Newport Transporter Bridge
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Newport Transporter Bridge | |
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| Design | Transporter bridge |
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The Newport Transporter Bridge (Template:Langx) is a transporter bridge that crosses the River Usk in Newport, South East Wales. The bridge is the lowest crossing on the river. Built in 1906, it is a Grade I listed structure.
Only a few dozen transporter bridges were ever built, and fewer than 10 remain in use worldwide. The Newport bridge has been the only operational transporter bridge in Britain since 2019 when the Tees Transporter Bridge was closed as unsafe.
It was closed in 2025 for extensive repairs, which are expected to wrap up in late 2026.[2]
History
The bridge was designed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin. It was built in 1906 and opened by Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar, on 12 September 1906.[3] Newport Museum holds a silver cigar cutter which was presented to Viscount Tredegar on the day of the opening, as a memento of the occasion.[4]
Design
The design was chosen because the river banks are very low at the desired crossing point (a few miles south of the city centre) where an ordinary bridge would need a very long approach ramp to attain sufficient height to allow ships to pass under, and a ferry could not be used during low tide at the site.[5] The river is too narrow for a swing bridge or a bascule bridge (drawbridge).[6]
Principal dimensions
A Corporation of Newport drawing dated December 1902 is calibrated in metres. The height of the towers is 73.6 metres (241.5 ft), and the height to the underside of the main girder truss above the road level is Template:Cvt. The span between the centres of the towers is Template:Cvt, and the clearance between the towers is quoted as being Template:Cvt; however, including the cantilevered sections, the main girder truss gives the bridge an overall length of Template:Cvt. The distance between the centres of the anchorage caissons is Template:Cvt. Power to propel the transporter platform or gondola is provided by two Template:Cvt electric motors, which in turn drive a large winch, situated in an elevated winding house at the eastern end of the bridge. This winch is sufficient to drive the gondola through its Template:Cvt total travel at a speed of 3 metres per second (9.8 ft/s).[6]
The Newport Transporter is Template:Cvt taller and Template:Cvt less in overall length than the Tees Transporter Bridge. It also uses about 1,400 long tons (1,600 short tons) of steel compared to 2,600 long tons (2,900 short tons), not counting steel used in foundations or concrete anchors.[6][7] This is largely because the Newport bridge uses cables to support and induce tension in its structure far more than does the Middlesbrough bridge.
The bridge is a Grade I listed structure, its Cadw listing describing it as "the oldest and largest of the three historic transporter bridges which remain in Britain, and also the largest of eight such bridges which remain worldwide".[8]
Other information
Today, the bridge is considered an “iconic symbol” of the city of Newport, particularly as a mark of its industrial heritage.[9] As well as a working transport link, the bridge is also open as a tourist attraction – visitors could climb the towers and walk across the upper deck for a small charge. The bridge forms part of the classified highway network and is also where route 4 of the National Cycle Network crosses the River Usk and route 47 begins. It was the focal point of the local millennium celebrations of 2000, where fireworks were fired from its length, and has been featured in several movies and television shows. It was the centre-piece of the Crow Point Festival in September 2006 to celebrate its centenary. It is used for charity events such as sponsored abseils.
Refurbishment
The bridge was shut down in 1985 because of wear and tear. Following a £3 million refurbishment, it reopened in 1995. Service was suspended again in December 2008 with the bridge facing a £2 million repair bill.[10] £1.225 million was spent on refurbishment, financed by grants from the Welsh Government, Newport City Council and Cadw. It re-opened on 30 July 2010.[11] The bridge was closed on 16 February 2011, because of operational problems, but re-opened again on 4 June.[12]
It is currently closed until late 2026 for extensive repairs.[2][13]
Appearances in popular media
The transporter bridge provided the setting for some scenes in the 1959 British crime drama film Tiger Bay, which was set in Cardiff and therefore gave audiences the impression that the bridge was in Cardiff and not Newport.[citation needed] The bridge features extensively in the 1996 video for the song "Talk to Me" by Newport band 60 Ft. Dolls.[14][non-primary source needed]
Visitor centre
The Visitor Centre is located on the west bank and features exhibits on the history of the bridge, its construction and other transporter bridges around the world. The centre has a painting of David Pearce, the former undefeated Welsh and British Heavyweight Boxing Champion 1983–1985. Pearce used to run up the steps of the Transporter Bridge during his training. The centre is generally open at weekends,[15] but it is currently closed while extensive restoration of the bridge structure is performed and a new visitor centre is constructed.[16][2]
Gallery
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The bridge from the West bank to the North
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The gondola in transit
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Gondola approaching the pier
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Looking down onto the gondola
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Operating the cables and motors
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Operating the gondola
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Main girder, from inside
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Walkway on top of the bridge showing the pulley cable
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Newport Transporter Bridge, 1931
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The Transporter Bridge in 2008
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Official photograph of the bridge crew, 2013
See also
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Visit". Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Mansfield, Mark (9 December 2025). "Transporter Bridge reopening delayed until late 2026". Nation.Cymru. Archived from the original on 18 January 2026. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."City transporter bridge centenary". BBC News. Newport. 12 September 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Now and Then: The opening of the Newport Transporter Bridge". South Wales Argus. 28 April 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Windsor, Henry Haven, ed. (1922). "Suspended Ferry Carries Traffic Across English River". Popular Mechanics Magazine. Vol. 37. p. 60–61. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Taylor, Alun (1 October 2021). "Is it a bridge? Is it a ferry? No, it's the Newport Transporter". The Register. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Coleman, F. C. (16 December 1911). "Novel Transportation Bridge in Great Britain". Scientific American. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ Template:Cadw
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."BBC - Wales History: Newport Transporter Bridge". Archived from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Nine historic buildings get £385k". Newport: BBC Wales News. 13 January 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Transporter Bridge to re-open". Newport: South Wales Argus. 25 July 2010. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Newport Museums & Heritage Service : Homepage". Newport.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Hill, Jonathon; Thomas, Nicholas; Reporter, Local Democracy (1 September 2025). "Newport's Transporter Bridge to carry cars again after major work". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 17 September 2025. Retrieved 17 April 2026.
- ^ 60 Ft Dolls - Talk to Me (Version 1) on YouTube
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Campaigners hope to put statue honouring 'Newport's Rocky' on Gilligan's Island". Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Newport Museums & Heritage Service: Transporter Bridge". Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
External links
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- Friends of Newport Transporter Bridge
- Dimensioned blue-print drawing of Newport's Transporter Bridge
- Crow Point Festival – Transporter Bridge centenary celebrations
- Newport Transporter Bridge at StructuraeTemplate:Edit at Wikidata
- A collection of photographs, documents and plans relating to the construction of the Newport Transporter Bridge, 1902–06
- Newport Council page for the transporter bridge
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