Royal Border Bridge

Royal Border Bridge

Royal Border Bridge
Coordinates 55°46′19″N 2°00′50″W / 55.772°N 2.014°W / 55.772; -2.014Coordinates: 55°46′19″N 2°00′50″W / 55.772°N 2.014°W / 55.772; -2.014
Carries Railway
Crosses River Tweed
Locale Northumberland
Heritage status Grade I listed
Characteristics
Material brick, faced with stone
Total length 659 metres (2,162 ft)
No. of spans 28
History
Designer Robert Stephenson
Construction start 1847
Construction end 1850
Royal Border Bridge
 Royal Border Bridge shown within Northumberland
grid reference NT992532

Royal Border Bridge spans the River Tweed between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Tweedmouth in Northumberland, England. It is a Grade I listed railway viaduct built between 1847 and 1850, when it was opened by Queen Victoria. The engineer who designed it was Robert Stephenson (son of George Stephenson). It was built for the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway and is still in regular use today, as part of the East Coast Main Line. Despite its name, the bridge does not in fact span the border between England and Scotland, which is approximately three miles further north.

The bridge is 659 metres (2,162 ft) long and constructed in stone except for brick soffits to the arches. It has 28 arches, each spanning 60 feet (18 m). The railway is carried 37 metres (121 ft) above the river level.[1]

Repairs and modifications

It was electrified in 1989,[2] and between 1993 and 1996 it underwent significant repair work for the first time in a Railtrack project with some funding from English Heritage. In 2010, the bridge was fitted with colour-changing lights for its 160th anniversary.

Royal Border Bridge with 25 of the 28 arches in view
Royal Border Bridge with 27 of the 28 arches in view
A panorama from up-river, showing all 28 arches of the Royal Border Bridge over the River Tweed

References

  1. ↑ Bruce, George Barclay (1851). "Description of the Royal Border Bridge over the River Tweed, on the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway". Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 10: 219–44.
  2. ↑ "Royal Border Bridge". Network Rail Virtual Archive. Retrieved 14 April 2013.


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