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Add detail from December 2022 Branch Lines
'''Cleobury Road Bridge''' (Bridge 35) allows the main road from Bridgnorth towards Cleobury Mortimer and [[Highley]] to pass underneath the Severn Valley Railway. It is a plate-girder bridge with a span of 55ft on the skew and 35ft on the square, and is located immediately south of [[Bridgnorth|Bridgnorth Station]].<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Marshall (1989)]] p. 104.</ref> Until 2022 the turnout (points) controlling access to platforms 1 and 2 were located on the bridge itself, with the switch blades on one side of the bridge and the point nose on the other,<ref name=SVR31>SVR News 31</ref> meaning the bridge is crossed by locomotives while 'running round'. The viewing gallery at the foot of [[Bridgnorth#Pan Pudding Hill|Pan Pudding Hill]] ends next to the bridge's northern abutment.
The picture (right) is looking west with Bridgnorth station to the right.
==Preservation==
An overhaul to replace the bridge timbers began at the end of October 1973 with work being carried out by the Permanent Way and Civil Engineering Departments. Only six weekends were available, as the SVR planned to run its first [[Christmas services]] that year. The first two weekends were spent dismantling the bridge down to the metal girders. These were then cleaned, primed and painted with bitumastic, the process being hampered by a prolonged cold snap which prevented the paint from drying. At the same time the new timber baulks were drilled and test assembled next to the bridge. The assembled baulks were then dragged into place using [[John Fowler 150hp Diesel Shunter No 17 Highflyer|diesel shunter No 17 "Highflyer"]]. Refitting of the rails was hampered by the failure of the [[GWR RS38|2½ ton steam crane]], with the rest of the rails needing to be hauled into place by hand. Despite these setbacks, the rails were set to gauge and screwed down and the track levelled in time for the scheduled [[Christmas services]] to run, with the job being completed in the New Year.<ref name=SVR31/>
In early 2008, a few days before the section of the line between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade was due to reopen after repairs following the [[2007 Storm Damage|2007 storm damage]], the southern end of the bridge was found to be out of alignment by about 10cm following an unreported strike by a lorry. An emergency road closure was authorised while the [[Cowans Sheldon 30-ton steam crane RS 1087|30 ton steam crane]] successfully relocated the end of the bridge on its bearings, allowing the reopening to take place on Saturday 9 February as planned.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Sowden (2012)]] p.44.</ref>
Since the railway was built, settlement has taken place in the approaches to the bridge and, being a fixed structure, differences in level developed. During the first phase of the project to refurbish the [[Bridgnorth MPD|Locomotive yard]] which began in January 2023, the old turnout was removed and a new turnout installed further north, off earth-strengthening works were carried out to prevent future settlement behind the bridge itselfabutments.<ref>[https://www.svrlive. com/bldec22 Branch Lines December 2022]</ref> The track bed was dug out to a depth of a metre and rebuilt using a reinforced earth technique to give added strength, reducing lateral forces on the bridge's wing walls. New drainage was also installed. The old turnout was removed and a new turnout installed further north, off the bridge itself<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/bljan23 Branch Lines January 2023]</ref>.
==See also==
