Vicarstown Bridge (RWS)

The Railway Series

Thomas & Friends

All Engines Go

Vicarstown Bridge
Background Information
Creator(s)	Rev. W. Awdry
Overview
Managed by	North Western Railway
Carries	The Main Line
Crosses	Walney Channel
Locale	Vicarstown, Island of Sodor
Designer(s)	Sir Topham Hatt
Characteristics
Material	Steel
Bridge type	Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge
No. of tracks	2
History
Opened	1915
Status	Operational

Vicarstown Bridge is a bascule bridge and the main rail connection between the Island of Sodor and the Mainland.

History

The first, ambitious and ill-fated, attempt to link Sodor with England via Barrow-in-Furness had been made by the Sodor and Mainland Railway in the 1850s. The Company's high hopes were disappointed. Their proposals for a bridge over the Walney Channel were persistently baulked by the Admiralty. Ironically, they later became the driving force behind the completion of the link to the Mainland.

The Vicarstown Bridge is a double tracked Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge of some 120ft span which is situated at Vicarstown and which carries the North Western Main Line. It connects Sodor to the Mainland at Barrow-in-Furness, crossing the Walney Channel. The bridge was designed by Sir Topham Hatt I and was erected in 1915. Since 1925, the NWR has had rights to run trains over the bridge to Barrow-in-Furness. Also since that year, the Other Railway has had running powers over the bridge to enable them to operate their share of the joint NWR/LMS/BR suburban service between Barrow and Norramby.

Until 1977, when the Jubilee Bridge was built, the NWR had the car-ferry rights over their bridge and worked an intensive and profitable service. When the road bridge was built to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee, Sir Topham Hatt saw to it that the NWR were given substantial compensation for the extinguishment of their ferry rights.

Appearances

• Railway Series

The Railway Series

• Enterprising Engines - Escape (mentioned)
• Thomas and the Great Railway Show - Museum-Piece (mentioned)

Companion Volumes

• 1987 - The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways (mentioned)

Trivia

• While not structurally based off of it, the concept and location for the bridge was inspired by the Walney Bridge (officially titled the Jubilee Bridge), built in 1908, which originates in Barrow-in-Furness and spans over the Walney Channel, connecting England to Walney Island. The real bridge carries the A590 trunk road, and used to also carry the Barrow-in-Furness Tramway until its closure in 1932.
  • To account for the presence of Vicarstown Bridge in The Railway Series, The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways establishes the Jubilee Bridge as having been constructed much later in 1977.

Gallery

Walney Bridge, its inspiration

References

North Western Railway

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The Main Line

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United Kingdom

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