A transporter bridge is a type of movable bridge that carries a section of movable roadway across a river. The moveable section, known as a gondola is suspended by wires or metal beneath a tall span. The advantage of this design becomes obvious when river navigation is required, as can be seen in the proposed design for a transporter bridge in Rio de Janeiro here.
There are only 10 surviving historical transporter bridges in the world (The other two in the UK being the Tees Transporter Bridge (Which is home to an original Virtual Cache) and the Newport Transporter Bridge. 3 new generation transporter bridges have been constructed since 1998, and 14 historical bridges have been lost - which gives us a grand total of 27* such bridges - making this a very rare example of this type of engineering. {Source: Wikipedia}
The Warrington Transporter Bridge crosses the river Mersey, with a span of 200ft (61m), is 30ft (9.1m) wide, 76ft (23m) above sea level, with an overall length of 339ft (103m). A structural steel transporter bridge, designed by William Henry Hunter and built by Sir William Arrol & Co. Built in 1915 to connect two sections of the Soap & Chemical plant, this bridge was unique as it was built to carry rail vehicles (although it was later converted to carry road vehicles). The bridge fell into disuse around 1964, but remains protected as a Grade II listed building and a scheduled monument, owned by Warrington Borough Council. As such, PLEASE DO NOT CLIMB ONTO THE STRUCTURE.
*This bridge is actually the second transporter bridge in Warrington (Bringing our total to 28), the first was built nearby in 1905, and can be seen here. This bridge was demolished sometime in the 1960's, which means that for approximately 50 years (if we include the also now demolished Widness-Runcorn transporter bridge) the river Mersey had 3 of the worlds transporter bridges.
It is not possible to visit the bridge from the west bank as there is no public access, however a public footpath passes next to the east bank, allowing reasonably easy access to this piece of industrial heritage. If approaching from the north, a public footpath runs through the chemical plant grounds - please stay on the path here as the signage instructs as this is an active plant, and is monitored by CCTV - but makes for an interesting trip through industry, with the old railway tunnel under Warrington Bank Quay still visible. If you would prefer a less industrial approach, head in from the east or south. More detailed routes available here.
To claim a find on this Virtual Cache;
- Visit the bridge on the East Bank.
- Upload a photo of yourself or your GPS device with the bridge (ideally the gondola) visible in the background - as per Virtual Cache logging requirements, faces are not required!
- Look closely on the floor next to the old rail lines that cross the path next to the bridge. There is a metal plate with a Patent Number embossed upon it's surface. Please send me this number via my contact details (email or message) - Please do not upload a picture of this number.
Logs may be submitted before sending the above, but any log without the corresponding picture and message may be deleted.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.