3. The history
The Severn railway bridge was built in 1879. It
connected Sharpness and Lydney over the river
Severn to carry coal from Lydney forest to
Sharpness docks. From the docks it was shipped
out.
Later on it also had some passenger trains and some
school children used it to get to school.
This picture shows
the route of the
railway
4. What it looked like
The Severn railway bridge had a swing bridge that
went over the barge canal. It was a swing bridge
because ships came off the Severn and onto the
canal to take their cargo to the docks.
The bridge was 1268 metres long and only had one
track on it.TheWales side of the bridge had a huge
viaduct on the land part of the bridge.
This is a picture of the
swing bridge on the
Severn bridge
5. The accident!
In 1960 a barge crashed in to one of the bridge
supports. Then another barge carrying black oil
caught alight and exploded. Five men died.
The bridge collapsed and the line was closed.
They demolished the bridge in 1967 because it was
cheaper to demolish than repair.
6. What is left of the bridge
The swing bridge has been taken down but the
supports are still there to see today.
The supports going across the river have been
demolished but at low tide you can see the very
bottom of them.
This is a picture of me
by the swing bridge
supports
