Victoria Bridge

Victoria Bridge seen from the bank of the River Severn.

Victoria Bridge (Bridge 15) carries the Severn Valley Railway across the River Severn ½ mile south of Arley. It is the only place between Shrewsbury and Hartlebury where the railway crossed the river. When built, it incorporated the longest cast iron clear span in the world.

Construction and history

Laying the foundation stone of Victoria Bridge, from the Illustrated London News, 17 December 1859

Main article: Construction details of Victoria Bridge

The bridge was designed by the Severn Valley Railway's chief engineer, John Fowler. It is largely constructed from cast iron; manufacture of the ironwork was subcontracted to the Coalbrookdale Company.

The foundation stone was laid on November 24th 1859 by the SVR's resident engineer, Henry Orlando Bridgeman. The ceremony was attended by a large crowd and accompanied by cheering and firing cannon. A paper was placed under the foundation stone which read:

The foundation stone of this bridge was laid by Henry Orlando Bridgman, Esq., C.E., Resident Engineer, on the 24th day of November, in the year of Our Lord one thousand, eight hundred and fifty-nine, and in the twenty-third year of the reign of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria. The arch of the bridge is to be constructed principally of cast iron – 200 feet span – and, up to the present time, will be the largest cast-iron arch constructed in these Kingdoms. John Fowler, Esq., Engineer-in-Chief, London; Messrs. Brassey, Peto and Betts, contractors, also of London. The railway works were commenced in the autumn of 1858, and are expected to be completed and the line opened to the public in the spring of 1861. This railway commences at Shrewsbury, and terminates at the Hartlebury station of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, a distance of 40 miles.

In February 1860 Fowler reported that "the foundations are well advanced and the Coalbrookdale Company have been entrusted by Messrs. Brassey, Peto and Betts with the execution of the castings and wrought ironwork for the superstructure." The bridge was completed in May 1861. It was reported at the time of construction that a defective rib casting was tested to destruction under a load of 430 tons.

The wording on each side of the bridge reads " Messrs. Brassey & Co., Contractors." "Victoria Bridge 1861 John Fowler, Engineer" "Cast and erected by the Coalbrookdale Company".

Prior to opening, the bridge was inspected by the Board of Trade's Col. Yolland on 30 December 1861. It was tested using three heavy locomotives (by 1860's standards) and a train of loaded wagons weighing one ton per foot run; a deflection of only half an inch was considered very satisfactory.

The deck of Victoria Bridge was originally built to double track width with overhanging walkways, similar to Albert Edward Bridge, the four arched ribs being at 4'11", 6' and 4'11" centres to place them almost directly under the rails. There is anecdotal evidence that at one time the single track was offset to one side, leaving the other side of the bridge clear for the possible laying of a second track, but was moved to its current central position in the 1950s. The overhanging walkways were removed, and the handrails moved inwards, at an unknown date.

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  Details showing the position of the ribs under the rails.

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  Details showing the abutments and plan of the deck construction.

The original 1852 estimate for the construction of the Railway, which included £8,500 for "a girder bridge at Arley", also showed the station at Bridgnorth sited in the Low Town, east of the river. Although more convenient for the public, this would have required two further bridges, one south of the town near Quatford costing £8,000 and another north of the town near the present day golf course costing £9,000. A fourth bridge costing £10,000 was included near Shrewsbury in order to reach a junction with the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway. Cost saving measures adopted in the final railway plans resulted in the line remaining on the west bank and passing under High Town through Bridgnorth Tunnel instead, and joining the Shrewsbury & Hereford Railway, removing the need for these additional bridges.

During the Second World War the bridge formed part of Western Command Stop Line No 1, which followed the River Severn from Tewkesbury to Llandrinio, and was protected by infantry trenches and a movable steel and concrete railblock,

The bridge is listed Grade II* by Historic England for its special architectural or historic interest. There is a near-identical double track railway bridge spanning the river Severn upstream at Buildwas. This bridge, which was also designed by Sir John Fowler and opened in 1864, is known as Albert Edward Bridge, named after the eldest son of Queen Victoria, who was later crowned as Edward VII.

Operating restrictions

The bridge was subject to restrictions on the weights and types of locomotives which could be worked ‘coupled’ or ‘double-headed’ over it. The definitions of classes such as "Blue", "Yellow" etc. may be found here.

The following restrictions were set out in the BR(W) 1948 working timetable:

Engines in the "Blue" group and the following engines in the "Yellow" group are prohibited from working double-headed over Victoria Bridge, Arley; Tank Engines of the 2-6-2, 0-6-2 and 0-6-0 classes, but they may be assisted by "Uncoloured" tender engines. Other "Yellow" engines may be assisted by any other permitted engine except that "Yellow" tank engines must not be coupled together.

When tender and tank engines are worked double-headed, the tank engine must be next to the tender.

By June 1963, shortly before closure of the line, BR(W) had re-drafted the restrictions to read as follows:

1. Permitted engines in the “Blue” Group and 55xx, 36xx and 74xx must not be coupled to any other engine.
2. 32xx may work coupled or coupled to an engine in the “Uncoloured” group.
3. When a tender engine and a tank engines are coupled, the tank engine must be coupled to the tender of the tender engine.
4. Not more than two engines may work coupled.

The '36xx' numbered series locomotives are members of the 5700 Class pannier tanks; an example of the impact of these restriction being that SVR-residents 5764 and 7714 would not have been permitted over the bridge while coupled together.

