Attached is my list of bridges for the North Lancashire loop line. This list has taken several years to compile because I wanted to record as many of the original bridge names as possible, also a problem was when was a culvert just a culvert or when was one classed as a bridge - Not as easy as it initially sounds...
Originally it is thought there were around 40 bridges at the time of the full opening of the loop in 1877:
By the time the Great Harwood section closed (2 Nov 1964) the were 55 bridges for just a nine mile route, all were in situ by 1909.
Here are my observations:
The line was built by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company (L&Y) and as mentioned to me by @Springs Branch they liked to name many bridges after local farmers, names like Campbell, Robert Lee, Webster's. Two of the bridges were named after the Shuttleworth family of Gawthorpe Hall, Padiham, and others after lane and road names.
The metal central span bridges were a combination of Wrought or Cast Iron. Wrought Iron for the longer spans, Cast for the shorter ones, and all except one had two outer long girders connected together with multiple cross girders, this is best described by imagining a ladder, the rungs being the cross girders. The one exception was Mare Park Road under bridge, here they simply used multiple long girders, the name by the way comes from the fact that close to this bridge there used to be horse racing in Padiham, hence the reference to Mare, a female horse.
Regarding culverts - All I can say is that it looks like any culvert around 8 to 10 foot wide was classed as a bridge, under that it was just a culvert. Initially it was probably down to Sturges Meek, chief engineer of the L&Y, but later perhaps the LMS then BR might have a different opinion.
Central span length - BR for one called the span the length of the track had to cross under or over something. For example, Bridge No. 54, this was a footbridge over the loop, and BR say its span was 12 foot but I know the L&Y wanted (give or take a couple of inches) 28 foot clearance over the line (double track line). In short, if a bridge went over the loop, the span was the bridge's width, if however a bridge carried the line over something, then the span was the length of the bridge!
I hope you all find the list interesting, and please free to ask me any questions about it.
Please see attached bridge list.
Originally it is thought there were around 40 bridges at the time of the full opening of the loop in 1877:
By the time the Great Harwood section closed (2 Nov 1964) the were 55 bridges for just a nine mile route, all were in situ by 1909.
Here are my observations:
The line was built by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company (L&Y) and as mentioned to me by @Springs Branch they liked to name many bridges after local farmers, names like Campbell, Robert Lee, Webster's. Two of the bridges were named after the Shuttleworth family of Gawthorpe Hall, Padiham, and others after lane and road names.
The metal central span bridges were a combination of Wrought or Cast Iron. Wrought Iron for the longer spans, Cast for the shorter ones, and all except one had two outer long girders connected together with multiple cross girders, this is best described by imagining a ladder, the rungs being the cross girders. The one exception was Mare Park Road under bridge, here they simply used multiple long girders, the name by the way comes from the fact that close to this bridge there used to be horse racing in Padiham, hence the reference to Mare, a female horse.
Regarding culverts - All I can say is that it looks like any culvert around 8 to 10 foot wide was classed as a bridge, under that it was just a culvert. Initially it was probably down to Sturges Meek, chief engineer of the L&Y, but later perhaps the LMS then BR might have a different opinion.
Central span length - BR for one called the span the length of the track had to cross under or over something. For example, Bridge No. 54, this was a footbridge over the loop, and BR say its span was 12 foot but I know the L&Y wanted (give or take a couple of inches) 28 foot clearance over the line (double track line). In short, if a bridge went over the loop, the span was the bridge's width, if however a bridge carried the line over something, then the span was the length of the bridge!
I hope you all find the list interesting, and please free to ask me any questions about it.
Please see attached bridge list.
