Black Potts Railway Bridge, Railway bridge in Windsor, England.
Black Potts Railway Bridge is an iron railway bridge that crosses the River Thames near Windsor, carrying trains on the line from London Waterloo to Windsor. The structure uses a small tree-covered island in the middle of the river as its central support point, allowing the span to reach both banks.
The bridge was built in 1850 and experienced a significant pier collapse shortly before its scheduled inspection. This early incident shaped how the structure was subsequently evaluated and maintained.
The structure represents mid-19th century British industrial engineering, with its original cast-iron ribs later replaced by wrought iron girders.
The bridge can be reached from Windsor and Eton Riverside station, and it sits between two locks making it easy to locate along the river. Visitors can view it from the surrounding footpaths, which offer clear sightlines of the structure and the river activity below.
The bridge relies on Black Potts Ait, a tiny tree-covered island in the river, as its central pier - an unusual engineering solution that uses nature as part of the structure. This approach let engineers work with the river's existing features rather than against them.
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