Swing Bridge, River Tyne
| Swing Bridge | |
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The High Level Bridge towers above the Swing Bridge across the River Tyne; photograph facing Newcastle
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| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Carries | Motor vehicle; Pedestrians |
| Crosses | River Tyne |
| Locale | Newcastle-Gateshead, England |
| Heritage status | Grade II* listed |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | swing bridge |
| Longest span | 281 feet (85.6 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | 15 June 1876 |
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The Swing Bridge is a swing bridge over the River Tyne, England, connecting Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, and lies between the Tyne Bridge and the High Level Bridge.
The hydraulic power still used to move the bridge is today derived from electrically driven pumps. These feed a hydraulic accumulator sunk into a 60 foot (18 m) shaft below the bridge; the water is then released under pressure which runs the machinery to turn the bridge. The mechanism used for this is still the same machinery originally installed by Armstrong.[1]
It has an 281 feet (85.6 m) cantilevered span with a central axis of rotation able to move through 360° to allow vessels to pass on either side of it.[2]
The previous bridge on the site was demolished in 1868 to enable larger ships to move upstream to William Armstrong's works.[3] The hydraulic Swing Bridge was designed and paid for by Armstrong, with work beginning in 1873. It was first used for road traffic on 15 June 1876 and opened for river traffic on 17 July 1876.[1] At the time of construction it was the largest swing bridge ever built. The construction costs were £240,000.[4]
The Swing Bridge stands on the site of the Old Tyne Bridges of 1270 and 1781, and probably of the Roman Pons Aelius. It is a Grade II* listed structure. [5]
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Swing Bridge, River Tyne. |
| Next bridge upstream | River Tyne | Next bridge downstream |
| High Level Bridge (Road and rail bridge) |
Swing Bridge Grid reference: NZ251637 |
Tyne Bridge |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Swing Bridge at StructuraeLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- ↑ http://transportheritage.com/find-heritage-locations.html?sobi2Task=sobi2Details&sobi2Id=657
- ↑ http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/discovery/buildingbridges/the-swing-bridge/
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Pages with reference errors
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- Pages using Infobox bridge with extra
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- Swing bridges in the United Kingdom
- Bridges in Tyne and Wear
- Grade II* listed buildings in Tyne and Wear
- Buildings and structures in Newcastle upon Tyne
- Bridges completed in 1876
- Crossings of the River Tyne
- Transport in Newcastle upon Tyne
- Grade II* listed bridges
