The High Level Bridge spanning the River Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead is a 'double decker 'road and rail bridge'
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| Newcastle Gateshead High Level Bridge |
Until 1849, there was no rail bridge over the River Tyne near the station, trains from the south crossed the Tyne at Scotswood. The only bridge over the Tyne in from the city was the low level bridge which originated in the 14th century.
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| Newcastle Low Level Bridge 1830 |
In 1845 the Newcastle and Berwick Railway (N&B R) was authorised by Parliament to link to a rail line from Berwick to Edinburgh. The line was to include a bridge over the Tyne to Gateshead.
The High Level Bridge was designed by Tyneside Engineer Robert Stephenson. The N&B R's requirement was for a combined rail and rod bridge. Stephenson conceived the idea of a 'double decker' bridge in order to save costs. The girder bridge would be 408 metres (1,337 feet) long and 12 metres (40 feet) wide, standing 34 metres (112 feet) above the River Tyne. The construction would use 5,131 tonnes (5,050 tons) of wrought iron.
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| Robert Stephenson designer of the High Level Bridge |
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge Design |
Construction began on 7th June 1847 and completed on 7th June 1849 the first passenger train crossing the Tyne of 15th August .
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Newcastle High Level Bridge
Medal struck on completion 1849 |
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| Newcastle High Level and Low Level Bridges 1849 |
Queen Victoria inaugurated the High Level Bridge on 28th September 1849.
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge Opening Sep 1849 |
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Newcastle High Level Bridge Opening Sep 1849
Presentation of Addresses to Queen Victoria |
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge Opening Sep 1849 |
The road deck opened in February 1850. The High Level Bridge would be the first combined road and rail bridge in the World.
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge Roadway 1850 |
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge 1850 |
The Low Level Bridge was demolished in 1868 and replaced by a swing bridge which opened for road traffic on 15th June 1876 and river traffic on 17th July. It was designed and built by Lord Armstrong to enable large ships to be built at the Elswick Works. When it was constructed it was the largest swing bridge ever built.
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| Newcastle High Level and Swing Bridges 1876 |
In 1881 the locomotive 'Killingworth Billy', one of George Stephenson's original engines was placed on a plinth at the Newcastle end of the High Level Bridge to commemorate his 100th Birthday. It remained until 1896 when it was moved to Newcastle Central Station.
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge Killingworth Billy c1885 |
Trains entering Newcastle Station over the High Level Bridge needed to reverse in the same direction that they entered, a practice that caused congestion within the station. In October 1906 the King Edward VII Bridge opened to provide an additional four tracks into the station and allowed trains to enter and depart form either side.
The opening of the King Edward VII Bridge meant that the East Coast Main Line no longer passed over the High Level Bridge.
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| Newcastle Railway Bridges 1906 |
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge c1911 |
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge c1913 |
Tramways had been operational in Gateshead since 1883 and Newcastle since 1901. There was however no link between the two tramways and services terminated at each end of the High Level Bridge. |
Gateshead end High Level bridge
& Gateshead railway station c 1911 |
A horse bus service ran between each end of the High Level Bridge.
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge Horse Bus c.1922 |
The two systems were linked via the road deck in 1923 when the first tram crossed the High Level Bridge in January.
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Gateshead High Level Bridge 1923
First Tram across the High Level Bridge |
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| Gateshead High Level Bridge Tram |
The vista of Newcastle would start to change in 1925 when the commencing of the building of the iconic Tyne Bridge in 1925. It took three years to build and was officially opened by George V on 10th October 1928.
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River Tyne Newcastle 1928
Tyne / Swing / High Level Bridges |
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge 1938 |
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge 1949 |
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| Gateshead High Level Bridge 1958 |
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge 1960 |
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge 1960s |
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| Gateshead High Level Bridge 1977 |
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge 1981 |
Electrification of the the East Coast Main Line (ECML) began in 1974 between Kings Cross and Hitchin. Work on the second phase to extend to Leeds and Edinburgh Commenced in 1984.
The ECML was eventually electrified from London to Edinburgh by 1991, and as part of the work the tracks on the High Level bridge were reduced from three tracks to two.
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge 1995 |
In 2015 the Royal Mail issued a stamp featuring the High Level Bridge as part of a set commemorating British Bridges;
"Linking Newcastle-upon-Tyne with Gateshead, the High Level Bridge is one of the most innovative and visually powerful bridges created during Britain’s Railway Age."
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Royal Mail British Bridges 2015
High Level Bridge River Tyne |
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Newcastle High Level Bridge 2017
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| Newcastle High Level Bridge 2018 |
