowball]

After a search in the Blackpool-Manchester electrification thread (relevant posts in June 2016) I've found this article about Crossley's bridge which says that the steelwork was rotting and not fit for purpose. It also says the bridge was built in 1931 with an expected lifespan of 50-60 years, so it was already at least 15 years beyond that. New bridges carrying public roads or railways usually have an intended lifespan of 120 years.

Massive bridge rebuild scheme to hit motorists

Motorists face months of traffic hell as one of the busiest bridges in Blackpool is demolished and rebuilt.

www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk

Edit: A train driver's eye view of the 6G Road bridge is at about 48:30 in this cab video. Looks OK to me.

 

[Hagbard Celine]

Kerse Road, A905, Stirling? Built 1968, demolished 2018 according to this article -

'Below ground work' on Kerse Road bridge reconstruction project completed

Network Rail is replacing the Stirling Council-owned bridge as part of the electrification of the Stirling area rail network.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

 

[Dougal2345]

The railway is stupid enough to put up structures that are obstacles to electrification (station footbridges, signal gantries).

I wouldn't say it's necessarily "stupid" to put up a lower footbridge - it's fewer steps for passengers to climb and thus gets people in and out of the station more quickly. And given the pace of electrification in this country, it's probably 50/50 which happens first - the bridge rusting away or the wires going up...

 

[snowball]

Kerse Road, A905, Stirling? Built 1968, demolished 2018 according to this article -

'Below ground work' on Kerse Road bridge reconstruction project completed

Network Rail is replacing the Stirling Council-owned bridge as part of the electrification of the Stirling area rail network.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

That seems to be the first genuine example of a modern road bridge that required raising or rebuilding. You can set the date a few years back on Google Streetview to see what it looked like:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.co.uk

Edit: post #3331 on this page says it was pretty much life-expired:

Scottish Electrification updates & discussion

I think every road bridge which has been replaced recently has been built wider than before, eg the Kerse bridge in Stirling now has three lanes. I believe there was a local authority contribution, but I don't know how much. What you are suggesting would require the track to be raised, unless...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[themiller]

Talking with one of the contractors on the site of the new bridge into Workington docks last year, I was told that the bridge had been reduced in height from one which was ready for wiring to save costs. I realise that the Cumbrian coast line is not one of the high priority schemes which come to mind. It was also reduced in width from 3 tracks to 2 (I understand that the original scheme was to include a track outside the docks for a freight to wait for the road).

 

[Falcon1200]

I wouldn't say it's necessarily "stupid" to put up a lower footbridge - it's fewer steps for passengers to climb and thus gets people in and out of the station more quickly.

And presumably cheaper to build lower bridges where electrification was unlikely soon, or indeed ever; It's only in the last few years that diesel has become a dirty word and routes that people would not have expected not that long ago have been wired, Stirling perhaps being a good example. OTOH a good example of a modern 'high' bridge would be the station footbridge at Bicester Village, having used it a few times it feels high enough, not just for OLE but US-style double-stack container trains too !

 

[matchmaker]

Kerse Road, A905, Stirling? Built 1968, demolished 2018 according to this article -

'Below ground work' on Kerse Road bridge reconstruction project completed

Network Rail is replacing the Stirling Council-owned bridge as part of the electrification of the Stirling area rail network.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

Yes, Kerse Road is a perfect example.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I remember that when the level crossing at Ellesmere Port station was replaced by an awkwardly high bridge in the 1960s, it was argued that it was high enough for eventual electrification.
Only when the electrification arrived 30 years later, it was of the 3rd rail sort, so the extra height was not required.

At around the same time, the level crossing at Wilderspool, south of the River Mersey in Warrington, was also replaced by a large, high bridge (A49).
The rail line only carried freight by then, and was eventually truncated just to the east of the crossing, leaving a couple of run-round sidings for Fiddler's Ferry coal trains.
HS2 Ltd now have the job of finding a route through this congested area for the new NPR route between Warrington and HS2.

 

[Javelin_55]

The bridge over Boundary Road in Newbury was completely removed and rebuilt higher a few years ago for OLE clearance. I think the same thing happened with the A339 as well, but here's an NR press release for the Boundary Road one.

Residents and motorists benefit from new road bridge in Newbury as electrification moves closer

Residents and motorists in Newbury will benefit from a new road bridge at Boundary Road which opened today after 12 months of construction, restoring an important route through the town.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

 

[mmh]

After a search in the Blackpool-Manchester electrification thread (relevant posts in June 2016) I've found this article about Crossley's bridge which says that the steelwork was rotting and not fit for purpose. It also says the bridge was built in 1931 with an expected lifespan of 50-60 years, so it was already at least 15 years beyond that. New bridges carrying public roads or railways usually have an intended lifespan of 120 years.

Massive bridge rebuild scheme to hit motorists

Motorists face months of traffic hell as one of the busiest bridges in Blackpool is demolished and rebuilt.

www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk

Edit: A train driver's eye view of the 6G Road bridge is at about 48:30 in this cab video. Looks OK to me.

I'll have to watch that, well some of it, thank you for sharing.

How about the archway through the town walls going westbound? That feels unlikely to be high enough. It's a hole built by the railways, but with historical significance of itself.

I do feel some really underestimate just how difficult it would be to make any significant changes in this area. These days, there's little chance even the railway bridge would happen. Even when it was, it would have been controversial, hence the elaborate portals.

 

[snowball]

The bridge over Boundary Road in Newbury was completely removed and rebuilt higher a few years ago for OLE clearance. I think the same thing happened with the A339 as well, but here's an NR press release for the Boundary Road one.

Residents and motorists benefit from new road bridge in Newbury as electrification moves closer

Residents and motorists in Newbury will benefit from a new road bridge at Boundary Road which opened today after 12 months of construction, restoring an important route through the town.

www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk

How old were those bridges though? Boundary Road bridge looks very old to me on a wound-back Streetview:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.co.uk

The A339 bridge also looks pretty old:

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

www.google.co.uk

 

[Javelin_55]

How old were those bridges though? Boundary Road bridge looks very old to me on a wound-back Streetview:

I actually can't find any info on the age of the bridges, I had initially thought they were 50s/60s era but they could be pre-1930s I suppose.

 

[plugwash]

And presumably cheaper to build lower bridges where electrification was unlikely soon, or indeed ever; It's only in the last few years that diesel has become a dirty word and routes that people would not have expected not that long ago have been wired, Stirling perhaps being a good example. OTOH a good example of a modern 'high' bridge would be the station footbridge at Bicester Village, having used it a few times it feels high enough, not just for OLE but US-style double-stack container trains too !

Bicester Village has a level crossing close by. Wires often have to be raised over level crossings to provide enough clearance for tall road vehicles. Perhaps this is why the footbridge is as high as it is.