Moulsford Railway Bridge

Moulsford Railway Bridge
Berkshire, Oxfordshire
Location
Carrying:	Great Western Main Line
Crossing:	River Thames
Location
Location:	51°33’29"N, 1°8’33"W
Structure
Design:	Skew arch
Material:	Brick
History
	Built 1839 and 1892
Information

The bridges from underneath with the original closest

Moulsford Railway Bridge, known locally as "Four Arches" bridge is a pair of parallel bridges located a little to the north of Moulsford, Berkshire. It carries the Great Western Main Line from Paddington, London to the West across the River Thames. It lies between the stations at Goring & Streatley and Cholsey, and crosses the Thames at an oblique angle on the reach between Cleeve Lock and Benson Lock. It is a Grade II* listed structure.

Construction

First bridge

The original bridge was designed to carry two broad-gauge tracks by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the Great Western Railway and was built between 1838 and 1839, at the same time as Maidenhead and Gatehampton railway bridges. It is constructed from red brick with Bath stone quoins as four elliptical skew arches of 62 ft span and a headway height of 21 ft 8 in.

Second bridge

In 1892 the line was converted to quadruple track and a second bridge was built alongside the upstream side of the original and connected to it by girders and brick bridgelets. The second bridge was built to the same profile and dimensions as the original but it lacks the stone quoins of the original and the plain uncut bricks make a jagged pattern where they meet the faces of the bridge. The second bridge is also narrower, having been built to carry a pair of standard-gauge tracks.

See also

• Crossings of the River Thames

Outside links

• Moulsford Railway Bridge at Structurae