Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
Carries	Motor vehicles A178 road Pedestrians
Crosses	River Tees
Locale	Middlesbrough, England
Design	Transporter Bridge
Longest span	580 ft
Clearance below	225 ft
Opening date	1911

The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge (or simply Transporter Bridge) is the furthest downstream bridge across the River Tees. It connects Middlesbrough on the south bank to Port Clarence on the north bank. It is a transporter bridge, carrying a travelling 'car' or 'gondola' suspended from the bridge, across the river in 90 seconds. The cart can carry 200 people, 9 cars or 6 cars and one minibus. It carries the A178 road from Middlesbrough to Hartlepool. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 532 pixel Image in higher resolution (3008 × 2000 pixel, file size: 2. ... The Tees is a river in Northern England. ... Middlesborough redirects here. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Tees is a river in Northern England. ... Middlesborough redirects here. ... Port Clarence is a place in County Durham, in England. ... The Newport Transporter Bridge A transporter bridge (also ferry bridge or aerial transfer bridge) is a type of movable bridge that carries a segment of roadway across a river. ...

History

The bridge was built by Sir William Arrol & Co. in 1911 under a 1907 Act of Parliament. The opening ceremony on the 7 October 1911 was performed by Prince Arthur of Connaught. The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge reflects the dynamic industrial heritage of the area. Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... An Act of Parliament or Act is law enacted by the parliament (see legislation). ... is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Prince Arthur of Connaught (Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert; 13 January 1883 - 12 September 1938) was a member of the British Royal Family, a grandson of Queen Victoria. ...

Teesside has a long tradition of bridge building. Many of the world's greatest bridges including the nearby Tees Newport Bridge, the Tyne Bridge and the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia were designed and constructed from Dorman Long steel. Tees (Newport) Bridge, 30th July 2006 Opened to traffic on 28th February 1934 by the Duke of York, the Tees Newport Bridge spans the River Tees a short distance upriver from Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge, linking Middlesbrough with the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, England. ... Tyne Bridge looking east towards the modern The Sage Gateshead and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, with the earlier Swing Bridge in the foreground The Tyne Bridge is a bridge over the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. ... The Sydney Harbour Bridge is the main way to cross Sydney Harbour carrying rail, vehicular, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. ... Iron-making has been known in Cleveland since the Romans found iron slags in North Yorkshire, with small-scale iron-making known to have taken place at Rievaulx, Whitby and Guisborough Abbeys in the 17th Century. ...

However, the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge at 850 feet (260 metres) long and 225 feet (69 metres) high at the tallest point, is the largest working bridge of its kind in the world. The distance between the two towers is 580 feet (177 metres).

In December 1993, the bridge was awarded the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' highest honour, The Heritage Plaque, for engineering excellence, in recognition of the Council's efforts in keeping the bridge in good working order. Its historical importance was also recognised in 1985 by its listing as a Grade II* Listed Building and its prominence as a local landmark was further enhanced in 1993 by the installation of flood lights that operate during the winter months. Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Logo The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is the British engineering society concerned with mechanical engineering. ... Engineering is the discipline and profession of applying scientific knowledge and utilizing natural laws and physical resources in order to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that realize a desired objective and meet specified criteria. ... This article is about the year. ... The Forth Bridge, designed by Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Fowler, opened in 1890, and now owned by Network Rail, is designated as a Category A listed building by Historic Scotland. ...

It has featured in films and TV programmes including Billy Elliot, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, The Fast Show, Spender and Steel River Blues. In the millennium celebrations of 2000, fireworks were fired from its length. For other uses, see Billy Elliot (disambiguation). ... Auf Wiedersehen, Pet is a popular British comedy-drama series about a group of seven British migrant construction workers: Wayne, Dennis, Oz, Bomber, Barry, Neville and Moxey, who are living and working on a German building site. ... The Fast Show is a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for four series from 1994 to 2000. ... Spender was a BBC drama set in Newcastle upon Tyne, written by Ian La Frenais and Jimmy Nail, in which he also starred. ... Steel River Blues is a British television drama serial first broadcast in September 2004 on ITV1. ... A millennium (pl. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Fourth of July fireworks in San Diego, California New Years Day fireworks at Seaport Village, California Preparing fireworks at Sayn Castle 4th of July fireworks in Portland, Oregon Fireworks at Epcot Center, Florida, USA. See the Video. ...

In the storyline of Auf Wiedersehen Pet (series 3, 2002) the bridge was dismantled to be sold to and re-erected in the USA. A public outcry ensued from people who believed that the bridge was really being pulled down. The BBC was required to put a disclaimer on the end of the last episode of the series stating that 'The Transporter Bridge remains in Middlesbrough'.

Vintage Bus Running Day

Daimler Fleetline JDC544L at the Transporter Bridge

The bridge is also host to an annual vintage bus running day, organised by The 500 Group. On this one day per year, usually a Sunday in April, vintage buses take people on free rides around Teesside. As part of the 2006 and 2007 events the bridge made a special trip carrying a former Teesside Municipal Transport Daimler Fleetline. Prior to this a double deck bus had not used the bridge in 30 years^[1] Arms of the County Borough of Teesside Teesside is the name given to the conurbation in northern England based on Middlesbrough, Stockton-on-Tees and Redcar, along the banks of the River Tees with a resident population of over 388,000 in 2005. ... Daimler Fleetline The Daimler Fleetline (known as the Leyland Fleetline from c. ...

See also

• Newport Transporter Bridge - A comparable and contrastable bridge in South Wales
• Transporter bridge - lists these bridges worldwide

The Newport Transporter Bridge is a crossing of the River Usk in the city of Newport, Wales, United Kingdom. ... The Newport Transporter Bridge A transporter bridge (also ferry bridge or aerial transfer bridge) is a type of movable bridge that carries a segment of roadway across a river. ...

References

1. ^ Our annual Teesside Running Day, 27 April 2007 (accessed 19 January 2008)

• Anon. (1911) "The transporter bridge over the River Tees", The Engineer, 112 (September)
• Fernández Troyano, Leonardo (2003) Bridge engineering : a global perspective [Tierra sobre el agua], London : Thomas Telford, ISBN 0-7277-3215-3
• Prade, Marcel (1988) Ponts et viaducs au XIXe siècle, Poitiers (France) : Brissaud, ISBN 2-902170-59-9
• Prade, Marcel (1990) Les grands ponts du monde: Ponts remarquables d'Europe, Poitiers (France) : Brissaud, ISBN 2-902170-65-3

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge

• The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge

• Transporter Bridge Webcam

• The Voice of the Transporter Bridge!

• See photos of the Transporter Bridge

• Middlesborough Transporter Bridge

• Short youtube video featuring the bridge [1]

• Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge in the Structurae database

• Bridges On The Tees

Coordinates: 54.5845° N 1.2279° W Structurae is an on-line database containing works of structural and civil engineering of all kinds such as Bridges, High-rise buildings, towers, dams, etc. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...