The Royal Albert bridge seen from Saltash railway station. This photo shows the pre-2006 position of the walkways.

The Royal Albert Bridge (sometimes called the Brunel Bridge or Saltash Bridge) spans the River Tamar in the U.K. between Plymouth, on the Devon bank, and Saltash on the Cornish bank. It carries the Cornish Main Line in and out of Cornwall. Albert Bridge may be referring to: the Albert Bridge, a road bridge across the River Thames in London, England the Albert Bridge, a road bridge across the River Thames in Datchet, Berkshire, England the Royal Albert Bridge, a railway bridge across the River Tamar between Devon and Cornwall in England. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Saltashrab. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Saltashrab. ... The station, looking northeastward Saltash railway station serves the town of Saltash in Cornwall, UK. It is situated on the south side of the town between the Royal Albert Bridge over the River Tamar and Coombe Viaduct which spans a small tributary of the same river. ... The Tamar is a river in south western England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). ... “UK” redirects here. ... This article is about the city of Plymouth in England. ... For other uses, see Devon (disambiguation). ... Location within the British Isles Saltash (Cornish: Essa) is a town in Cornwall, UK. It has a population of about 16,000. ... For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation). ... The Royal Albert Bridge The Cornish Main Line is a railway line in England, which forms the backbone for rail service in Cornwall, as well as prodiving a direct line to London. ...

A short distance to the north of Brunel's bridge, the Tamar is crossed by the Tamar Bridge carrying the A38, one of the two trunk roads connecting Cornwall to Devon. The Tamar Bridge during widening and strengthening work, 1999 The Tamar Bridge is a major road bridge in southwest England carrying traffic between Devon and Cornwall. ... A38 passing under M50 in Worcestershire The A38 is a major trunk road in England. ... A63(T) trunk road A trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major road—usually connecting one or more cities, ports, airports, etc. ...

Construction

The Royal Albert bridge in 1859

Bench seat at the Brunel Museum, Rotherhithe, London incorporating a model of the Royal Albert Bridge, Saltash

The bridge was designed in 1855 by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Cornwall Railway Company after Parliament rejected his original plan for a train ferry across the Hamoaze. The bridge consists of two main spans of 455 feet (139 m), 100 feet (30 m) above mean high spring tide, plus seventeen much shorter approach spans. Opened by Prince Albert on 2 May 1859, it was completed in the year of the great engineer's death. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3000x2500, 1504 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Royal Albert Bridge ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3000x2500, 1504 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Royal Albert Bridge ... , Rotherhithe is a district of south-east London in the London Borough of Southwark. ... Location within the British Isles Saltash (Cornish: Essa) is a town in Cornwall, UK. It has a population of about 16,000. ... Year 1855 (MDCCCLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) (IPA: ), was a British engineer. ... The Cornwall Railway was a broad gauge railway (7 feet 0. ... Type Bicameral Houses House of Commons House of Lords Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin MP Speaker of the House of Lords Hélène Hayman, PC Members 1377 (646 Commons, 731 Peers) Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist... The ferryboat Dongan Hills, filled with commuters, about to dock at a New York City pier, circa 1945. ... Devonport Dockyard and the Hamoaze from the Rame Peninsula, Cornwall The Hamoaze (IPA: in Cornish) is an estuarine stretch of water at the point where the tidal River Tamar, the River Tavy, and the River Lynher enter Plymouth Sound. ... Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Francis Charles Augustus Albert Emmanuel, of the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha branch of the House of Wettin) (26 August 1819 - 14 December 1861) was the husband and consort of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... is the 122nd day of the year (123rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1859 (MDCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

