Disused Railway Bridges over Motorways

[jamie92208]

47 minutes ago, Zomboid said:

There's a sign next to it in both directions, since a structure like that needs some explanation. Only way I know what it is...

IIRC there was a huge fundraising effort by the Lichfield and Hathersage canal society to get the bridge built when the M6 toll was put through. I think the toll road has made them move one of the locks. I think that one end of the new bridge is actually the start of a lock.

 

Jamie

['CHARD]

9 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

IIRC there was a huge fundraising effort by the Lichfield and Hathersage canal society to get the bridge built when the M6 toll was put through. I think the toll road has made them move one of the locks. I think that one end of the new bridge is actually the start of a lock.

 

Jamie

 

The L&H campaign found as its well-known and passionate advocate, the actor David Suchet.  There are many videos about featuring him on this topic.

[BrushVeteran]

10 hours ago, chris p bacon said:

I thought it had been re-used as a road overbridge in the same location ? 

No Dave, it got cut up within a couple of weeks in the lay-by where it was photographed. It looked in very good condition but it wasn't really that old as far as bridges go. 1961-2008.

[russ p]

12 hours ago, BrushVeteran said:

There was the bridge over the A1(M) at Colsterworth which carried the ironstone branch from High Dyke to the quarries of Sproxton and Stainby. It was removed in August 2008.

 

That's one of those that has GOURANGA on it as a poster quite common on old railway bridges about twenty years ago,  the woodhead over M1 had it . Has anyone ever modelled it?

['CHARD]

6 minutes ago, russ p said:

 

That's one of those that has GOURANGA on it as a poster quite common on old railway bridges about twenty years ago,  the woodhead over M1 had it . Has anyone ever modelled it?

 

I noticed that!  Gouranga brought back memories of much motorway mileage back in the nineties!

[Rugd1022]

16 hours ago, Edwin_m said:

If you'll allow rail-under-road bridges too, M1 junction 15a re-uses the one built for the Northampton-Blisworth line and a few miles south there's another one over the Towcester-Olney.  I think there was a discussion on here a few years back abour the latter railway being closed before the M1 opened.  Further north there's one over the GNR Nottingham-Kimberley line just north of J26, which may eventually become a tram extension.  And back to rail-over-road there's the one for the Luton-Dunstable line, now a busway.  

 

Also worth noting that buried in the undergrowth where the Northampton - Blisworth trackbed passes under the M1 are the concrete footings for the OLE stanchions, as originally this route was to be kept open and electrified. Further north, closer to Rugby where the M1 and M6 divide is the trackbed of the Rugby - Market Harborough line, just a few hundred yards east of the site of Lilbourne station. You can see the elevated section of the motorway in the background of this 1966 photo at Lilbourne...

 

 

Edited January 26, 2020 by Rugd1022

[Rugd1022]

Meant to add, with all of the various routes radiating outwards from Rugby there is still a lot of infrastructure in place - the 'eleven arches' viaduct of the former Rugby - Leicester (Glen Parva) line is still in place over the A426 Leicester Road and there are still several bridges crossing over the trackbed of the GC route through the town, including Hillmorton Road where the station used to be. Until at least 1971 the bridge carrying the GC line over the A5 was still in place too. The bridge carrying Clifton Road over the old Down Market Harborough line is still in use today, I pass over it several times a week.

 

The 'eleven arches' over the Leicester Road as seen in 1967, the line was closed in 1962...

 

 

Edited January 26, 2020 by Rugd1022

[Rugd1022]

16 hours ago, dagrizz said:

There is another ex-GC bridge over the M45 just south of Rugby.

 

Graham

 

And a little further to the west the same M45 crosses over the old Rugby - Leamington line near Dunchurch, the road itself was 'doubled up' to become a dual carriageway with separate structures at some point....

 

 

Edited January 26, 2020 by Rugd1022

[298]

There is also the Duddeston viaduct in Birmingham, Royal assent granted in 1846, completed but never opened, but still largely in place today.

 

https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/bordesley-duddeston.htm

[298]

7 minutes ago, Rugd1022 said:

 

And a little further to the west the same M45 crosses over the old Rugby - Leamington line near Dunchurch, the road itself was 'doubled up' to become a dual carriageway with separate structures at some point....

 

 

 

I've always wondered what was down there....

[Fat Controller]

5 hours ago, Darius43 said:

 

It carried the remnants of the old Stoke to Market Drayton line and latterly traffic from Silverdale and Holditch collieries before they were closed.

 

It was connected to the WCML by means of the Madeley Chord.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

The stub of this line was used to stable the Royal Train when HMQ was carring out engagements in the North West. A friend discovered this when taking a shortcut from Madeley to  the Sheet Anchor at Whitmore. The branch was quite a late survivor, used for coal from the two pits named to Llanwern Steel Works. Two other bridges that come to mind were the Cheadle (Staffs) bridge carrying the A50 over th Cheadle branch near Teal, and the remnants of the branch from Six Pits to INCO, outside Clydach.

[big jim]

10 hours ago, 'CHARD said:

 

There are a couple on the Lichfield to Brownhills section, the first being close to, and just north of the canal aqueduct you mention, which is literally at the shunt limit of what was Charringtons' terminal at Anglesey sidings.

if You look closely to the right when heading south on the M6 toll where the line goes over you can see a few OHLE masts in the trees, strange thing is the line isn’t even electrified! 
 

