The Swing Bridge

Took advantage of the Heritage Open Days again and had a tour of The Swing Bridge this afternoon. Wanted to do it last year but all the tours were fully booked so I was glad to get a place this year. There were 15 of us on the tour today.

The Swing Bridge over the River Tyne was built in 1876. It swings open to allow large ships to pass down the Tyne to collect coal and other goods from the landing stages further up the River. It was designed and paid for by Lord Armstrong. The power for operating the bridge is supplied by hydraulic engines worked by electricity driven pumps. My blip photo shows the pump room - where the tour was held - with the bridge above.

Up until 1981 the bridge had opened 286, 281 times. These days the bridge only opens around 4 times per week. It didn't open while we were there. It was really interesting to see the workings of the bridge. The pistons and cogs were surprisingly clean. This view shows the bridge in full.

After the tour I walked up into the centre of town and did a bit of food shopping. Then back home for a quiet evening.

Still haven't found the time to backblip my Nice photos. It has taken me ages this evening uploading them to Facebook and Flickr.

Steps today - 9,115