Nuneham Railway Bridge

Nuneham Railway Bridge, also known as Nuneham Viaduct and the Black Bridge. is near the town of Abingdon in Oxfordshire, England. It carries the Cherwell Valley Line across the River Thames between Abingdon Lock and Sandford Lock on the line between Didcot and Oxford.

Nuneham Railway Bridge
Nuneham Railway Bridge from downstream
Coordinates51.669456°N 1.240878°W / 51.669456; -1.240878
CarriesCherwell Valley Line
CrossesRiver Thames
LocaleAbingdon, Oxfordshire
Maintained byNetwork Rail
Characteristics
Height15 feet 9 inches (4.80 m)[1]
History
Opened1929
Location

The original Nuneham Railway Bridge was constructed of timber in 1844 but was demolished in 1850 after it was replaced by an iron bridge. The second bridge was largely replaced by the present bridge in 1906-7. Its name is derived from the neighbouring Nuneham House.[2]

History

Nuneham Railway Bridge was built in the early years of the Great Western Railway. The company built a branch line from its line running west out of London to serve Oxford which became known as the Cherwell Valley Line. A bridge to cross the River Thames required its design and alterations to be approved by the Thames Commissioners and were supervised by the civil engineer George Treacher.[3]

The original bridge, which opened to traffic during 1844 proved inadequate and work on its replacement began only five years later. In 1850, the second bridge, a seven span iron structure, was completed. However, the cast iron screw-piles suffered from subsidence and after repeated maintenence work, the southern four spans were replaced in 1907 consisting of a pair of steel bowstring trusses with a pier in the centre of the river and a pier on the north bank. The existing southern abutment was re-used.[4] In approximately 1929 the remaining three 1850 over-land spans on the north side were replaced with brick arches.[5]

April 2023 safety closure

On 3 April 2023, ongoing failure of the southern abutment of the bridge, necessitated that the bridge be closed to rail traffic, with a bus replacement service operating between Didcot Parkway and Oxford.[6][7] On 5 April, Network Rail tweeted that the viaduct would be closed for several weeks.[8][9] The line and bridge carries freight from Port of Southampton and up to forty freight trains a day use the route.[10][11]

See also

References
  1. "Bridge heights on the River Thames". River Thames Alliance. January 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2008.
  2. "The River Thames - Its Bridges". the-river-thames.co.uk. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  3. "Elevation of Nuneham [railway] Bridge, for the Oxford branch of the Great Western Railway". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. 1852.
  4. "Nuneham Viaduct". The Great Western Railway Magazine. October 1908.
  5. "Nuneham Railway Bridge". Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  6. "Railway between Didcot Parkway and Oxford to remain closed until after Easter". RailAdvent. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  7. "Oxfordshire: Rail disruption over viaduct stability fears". BBC News Online. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  8. Network Rail Western [@networkrailwest] (5 April 2023). "We are working hard to get the railway open again between Didcot Parkway and Oxford. Nuneham Viaduct is unsafe for train traffic at this time and will be closed for some weeks - please check before you travel" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. Sholli, Sam (4 April 2023). "Nuneham Viaduct 'safety concerns' lead to Oxfordshire rail line closure". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  10. "Didcot Parkway - Oxford rail line shut until 'late April' for viaduct checks". BBC News. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  11. "GWR Managing Director Mark Hopwood". Twitter. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
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