By Courtney Bailey

TYNE BRIDGE GATESHEAD MILLENIUM BRIDGE SWING BRIDGE HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE KING EDWARD VII BRIDGE END PAGE

THE TYNE BRIDGE Linking the City of Newcastle with the town of Gateshead, the Tyne Bridge is the most celebrated of all the Tyne's bridges. Though only opened in 1928, it quickly won a place in the hearts of local people. It is an icon, both a symbol of Tyneside's industrial past and its recent re-generation. It has featured in films, on television and been the subject of thousands of photographs. Ships from all over the world have tied up in sight of its massive steel arch and millions have passed over it, by car, lorry, bus, tram, motorcycle, bicycle and on foot. Back to content page

GATESHEAD MILLENIUM BRIDGE The most recent bridge to be built on the Tyne, arguably the most stunning and certainly the most unusual. It is a pedestrian and cycle bridge linking the re-developed waterfronts of Gateshead and Newcastle. As the celebrations for the Millenium approached, the Millenium Commission was prepared to pay half the costs of outstanding projects to which it gave its approval, and Gateshead council submitted a bid for funding after a competition was held for a design for an attractive new bridge. Back to content page

SWING BRIDGE The Swing Bridge has always been one of the most interesting bridges on the Tyne, as until the Gateshead Millenium Bridge came along, it was the only one that moved. Opened in 1876, it was necessary to replace the old Georgian Bridge in almost the same location which was low level and prevented larger vessels from moving up river or above bridge as it was called. This meant that keels were needed to transport coal from the riverbank staiths at Dunston, Derwenthaugh and beyond to the ships further down river, an inefficient and time-consuming process. Armstrongs factories at Elswick were held back due to the impossibility of ships reaching there. Back to content page

KING EDWARD VII BRIDGE Known to generations of railwaymen as the KEB the King Edward VII Bridge was needed at a time when rail traffic over the High Level bridge was increasing and the inconvenience of trains having to reverse out of the Central Station to continue their journey north could no longer be tolerated. The bridge was built for the North Eastern Railway Company (NER), designed by Charles A. Harrsion of the NER, and constructed by the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company. Work commenced in 1902 and the bridge was opened by King Edward VII on 10 July 1906 but not brought into regular use until October 1st. The usual method of testing with several locomotives crossing the bridge was used Back to contents page

HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE The oldest of the existing bridges, the High Level opened in Previous bridges had been at a low level, but to avoid steep climbs at either end, a bridge must cross the Tyne gorge much higher. When the need arose for a railway bridge to link the south of England with Newcastle and Edinburgh a high level crossing was a necessity. Previous ideas for road bridges had been proposed and several ideas for rail crossings were put forward but the proposal of the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway was accepted by Newcastle Council and the design by the celebrated railway engineer Robert Stephenson was to have two decks, the upper for the railway and the lower for the road. Back to content page

KING EDWARD VII BRIDGE Known to generations of railwaymen as the KEB the King Edward VII Bridge was needed at a time when rail traffic over the High Level bridge was increasing and the inconvenience of trains having to reverse out of the Central Station to continue their journey north could no longer be tolerated. The bridge was built for the North Eastern Railway Company (NER), designed by Charles A. Harrsion of the NER, and constructed by the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company. Work commenced in 1902 and the bridge was opened by King Edward VII on 10 July 1906 but not brought into regular use until October 1st. The usual method of testing with several locomotives crossing the bridge was used Back to contents page

Back to contents page