MIKE CLARKE RAILWAY PHOTO'S Around East Anglia & Further Afield
Reedham Swing BRIDGE
The first swing bridge at Reedham was opened in 1847 by Sir Samuel Morton Peto on behalf of the Lowestoft Railway and Harbour Company. This line branched off of the main Norwich to Yarmouth line, crossed the Yare at Reedham, running alongside the Haddiscoe New Cut before crossing the Waveney at Somerleyton and heading into Lowestoft. The original Reedham and Somerleyton swing bridges were built at the same time and are thought to have been almost identical. They were attributed to George Bidder who was the principal assistant to Robert Stephenson. Reedham Swing Bridge had a cast iron deck with timber piles, was single track and was operated by a hand winch. A wire was attached to the bridge framework just below the deck, this ran from the winch to the central pier where it looped around a pulley and then came back to the winch.
When the Great Eastern Railway took over the line in 1904, they began a series of modernisation and improvements which included the replacement of the bridges at Reedham and Somerleyton. The line became double track, the new bridge at Reedham being built alongside the old one before the main line was finally realigned to connect with it. This bridge is the one which is still in use today over 100 years after it was first opened. The bridge rests on two end piers, with a central pivot pier constructed of brick with timber piles. The central pier is 27ft 6in in diameter and supports the central pivots when the bridge is closed. Three wrought iron girders measuring 139ft in length bear the live load and these rotate on 16inch cast iron wheels when the bridge swings to allow passage for river traffic. Two truss girders bear the weight of the bridge when it is open. The winching system is very similar to that which operated the original bridge, although this is now done by electrical means rather than by hand.