Victoria Bridge in preservation

The SVR began operations to Bewdley via Victoria Bridge in 1974. In that year they carried out a structural analysis of the bridge, which suggested that a loading of two tender locomotives with carriages would generate stresses in the main structure of the bridge not exceeding 2.6 tons/sq in (tension) and 6.2 tons/sq in (compression) against ultimate strength values of cast iron of 10 tons/sq in (tension) and 45 tons/sq in (compression). However it appeared that the bridge had last been re-decked by BR in the early 1950s, meaning a close watch would be kept on it.

The railway photographer Paul Riley was killed by a fall from Victoria Bridge in August 1976. Lineside photographers are not currently permitted to cross Victoria Bridge on foot.

In 1978 the Board was advised that the time had come for a major refurbishment of the bridge. This began in November 1979; the work included the installation of 54 new steel beams to replace the old (rotten) transverse timber baulks which formed the decking, replacement of more than 50% of the plate-work by 6 tons of new top plate, and the replacement of 3,500 rivets by high tensile friction grip bolts. The amount of plate replaced was necessary to achieve the required structural strength for a 21 ton axle load as specified by the Railway Board. At the same time the bridge received a complete repaint using 1,200 litres of paint; the colour chosen being a dark green. The scaffolding used around 2 miles of tube and 2½ miles of planking. The final cost was approximately £94,346, equivalent to almost £½ million at 2020 prices. Despite adverse weather, the line was re-opened on time for Easter 1980, although the winter closure meant that Santa Special services were moved to the north end of the line.

A further renovation and repaint was completed in 1994, part funded by English Heritage.

Another major refurbishment was carried out during the winter of 2003-04. The estimated cost was £320,000, of which a significant portion related to scaffolding. The work included the replacement of the 1970s wooden bridge deck with a new steel mesh deck. On this occasion the repainting reverted to the red colour. The bridge was re-opened by a young lady named Victoria Bridge from Cradley Heath. It was her first visit to the SVR. The refurbishment received a commendation in the Institution of Civil Engineers’ 2005 Historic Bridge and Infrastructure Awards.

To preserve the structure the bridge has a permanent speed limit of 15 mph and is also subject to operating restrictions which means that two large engines may not work double headed over it. A lower 5mph speed limit applies to any two engines coupled together while passing over Victoria Bridge. This lower limit also applies to LMR 600 Gordon when working solo.

Victoria Bridge in film and television

The bridge has featured in several films and television series, the earliest of note being the chase scene in the 1977 Walt Disney Productions live action film Candleshoe featuring GWR Small Prairie 4566.

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  The train crosses Victoria Bridge

The best-known appearance is probably the scene in 1978 film The Thirty Nine Steps where Richard Hannay (Robert Powell) escapes from a train and hangs beneath the bridge. Filming took place before the bridge was repainted

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  Hannay's train approaching Victoria Bridge

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  The train stopped on Victoria Bridge

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  Richard Hannay (Robert Powell) hanging from the bridge

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  SVR volunteer Barrie Geens as a policeman during filming

The bridge appeared in the 1979 TV series God's Wonderful Railway, with the Great Western Society Didcot's veteran Wantage Tramway locomotive No 5 "Shannon" recreating the first public crossing of the bridge.

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  Shannon crossing Victoria Bridge (1)

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  Shannon crossing Victoria Bridge (2)

The short-lived TV comedy series L For Lester (1982) included a scene where a learner driver ends up on the railway line and is pursued across the Bridge by a train hauled by D1013 Western Ranger. By this time the bridge has been repainted in green.

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  D1013 pursues the car across Victoria Bridge

The 1986 TV series Lost Empires made extensive use of the SVR's locomotives and rolling stock. LMS Ivatt Class 2 46443 and its train are seen crossing the bridge in three different episodes, each time from a different angle on either side of the bridge.

In an extended scene in the 1987 TV series Knights of God, a meeting between the principal characters was filmed on the bridge. LMS Ivatt Class 4 43106 was the locomotive used on this occasion.

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  43106 approaches Victoria Bridge

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  A distant view of the meeting

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  The meeting taking place on Victoria Bridge

The bridge briefly appeared in an episode of the children's TV series Rosie and Jim broadcast in 1991, with LMS Stanier 8F 48773 (in LMS livery with its original LMS number 8233) seen crossing it. Filmed in the same year, the 1992 Merchant Ivory production Howards End included a scene with former resident GWR 3717 City of Truro crossing the bridge.

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  City of Truro crossing Victoria Bridge

Since that time, the bridge has also appeared in an episode of the BBC detective series Dalziel and Pascoe (2002) in a scene where the character Maggie Hopcraft falls from the Bridge in an apparent suicide. It also briefly appeared in the 2011 Warner Bros film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

Gallery

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  Cast name plates on the west side of the bridge

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  Victoria Bridge with Upper Arley in the distance, showing the single track width

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  View from the Wyre Forest with Eymore Wood in the background.

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  Storm damage after the 2007 floods.

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  Retaining wall below Victoria Bridge

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  GWR boundary marker near the bridge

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  GWR boundary marker near the bridge

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  Bridge detail

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  Bridge detail

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  Bridge detail

See Also

Towards Kidderminster
List of infrastructure
Towards Bridgnorth

Severn Valley Railway

Henry Fowler, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the Midland Railway 1909-1923, and of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway 1923-1933

British Rail or British Railways

A GWR 4575 Class 2-6-2T engine

A GWR 5700 Class 0-6-0PT engine

A GWR 7400 Class 0-6-0PT engine

A GWR 2251 Class 0-6-0 engine

London Midland & Scottish Railway

Great Western Railway

Safety Management System