The structure was the third in a series of three notable wrought iron bridges built in the period, and was influenced by the preceding two, both by Robert Stephenson. The two central sections of the bridge are novel adaptations of the design employed for the High Level Bridge across the River Tyne in Newcastle Upon Tyne. These two spans are lenticular trusses with the top chord of each truss comprising a heavy tubular arch in compression, while the bottom chord comprises a pair of catenary shaped members. Each of the trusses is simply supported and therefore no horizontal thrust is exerted on the piers. Between these two chords are supporting cross bracing members and suspension members which trail beneath the bottom chord to carry the railway deck which is a continuous plate beam. A wrought iron railing in Troy, New York. ... Statue of Robert Stephenson at Euston Station, London Robert Stephenson FRS (October 16, 1803–October 12, 1859) was an English civil engineer. ... The High Level Bridge, towering above the Swing Bridge across the River Tyne; photograph facing Newcastle The High Level Bridge is a notable road and railway bridge spanning the River Tyne between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead, in North East England. ... The Tyne looking west and upstream from the Newcastle bank towards the Gateshead Millennium Bridge The Tyne Bridge across the River Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead. ... This article is about a city in the United Kingdom. ... A lens contained between two cirular arcs of radius R, and centers at O1 and O2 The shape of the portion of Kenny McCormicks face visible through his hood is almost a lens, although the arcs are either elliptical or parabolic rather than circular. ...

The method of construction was similar to the Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait in north Wales, in that the spans were constructed on land, then floated into position and raised. Unlike the Britannia, however, the central piers were built up in height three feet (1 m) at a time, and the spans raised that distance, until the design height was achieved. (For the Britannia, the piers were built to full height, and then the span hoisted to design height.) The difficulty of its construction rates it as one of Brunel's great railway achievements. The original box section Britannia Bridge, in a circa 1852 illustration Postcard picture of the bridge from circa 1886 [1] The post 1970 Britannia Bridge from the east along the Menai Strait, retains Stephensons original piers Section of the original wrought-iron tubular bridge standing in front of the... The Menai Strait (in Welsh Afon Menai, the River Menai) is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about 14 miles (23 km) long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales. ... This article is about the country. ...

Inscription

The words I.K. BRUNEL, ENGINEER, 1859 appear in large type on either end of the bridge, added as a tribute after his death. In 1921, new access platforms were added that obscured the lettering. In 2006, Network Rail relocated the platforms, allowing the name to be seen again. Network Rail is a British not for dividend company limited by guarantee whose principal asset is Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, a company limited by shares. ...

Panorama of the Royal Albert Bridge and the Tamar Bridge

Download high resolution version (3840x524, 691 KB)A panoramic photograph taken from the Tamar Bridge between Cornwall and Devon, England, showing the Tamar Valley and the Royal Albert Bridge (aka the Brunel Bridge). ... Download high resolution version (3840x524, 691 KB)A panoramic photograph taken from the Tamar Bridge between Cornwall and Devon, England, showing the Tamar Valley and the Royal Albert Bridge (aka the Brunel Bridge). ...

Mentions in popular culture

The Royal Albert Bridge is crossed and marveled at by major characters in the alternate history novel, Stars & Stripes Forever, by Harry Harrison. It is referred to as "The Amazing Bridge Across the Tamar River " and is pictured in an accurate woodcut-style drawing by Angela Tomlinson. Details of its design and construction are briefly discussed.^{[citation needed]} At the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, August 2005 Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey, March 12, 1925 in Stamford, Connecticut) is an American science fiction author who has lived in many parts of the world including Mexico, England, Denmark and Italy. ...

The bridge is depicted in several paintings by mariner and painter Alfred Wallis.^{[citation needed]} The Hold House Port Mear Square Island Port Mear Beach, circa 1932, Tate Gallery. ...

It is mentioned in the Show of Hands song "Cousin Jack".^{[citation needed]} Phil Beer and Steve Knightley Show Of Hands are an English acoustic roots duo comprised of singer-songwriter Steve Knightley and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer. ...

References

• Binding, John (1997). Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge: A Study of the Design and Construction of his 'Gateway to Cornwall' at Saltash. Truro: Twelveheads Press. ISBN 0-906294-39-8.
• Charles Matthew Norrie (1956). Bridging the Years - a short history of British Civil Engineering. Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd.
• [Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge unveiled in all its splendour] Network Rail press release

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Royal Albert Bridge

• Official Site for the bridge with many pictures
• The Royal Albert Bridge website
• Royal Albert Bridge in the Structurae database
• The Brunel Museum - Based in Rotherhithe, London the museum is housed in the building that contained the pumps to keep the Thames Tunnel dry.

Coordinates: 50°24′27.27″N, 04°12′12.20″W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...