Staines Railway Bridge

Staines Railway Bridge is a railway viaduct in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, around 17 miles (28 kilometres) west of central London. It carries the Waterloo to Reading line across the Thames. Immediately to the east is Thames Street bridge, which carries the railway over the B376 and the Thames Path.

Staines Railway Bridge
Over the River Thames
Coordinates	51°25′50″N 0°30′40″W
Carries	Waterloo to Reading line
Crosses	River Thames
Locale	Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey
Maintained by	Network Rail
Characteristics
Material	Cast iron and wrought iron
No. of spans	3
Piers in water	6 (two groups of three)
Clearance below	6.4 m (21 ft)[1]
History
Designer	John Gardner
Opened	1856
Location

History

Staines Railway Bridge from upstream

An act of parliament was granted in 1853, authorising the Staines, Wokingham and Woking railway (SWWR) to build a line between Staines and Wokingham railway stations. Construction of the Staines Railway Bridge, across the River Thames, was completed in 1856. The SWWR merged with the London and South Western Railway in 1878.^[2][3] The line across the viaduct was electrified in 1937.^[4]

Staines Railway Bridge was designed by John Gardner and cost £10,000 to build. It is constructed of wrought iron girders supported on six cast iron pillars, embedded in the river bed. The main span is 30 m (88 ft 6 in) wide and the total length of the bridge is 85.24 m (279 ft 8 in).^[5] It is 35 mi 3 furlongs (57 km) upstream of London Bridge.^[6]

During the Second World War, the line was used to transport supplies to Portsmouth Naval Base and the bridge was guarded by a dedicated army platoon of around 25 soldiers.^[7] In 1995, the viaduct was painted bright yellow in a £15,000 experimental project to prevent swans from flying into it.^[8]

Thames Street bridge

The adjacent Thames Street bridge, which carries the railway over the B376 and the Thames Path, was named in 2021 as one of the country's ten railway bridges most likely to be struck by vehicles.^[9][10]

See also

Media related to Staines Railway Bridge at Wikimedia Commons

• Staines Bridge upstream of the railway bridge
• Crossings of the River Thames

References

1. "River Thames: distances and measurements for boaters". Environment Agency. 21 February 2023 [12 February 2020]. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
2. Maryfield, Pamela (2006). Staines : A history. Chichester: Phillimore. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-86-077420-1.
3. Mills, John (1993). A guide to the industrial history of Spelthorne. Guildford: Surrey Industrial History Group. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-95-096976-3.
4. Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1989). Branch lines around Ascot : from Ash Vale, Weybridge, Staines and Wokingham. Midhurst: Middleton. Introduction. ISBN 978-0-90-652064-2.
5. Humber, William (1861). A complete treatise on cast and wrought iron bridge construction. Vol. I. London: E. & F. N. Spon. pp. 178–179. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
6. Woodgate, Walter Bradford (1889). Boating. London: Longmans, Green and Company. p. 309. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
7. Deedes, F.W. (3 September 1999). "We seem to have started - it's all so silly". Daily Telegraph. No. 44856. p. 15.
8. "A paint job for swans". Staines and Ashford News. 12 October 1995. p. 1.
9. Evans, Alec (29 November 2021). "Surrey railway bridge named as one of Britain 's most-hit by vehicles". Surrey Live. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
10. Strudwick, Matt (16 February 2023). "Notorious Staines bridge recently named among most-hit struck by lorry again". Surrey Live. Retrieved 16 December 2023.

Next bridge upstream	River Thames	Next bridge downstream
Staines Bridge	Staines Railway Bridge	M3 Chertsey Bridge