Somerleyton Swing Bridge

Somerleyton Swing Bridge is a railway bridge with swinging capability across the River Waveney in Suffolk, built from wrought iron with three longitudinal support beams. The structure can swing to the side to allow boats to pass while maintaining rail traffic capability.

Built in 1905 by the Great Eastern Railway, this structure replaced an earlier single-track bridge to handle growing rail traffic. This upgrade was necessary because railway demand in the region had increased significantly.

The bridge shows how rail and water transport existed side by side, with train traffic and boat traffic managed through careful coordination. Visitors can observe here a practical solution that connected two different transport systems together.

Visitors can watch the bridge move when it operates, though access to the structure itself is usually restricted. It is best to visit the area at low tide, when conditions for observing from both sides are more favorable.

A Network Rail worker must physically walk across the bridge to release a lock pin before returning to the signal box to control its movements. This unusual procedure shows how much manual work still goes into this seemingly automated process.