Warrington

Warrington Transporter Bridge – Warrington – United Kingdom

The Warrington transporter bridge is a steel structure that crosses the river Mersey at Warrington, in the county of Cheshire (England). It was built in 1916 to connect two parts of a large chemicals complex amd was later used to transport vehicles until 1964, the year it was decommissioned. It is presently in the UK’s Heritage at Risk Register. The FoWTB (Friends of Warrington Transporter Bridge) association and Warrington Town Council are trying to recover the bridge and showcase it.

History

There was another transporter bridge over the river Mersey, just to the north of this one. The other bridge, built in 1905, no longer exists.

The second bridge was designed to transport the production of the large chemicals and soap company Joseph Crosfield and Sons. The company had a cement plant on the peninsula that formed the meander of the river at the site. The bridge was therefore designed to transport railway wagons to transfer the cement production from the peninsula to the main railway line. The return trip was used to carry the fuel required by the plant.

It was designed by William Henry Hunter and built by Sir William Arrol & Co. The construction work started in 1913 and finished in 1916, the year it was opened.

The bridge in figures

  • Distance between towers: 61 metres

  • Gondola crossing time:

  • Weight:

  • Length of gondola:

  • Height of the towers: 27 metres

  • Height of the platform over the water: 23 metres

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Credits and intellectual property

Top picture: ©Friends of Warrington Transporter Bridge (FOWTB)

Gallery 1: ©Unilever. Photos produced with kind permission of Unilever from original in Unilever archives

Gallery 2: ©Friends of Warrington Transporter Bridge (FOWTB)

Video: ©Friends of Warrington Transporter Bridge (FOWTB)