Points Bridge

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Points Bridge is a bridge crossing the River Tyne at Hagg Bank, approximately 1 mile west of Wylam in the north east of England.

Points Bridge as seen from the south bank of the River Tyne
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Points Bridge as seen from the south bank of the River Tyne

The Ironwork is by the Hawks, Crayshay & Co. of Gateshead, with masonry and foundations by W E Jackson & Co. of Newcastle and the engineer was W G Laws. It opened to traffic on October 6th 1876.

Originally carrying trains to and from the collieries and ironworks and later the Scotswood, Newburn and Wylam railway, it is now, since 1968 a footbridge (and cyclepath) linking Wylam with the Tyne Riverside Country Park at Low Prudhoe.

It is thought that Points Bridge was a model for the later Tyne Bridge in Newcastle; the bridge is an 80m wrought iron arch bridge with suspended decking, very similar to that of the Tyne Bridge.

The bridge is also known by the name "Half-moon Bridge", or more officially "Wylam Railway Bridge".

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