Monument record 626/1/1 - Bank Quay Transporter Bridge

Bridge was built for & is owned by Joseph Crosfield & Sons Ltd, a chemical firm, whose works occupy adjacent sites on both sides of the River Mersey at Bank Quay.Transporter bridge was built when the works expanded onto the S bank of the river.Designed in 1913 & built 1913/15, designers & engineers were Sir William Arrol & Co.Ltd Glasgow.Of cantilever type, lattice steel construction.Span is 57m & the clearance above the water level is 23m. The travelling platform is 9m x 4.5m & has standard gauge railway rails flush with its surface.Traction is by an electric motor, gears & wire ropes, the haulage gears being mounted at the top of the structure.The platform could carry 1 standard 10 ton railway wagon, a shunting locomotive or road vehicles & pedestrians.It connects with a siding from the main London/Glasgow railway just S of Bank Quay station.Poss only transporter bridge in the world designed primarily for rail traffic.Ceased to be regularly used in 1950s (1).

Oxford Archaeology North, 2005, Arpley Meadows, Warrington, Cheshire: Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment (Client Report). SCH4717.

<1> File 2683A (Book). SCH1240.

<2> Capstick B, 1981-1987, Field Monument Warden Report, Capstick B 1985 Ches 108 (Unpublished Report). SCH1222.

<3> Department of the Environment, 1971-2005, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, /5/160 (Report). SCH1934.