Richmond Railway Bridge

Richmond Railway Bridge in Richmond, Greater London, crosses the River Thames immediately upstream of Twickenham Bridge. It carries National Rail services operated by South Western Railway (SWR) on the Waterloo to Reading Line, and lies between Richmond and St Margarets stations. The bridge was amongst the first railway crossings of the Thames. The first Richmond Railway Bridge was built by the contractor Thomas Brassey and designed by the civil engineers Joseph Locke and J. E. Errington on behalf of the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR). Opened during 1848, it was originally known as the Richmond Windsor and Staines Railway Bridge. Due to concerns over the bridge's use of cast iron in its construction, it was rebuilt during the 1900s, the principal change being the substitution of iron elements for steel counterparts. This second bridge, which heavily reused elements of the original, was designed by the L&SWR's then-chief engineer, John Wykeham Jacomb-Hood, and constructed by the Horseley Bridge Company between 1906 and 1908. The second bridge is visually similar to the earlier structure, retaining much of its aesthetics and original features despite subsequent refurbishment and maintenance programmes, including the replacement of its decking and girders during the 1980s. Since 2008, both the bridge itself and its brick approach viaduct have been Grade II listed structures, protecting them from unsympathetic alterations.