Wearmouth Rail Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Wearmouth Rail Bridge is a rail bridge spanning the River Wear
in North East England
. The bridge links Sunderland station
and St Peter's Metro station
as part of the Tyne and Wear Metro
and is part of the Durham Coast Line
, linking Newcastle upon Tyne
and Middlesbrough
. The iron
box girder
, tied arch (bowstring) bridge
(with two cross-braced ribs which, relieved by large oval stiffening webs) was opened in 1879. The bridge lies adjacent to Wearmouth Bridge.
River Wear
The River Wear is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.-Geology and history:...
in North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
. The bridge links Sunderland station
Sunderland station
Sunderland Station is a National Rail and Tyne and Wear Metro station in the city centre of Sunderland, North East England. It is the only station in the country where both heavy rail and light rail services use the same platforms...
and St Peter's Metro station
St Peter's Metro station
St Peter's Metro Station on the Tyne and Wear Metro is the nearest one to the University of Sunderland's St Peter's Campus. The station was built for the Sunderland extension in 2002. It is located close to the Wearmouth Bridge and just a short distance south of the old Monkwearmouth Station that...
as part of the Tyne and Wear Metro
Tyne and Wear Metro
The Tyne and Wear Metro, also known as the Metro, is a light rail system in North East England, serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and Sunderland. It opened in 1980 and in 2007–2008 provided 40 million public journeys on its network of nearly...
and is part of the Durham Coast Line
Durham Coast Line
The Durham Coast Line is the name given to the railway line which links Newcastle upon Tyne with Middlesbrough, via Sunderland and Hartlepool...
, linking Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
. The iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
box girder
Box girder bridge
A box girder bridge is a bridge in which the main beams comprise girders in the shape of a hollow box. The box girder normally comprises either prestressed concrete, structural steel, or a composite of steel and reinforced concrete. The box is typically rectangular or trapezoidal in cross-section...
, tied arch (bowstring) bridge
Tied arch bridge
A tied-arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the outward-directed horizontal forces of the arch, or top chord, are borne as tension by the bottom chord , rather than by the ground or the bridge foundations...
(with two cross-braced ribs which, relieved by large oval stiffening webs) was opened in 1879. The bridge lies adjacent to Wearmouth Bridge.