Newport Bridge
Bridge In Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire
A vertical Lift bridge, which was once the biggest in the world.
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Around the Teesside area, there are many notable bridges, and the Newport Bridge can be described as either the beauty or the beast. From the A19, it does not look that big, but when up close, it is huge, like a strong steel/iron structure. On a walk under and over it, you can marvel at the workings.
It can be seen for miles even as far as Redcar.
Newport Bridge is also known as The Tees Vertical Lift Bridge. It was constructed in 1934 and was the heaviest in the world.
The lift in the height (see what I did there!) of the busy River Tees transport period could let 800 vessels through and was raised 300 times a year.
It is no longer operational and was bolted down after its final lift in 1990.
Originally, 12 men would have been employed to man the bridge around the clock, usually requiring four to drive it at any one time. This was accomplished from the oak-panelled winding house situated midway along the bridge span. During the 1940s and early 1950s this would occur up to twice a day with an average of 800 vessels per year passing under it, despite staffing difficulties during the 1940s when men were away fighting. However, as the number of ships needing to sail up to Stockton-on-Tees declined, so did the usage of the bridge.
Wikipedia
For those of a certain era, you may have desired to make your own vertical lift bridge out of Meccano.
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54.572917, -1.268066
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Parking available at Portrack Meadow.
Contributed by Rosalind Parker
Thank you for reading. I hope it sparks your interest. It’s always a pleasure to get out and explore, whatever the weather. I enjoy uncovering little snippets of information, especially when they’re obscure, amusing, or meaningful. All photos were taken on a mobile phone.
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