Keadby Bridge
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name= Keadby Bridge
|image= Keadby Bridge.jpg
|caption= Keadby Bridge
|official_name=
|also_known_as= King George V Bridge
|carries=
|crosses= River Trent
|id=
|design=
|mainspan= {{convert|150|ft|m|0}}
|length= {{convert|548|ft|m|0}}
|width=
|clearance=
|below=
|traffic=
|open= 1916
|closed=
|toll=
|heritage =Grade II listed structure
|map_cue=
|map_image=
|map_text=
|map_width=
|coordinates={{coord|53.5857|-0.7311|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
}}
Keadby Bridge, more formally known as the King George V Bridge, crosses the River Trent near Althorpe and Keadby in Lincolnshire, England. It was designed by Alfred Charles Gardner FRSE MIME.Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers: May 1953: obituaries
History
The Scherzer rolling lift bridge carries both road and rail traffic across the River Trent. It was built between 1912 and 1916 by the Great Central Railway to replace a previous swing bridge built by the South Yorkshire Railway and opened in 1864.Manchester Times, Saturday 21 May 1864 It carries a double track railway line on the southern side, and the two-lane, single carriageway A18 road on the north side.
The Lincolnshire Echo reported that the first passenger train to cross the new bridge left Althorpe Station at 10:35am on 21 May 1916. The train was driven by Herbert Duke of Mexborough and, on the invitation of Sir Sam Fay, Joshua Slowen of Barnetby, who had driven the first passenger train across the old bridge, rode on the engine.Lincolnshire Echo, Monday 22 May 1916
Its 50-metre (163 ft) electrically powered bascule (lifting span) was one of the first of its type in Britain and, when built, was the largest in Europe. Designed by James Ball and C A Rowlandson and built by contractors Sir William Arrol & Co., it has three main spans and two approach spans. The eastern main span was the one that lifted. The Scherzer bascule rolled and rotated on counterbalance. It was electrically powered, originally by a large storage battery fed by petrol-driven generators housed in the engine room beneath the east approach span.Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, volume 203 (1916-17). This was later modified to mains electricity.
The bridge was controlled from a wooden signal cabin, mounted by the north-east side of the lifting (east) span. The cabin was equipped with a 28-lever frame of British Pneumatic Railway Signal Company design.
The bridge has not been lifted since 1956. In 1960, it was widened and the headroom increased, and the bascule was fixed in position.Civil engineering heritage: Eastern and central England. E. A. Labrum At the same time, the signal cabin was removed from the bridge structure and the tracks on the railway were fixed in place.
File:Plaque on Keadby Bridge 01.JPG|Plaque on Keadby Lifting Bridge regarding its opening on 21 May 1916
File:Keadby Bridge, from Althorpe Railway Station.jpg|Keadby Bridge, from Althorpe Railway Station
File:Keadby bridge signal box diagram.jpg|Signalling diagram of the former bridge signal box
File:Keadby Bridge from upstream east bank.JPG|Keadby Bridge from upstream east bank
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commonscat|Keadby Bridge}}
- [https://www.britishpathe.com/video/a-novel-bridge-in-lincolnshire/ Pathe newsreel of the bridge being lifted]
{{River item box
|River = River Trent
|upstream = M180 motorway
|upsub
|downstream = None
|downsub =
|thisis = Keadby Bridge
|type =
|location = SE840106
}}
Category:Bridges in Lincolnshire
Category:Grade II listed buildings in Lincolnshire
Category:Grade II listed bridges
Category:Bridges across the River Trent
Category:Bridges completed in 1916
Category:Railway bridges in Lincolnshire
Category:Bascule bridges in England