View source for Blackfriars Railway Bridge

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2014}}
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{{Infobox Bridge |
|image       = Pillars of old Blackfriars Railway Bridge - 02.jpg
|bridge_name = Blackfriars Railway Bridge
|caption     = The current Blackfriars Railway Bridge (on the left) and remains of the old bridge, viewed from the north bank of the Thames
|official_name = 
|locale      = [[London]]
|carries     = [[Holborn Viaduct–Herne Hill line]]
|crosses     = [[River Thames]]
|preceded    = [[Blackfriars Bridge]]
|followed    = [[Millennium Bridge, London|Millennium Bridge]]
|maint       = [[Network Rail]]
|open        = 1886
|below       =
|traffic     = 
|design      = [[Arch bridge|Arch]]
|toll        = 
|mainspan    = 
|length      =
|width       = 
}}

[[File:London, under the Blackfriars Railway Bridge.jpg|right|thumb|[[Thames Path]] under the Blackfriars Railway Bridge]]'''Blackfriars Railway Bridge''' is a railway bridge crossing the [[River Thames]] in [[London]], between [[Blackfriars Bridge]] and the [[London Millennium Bridge|Millennium Bridge]].

==First bridge==
There have been two structures with the name. The first bridge was opened in 1864 and was designed by [[Joseph Cubitt]] for the [[London, Chatham and Dover Railway]]. Massive [[abutments]] at each end carried the railway's insignia, preserved and restored on the south side.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} Following the formation of the [[Southern Railway (Great Britain)|Southern Railway]] in 1924, inter-city and continental services were concentrated on Waterloo, and St Paul's Station became a local and suburban stop. For this reason, the use of the original bridge gradually declined. It eventually became too weak to support modern trains, and was therefore removed in 1985 – all that remains is a series of columns crossing the Thames<ref>[https://archive.today/20120530180739/http://www.loveplums.co.uk/Tube/Blackfriars_Loughborough.html Blackfriars: Loughborough Junction]</ref> and the southern abutment, which is a [[Listed buildings|Grade II listed structure]].<ref>{{NHLE |num=1376596 |desc=Southern abutment to former West Blackfriars and St Paul's Rail Bridge |access-date=27 November 2008}}</ref>

At the southern end of the bridge was [[Blackfriars Bridge railway station]] which opened in 1864 before closing to passengers in 1885 following the opening of what is today the main Blackfriars station.<ref>{{cite web |title=Blackfriars Bridge Station |url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/blackfriars_bridge/index.shtml |website=Disused Stations |quote=Date closed to passengers:  1.10.1885}}</ref> Blackfriars Bridge railway station continued as a goods stop until 1964 when it was mostly demolished, and much of it redeveloped into offices.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

==Second bridge==
The second bridge, built slightly further downstream (to the east), was originally called St Paul's Railway Bridge and opened in 1886 together with a new station in Queen Victoria Street called St Paul's Station.<ref name=":0" /> The joint engineers for the works were William Mills, of the London, Chatham, and Dover Company, and [[John Wolfe-Barry|John Wolfe Barry]] and [[Henry Marc Brunel]]. The resident engineer in charge of the construction was [[Edward Cruttwell]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Cruttwell |first=George Edward Wilson |date=21 March 1890 |title=The new bridge of the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company over the Thames at Blackfriars |journal=The Engineer |pages=237}}</ref> The bridge is made of wrought iron. It was built by [[Lucas and Aird]].<ref>[http://thames.me.uk/s00090.htm Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide]</ref>

The need for the second bridge was the lack of capacity and overcrowding at the first station which had become "in the highest degree dangerous".<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |date=29 December 1883 |title=New Railway Bridge at Blackfriars |journal=The Daily News}}</ref> The directors of the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway determined that they needed to double the lines across the Thames.<ref name=":1" />

The original design was for four rail lines but once work was underway it was decided to expand the bridge to carry seven lines of railway which required extensions to the four piers.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=20 September 1884 |title=The New Bridge at Blackfriars |journal=The Daily News}}</ref> The bridge had a clear width of 81&nbsp;ft between the parapets, increasing to 123&nbsp;ft at the northernmost span to provide space for the platforms. The bridge had five spans, the shore span on the Surrey side being 183&nbsp;ft, the centre span and Middlesex shore span 185&nbsp;ft each, and the second and fourth spans 175&nbsp;ft each. The lengths of the three middle spans corresponded with those of the old bridge alongside for ease of navigation.<ref name=":0" />

When St Paul's railway station changed its name to [[Blackfriars station|Blackfriars]] in 1937 the name of the bridge was changed as well to Blackfriars Railway Bridge.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

As part of the [[Thameslink Programme]], the platforms at Blackfriars station were extended across the Thames and partially supported by the 1864 bridge piers. The project was designed by Will Alsop and built by [[Balfour Beatty]]. The work also included the installation of a roof covered with photovoltaic [[solar panels]]. It is the largest of only three solar bridges in the world (the others being [[Kennedy Bridge (Bonn)|Kennedy Bridge]] in Bonn, Germany, and [[Kurilpa Bridge]] in Australia). Other green improvements included [[sun pipe]]s and [[Rainwater harvesting|systems to collect rain water]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Work starts on solar bridge at Blackfriars station |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/oct/04/solar-bridge-blackfriars-station |newspaper=The Guardian |date=4 October 2011 |access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of crossings of the River Thames]]
*[[List of bridges in London]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Structurae|id=20003161|title=Blackfriars Railway Bridge (1864)}}
* {{Structurae|id=20003162|title=Blackfriars Railway Bridge (1886)}}
{{commons category|Blackfriars Railway Bridge}}

{{ThamesCrossings | west=[[Blackfriars Bridge]] | east=[[Millennium Bridge (London)|London Millennium Footbridge]] }}

{{Bridges of Central London}}

[[Category:Railway bridges in London]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1886]]
[[Category:Bridges in the City of London]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Southwark]]
[[Category:Transport in the London Borough of Southwark]]
[[Category:Bridges across the River Thames]]