The Bristol Railway Archive

Not sure what the name of this bridge is. I would be interested to see how the harbourside loop crossed the New Cut to reach the Ashton Junction.

I believe that the rail bridge also provided an elevated roadway connection?

(edit) I found Ashton Swing Bridge on the website: http://bristol-rail.co.uk/wiki/index.ph ... ing_Bridge


Also, am I correct in assuming that there was a rail crossing over the harbour in a north easterly direction, past the back of the Nova Scotia PH?

Any pictures and recollections greatly appreciated.

The bridge over the new cut of the River Avon is this one: http://bristol-rail.co.uk/wiki/index.ph ... ing_Bridge

There was a fixed bridge over the Old Junction Lock near the Nova Scotia Pub http://bristol-rail.co.uk/wiki/index.ph ... ction_Lock

...and a swing bridge just to the north over Junction Lock http://bristol-rail.co.uk/wiki/index.ph ... ction_Lock

There is a photo of the swing bridge over Junction Lock on flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebor ... 190008162/

I wonder how much it would cost to restore Ashton Swing Bridge to working condition, with top deck and control cabin reinstated? It would be far too much to replace the additional road bridge sections, but maybe a footbridge could be added. It's such an interesting an unusual piece of Bristol history, it's saddening to see it in such a neglected state.

James wrote:I wonder how much it would cost to restore Ashton Swing Bridge to working condition......

A lot, but probably only a fraction of the cost of a particular footballer.

The metalwork has suffered, it's corroded through in numerous places.

I suspect all the machinery associated with the turning of the bridge has been removed. All the major items of machinery (swing bridges, lock gates, sluices etc.) around the Bristol Docks were/are operated by water hydraulics powered from the pump house near Underfall Yard, this included Ashton Swing Bridge.
The water hydraulic system is in the process of being replaced by Oil Hydraulics, so even if the machinery is still there it would probably need to be replaced. This could be one of the reasons why the Brunel Swing Bridge is not going to be recommissioned.

I think there are plans to run the proposed busway from Ashton over the swingbridge which, if happens, will see it have a considerable rebuild.