Goole Railway Swing Bridge
Goole Railway Swing Bridge
We provided Network Rail with conservation and heritage engineering advice to understand the history, significance and the evolution of its operational mechanism of the Goole Railway Swing Bridge (also known as the Skelton Viaduct).
The bridge is a remarkable survivor from the great age of Victorian railway engineering. This Grade II* listed swing bridge, which carries the Hull and Doncaster line over the River Ouse, was built in 1869 to designs by Thomas Harrison and the great hydraulic engineer, W. G. Armstrong. It remains hydraulically operated by much of its 1860s machinery– one of the few surviving examples in the country – and the six spans constitute one of the largest wrought-iron bridges in the country.
The bridge faced operational challenges including growing unreliability, declining lack of expertise for its maintenance and repair, and more frequent flooding events which risked a catastrophic flooding of the engine room and hydraulic mechanism. To combat these, Network Rail sought to carry out repairs and modernisation.
Our Statement of Significance first provided a comprehensive evidence base for discussions with Historic England and other heritage stakeholders, and helped develop and secure consent for sensitive proposals which will see almost all of the nationally-important historic mechanism retained in-situ. We were then appointed to helped Network Rail discharge recording and interpretation conditions attached to the listed building consent. This recording process involved producing a Level 3 recording report detailing both the original and current operational mechanisms, incorporating technical analysis provided by a structural engineer. The primary goal of this project was to ensure Network Rail had a detailed record of the bridge’s condition and operation before making any changes. The organisation subsequently progressed with plans to restore the hydraulic system while integrating electronic controls.
Client: Network Rail