PDG1949
Member
So is the bridge any different from before the electrification started?
(Apologies, I'm not familiar with the site and haven't memorised any old pictures of it from the early days of the albums.)
This bridge and the 2 footbridges at Rainhill station (a listed site) did not comply with H & S and Euro protection clearances between the footbridge sides and wires, following the electrification. The immediate temporary solution was to erect marine plywood barriers to prevent the possibility of contact with the wires from the footbridges.
The first to be dealt with were the footbridges at Rainhill which had to be protected in a sensitive way in order to retain the ethos of its 'listed' status. The most recent to be dealt with was the Leach Lane footbridge further down the line towards St Helens Jct, (next to the remains of the original 1832 first 'cross-railway' bridge between the St Helens & Runcorn Gap and the Liverpool to Manchester lines). As can be seen, this is plainer than the Rainhill mesh raised parapets. AFAIK if I've got it correct, the current Euro protection height is 1.8m.
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