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shelter was provided for the passengers. The bottom of the car was 12 feet (3.7 m) above high water level and it cleared the ship canal wall by 4.5 feet (1.4 m). It was suspended from a moving trolley 77 feet (23 m) long. In conditions of reasonable weather and load the journey took 2.5 minutes. The driver was sited in a cabin on top of the car from which he had an uninterrupted view in all directions. An endless wire rope, pulled by a winch housed in the power house, provided the power to move the trolley across the River Mersey. The winch on the Widnes side pulled the trolley towards Widnes and
Runcorn in turn. Approach roads of 320 feet (98 m) on the Widnes side and 470 feet (140 m) on the Runcorn side were built.
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49,000 journeys annually, carrying 280,000 cars, 145,000 commercial vehicles and over 2 million passengers. However, it was inadequate for the growing needs of the region and its physical condition was deteriorating. A fixed high-level bridge was needed and this was eventually opened on 21 July 1961. The transporter bridge closed the following day and was later demolished.
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suspending the girder was 250 tons. The underside of the girder was 82 feet (25 m) above the high water level. The transporter car was 55 feet (17 m) long and 24 feet 6 inches (7.5 m) wide and was designed to carry 4 two-horse farm waggons and 300 passengers. A
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had been constructed and this meant that the journey by ferry had to be made in two stages, with a climb over the wall of the canal between the stages. A road bridge was clearly needed but it would have to pass high enough over the canal to allow the passage of ocean-going ships. The cost of doing
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During the following years there were problems both with the functioning of the bridge and with its financing. The company could not make it pay and in 1911 it was sold to Widnes
Corporation. Several improvements were made to the bridge over the years. In its later years it made
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to investigate the options. Their decision was to build a transporter bridge. This would be cheaper than an orthodox type of bridge and the passage of the transporter car could be timed to allow the passage of the ships. The
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The former approaches to the transporter bridge at the bottom of
Waterloo Road, Runcorn, and Mersey Road, Widnes, can still be seen. On the Widnes side the power house remains and it has been designated as a Grade II*
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and John Wood. Construction began in
December 1901 and was completed in 1905. The cost was £130,000 (equivalent to £17,630,000 in 2023). The transporter bridge was opened (in the absence of
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was obtained in 1900 giving approval for the bridge, and the Act also allowed for the formal ending of the ferry. It was designed by
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and the largest of its type ever built in the world. It continued in use until 22 July 1961, when it was replaced by a
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315:(now Tunisia). Parliamentary approval had already been obtained for a transporter bridge over the
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In 1899 the Widnes & Runcorn Bridge
Company was established under the chairmanship of
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At the beginning of the 20th century the only means of crossing the river Mersey at
416:. Transporter Building, the former office building, also remains nearby in Mersey Road.
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581:"The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)"
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478:"Amazing pictures of Runcorn's Bridges show how Mersey landmarks were built"
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were 180 feet (55 m) high and the distance between them spanned by a
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307:, Spain. This had been followed in 1898 by transporter bridges in
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Bridging the Years: The Story of
Runcorn-Widnes Transporter Bridge
687:"Former transporter bridge power house (Grade II*) (1130419)"
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who was indisposed) by Sir John
Brunner on 29 May 1905.
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Former power house with the road and rail bridges visible beyond
449:"Flashback: Celebrating 50 years of the Runcorn Bridge"
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Drawing of the bridge showing span and transporter car
282:(which also had a footpath) or by using the ancient
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378:was 1,000 feet (300 m). The weight of the
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246:. Completed in 1905, it was Britain's first
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823:Buildings and structures demolished in 1961
403:The power house and Widnes approach in 2009
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577:inflation figures are based on data from
795:Bridging the Mersey: A Pictorial History
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719:. Newsquest (North Wales). 9 July 2008
713:"Halton YMCA join West Bank community"
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329:a transporter bridge in Middlesbrough
301:first transporter bridge in the world
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828:Buildings and structures in Runcorn
476:Tansley, Janet (17 February 2016).
286:(a rowing boat). In the 1890s the
838:Buildings and structures in Widnes
692:National Heritage List for England
27:Former bridge in northwest England
25:
447:Hirst, Lauren (29 October 2011).
291:this was felt to be prohibitive.
228:Widnes–Runcorn Transporter Bridge
36:Widnes–Runcorn Transporter Bridge
18:Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge
768:
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858:Bridges across the River Mersey
853:1905 establishments in England
797:, Zaltbommel: European Library
788:, Halton Borough Council, 1978
270:View along the bridge interior
1:
843:Demolished bridges in England
185:; 119 years ago
786:The Bridging of Runcorn Gap
303:had been opened in 1893 in
203:; 63 years ago
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813:Bridges completed in 1905
220:
41:
746:, Halton Borough Council
717:Runcorn and Widnes World
793:Thompson, Dave (2000),
755:, Widnes: Dave Thompson
751:Thompson, Dave (2000),
742:Starkey, H. F. (1990),
579:Clark, Gregory (2017).
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280:Runcorn Railway Bridge
271:
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296:Sir John Brunner
288:Manchester Ship Canal
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256:Silver Jubilee Bridge
238:linking the towns of
236:Manchester Ship Canal
278:were by rail on the
833:Transporter bridges
818:Bridges in Cheshire
660:, pp. 221–222.
612:, pp. 213–214.
254:, now known as the
252:through arch bridge
70: /
575:Retail Price Index
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248:transporter bridge
172:Construction start
133:Transporter Bridge
74:53.3466°N 2.7363°W
672:, pp. 12–15.
636:, pp. 23–24.
564:, pp. 4, 16.
528:, pp. 25–27.
340:Act of Parliament
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142:300m (1,000 ft)
124:Characteristics
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848:River Mersey
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735:Bibliography
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721:. Retrieved
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696:, retrieved
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658:Starkey 1990
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590:. Retrieved
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538:Starkey 1990
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485:. Retrieved
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456:. Retrieved
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369:
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344:John Webster
337:
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273:
232:river Mersey
230:crossed the
227:
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166:John Webster
139:Longest span
104:River Mersey
29:
744:Old Runcorn
395:Present day
276:Runcorn Gap
152:25m (82 ft)
95:Pedestrians
77: /
52:Coordinates
807:Categories
723:21 January
458:21 January
420:References
333:River Tees
62:53°20′48″N
358:Structure
335:in 1911.
331:over the
317:River Usk
65:2°44′11″W
685:(2011),
370:The two
216:Location
162:Designer
93:Vehicles
321:Newport
313:Bizerta
262:History
240:Runcorn
206: (
188: (
157:History
118:Runcorn
100:Crosses
90:Carries
698:10 May
487:5 July
380:cables
372:towers
305:Bilbao
244:Widnes
198:Closed
180:Opened
129:Design
114:Widnes
110:Locale
592:7 May
376:truss
309:Rouen
284:ferry
725:2018
700:2011
594:2024
489:2018
460:2018
242:and
234:and
226:The
208:1961
201:1961
190:1905
183:1905
175:1901
573:UK
412:by
338:An
319:at
809::
715:.
689:,
602:^
583:.
480:.
468:^
451:.
439:^
323:,
116:/
727:.
596:.
491:.
462:.
210:)
192:)
20:)
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