You can just about make them out on google earth, 4 masts, 2 of which have wire strung above the tracks and the outer 2 as tensioners, over the upper line on the pic below 

 

Dropped pin
Near Hammerwich
https://goo.gl/maps/QAiVoqHcFaYjCHSs8

[RJS1977]

For some years, there was a disused railway bridge over the M66 near Bury, but this was reopened by the East Lancashire Railway to give them a main line connection at Castleton (and passenger operation to Heywood) when the Manchester-Bury line was converted to Metrolink.

[dagrizz]

18 minutes ago, Rugd1022 said:

 

And a little further to the west the same M45 crosses over the old Rugby - Leamington line near Dunchurch, the road itself was 'doubled up' to become a dual carriageway with separate structures at some point....

 

 

 

Sorry to be pedantic but the road has become the A45 at this point. Looks like you were there during a dry spell, it can get a bit wet down there.

 

Graham

[Fat Controller]

13 minutes ago, big jim said:

if You look closely to the right when heading south on the M6 toll where the line goes over you can see a few OHLE masts in the trees, strange thing is the line isn’t even electrified! 
 

You can just about make them out on google earth, 4 masts, 2 of which have wire strung above the tracks and the outer 2 as tensioners, over the upper line on the pic below 

 

Dropped pin
Near Hammerwich
https://goo.gl/maps/QAiVoqHcFaYjCHSs8

I believe one of the maintenance contractors used it for training during the WCML Upgrade,

[chris p bacon]

Ok this is a slight diversion from the OP's original topic, but what about railway bridges re-used for roads.

 

This was the flyover on the Oxford to Cambridge where is crossed the ECML at Sandy.

 

It was originally an LNWR lattice bridge but was rebuilt in the late 50's/early 60's by Dorman long with the strengthened beams you see here.

 

The Ox/Cam closed at the end of 1967 and the bridge was demolished in 1975/6. The story goes that the beams were sold to a scrapman who cut them up on site except the 2 large one's. These were supposedly sold back to BR as they were utilised for the Sandy to Potton road bridge when the bottleneck at Sandy was removed in 1977. Whether the story is true or not I don't know.

 

Here is the widening in 1977 with the refurbished beams in place.  They had less than 10 years in railway use but have now had 40+ years as road. 

 

As a footnote the new footbridge in the foreground is closed at present while it is repaired and shot blasted meanng passengers for the Up have a 500yd detour via the road bridge.

[nat37670]

18 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I think that the Puriton branch that used to serve an explosives factory across the M5 is disused now.

 

Jamie

 

Had a scramble up on that one over the M5, September 2018....

[MarkC]

22 hours ago, figworthy said:

 

I think that the sections have since been scrapped as they were found to be unsuitable.

 

Adrian

That's a shame if true

 

Mark

[4069]

For a really short life, look no further than the M40 bridge over the Maidenhead - High Wycombe line, which closed before the motorway opened:

 

[Coppercap]

3 minutes ago, 4069 said:

For a really short life, look no further than the M40 bridge over the Maidenhead - High Wycombe line, which closed before the motorway opened:

 

 

Not quite in accordance with the original subject, but still a good one.

[Covkid]

Driving north on the M6,  just as you approach J10A the former colliery line from Hilton Main and Holly Bank passes over you on a concrete bridge. This line was active to around 1970 with exchange traffic for BR at Essington, as well as the mineral railway to Short Heath basin for canal shipment. 

 

The former actually had an agreement for BR steam locos to obtain water from the Holly Bank supply and one of the few photos I have seen is of a BR std class 4 mogul crossing the Broad Lane level crossing on the mineral railway, en route to or from Holly bank. 

 

The handy little map supporting the photograph in this weblink https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4094167    doesnt actually show the railway line but it crossed the road here and passed behind the "signal box" then over the motorway, at a different angle to the road you see crossing the M6. 

 

This Flickr image is of slightly more use showing one of the two YE Janus diesels at the Bodnop road crossing.  This bridge over the M6 is just out of sight behind the "signal cabin"  Unfortunately the colliery branch was lifted when the pits closed but the single track concrete bridge is still there. 

 

 

 

[Covkid]

Here is a link to a photo of the bridge.  https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/232488

 

The photographer is looking southbound along the M6 with junction 10A for Telford and Shrewsbury undernath.  The Burnsips "signal box is off to the right of the image.  

[RJS1977]

9 hours ago, 4069 said:

For a really short life, look no further than the M40 bridge over the Maidenhead - High Wycombe line, which closed before the motorway opened:

 

 

Still, at least the gap is still there in case the line ever reopens or is used as a footpath etc.

[Mark_A]

Neither overbridge nor underbridge: as it passes the site of Tiverton Junction the M5 rises on an embankment then down again.

 

The embankment was built, but the Hemyock branch, which passed beneath, closed before the bridge that would have accommodated it was constructed.

 

So, a bridge site, but never a bridge.

[Rugd1022]

You can see from this street map where the GC line cut through the middle of Rugby, all of the bridges over the line are still in use today...