Old railway bridge near Thwaite Mills??

BlueSmoke · Post by **BlueSmoke** » Tue 13 Nov, 2007 2:00 pm

Hi folks. I have read the posts on here with interest. I am only 25 but I love looking at how stuff was and finding out about things to do with my city etc. I was just thinking earlier about when I was down near Thwaite Mills, I took the road at the side of the Skoda garage and went out to where the canal lock is with the guard hut or whatever it is situated on the platform between the canal and the river, and noticed the remains of presumably a railway bridge at the far bank. It looked to have been quite high up. All that remains now is a wall and the flat top of the embankment where a track looks to have run once. What was this line for, when did the bridge go, and does anyone have a pic of it? I dunno why but I just wanna see it lol. At the near bank of the river there was also what looked like an air shaft, as if there was also a tunnel under the ground there too. Dunno if anyone even knows where I mean.... maybe I will have to get down there with the camera at the weekend.....

Post by **tyke bhoy** » Tue 13 Nov, 2007 2:41 pm

You didn't do emough reading of the threads blue smoke

There is a picture of the swing bridge in this threadhttp://www.secretleeds.com/forum/Messages.aspx ... ight=1What you think is an air shaft probably housed the swing mechanism. The line ran to skleton/knowsthorpe and in the other direction crossed the A61 just up from first direct. you can see the supporting wall of the bridge on the first direct side only. Having crossed what is now the Pontefract line (was the derby line) it meandered through belle isle and Middleton crossing under Middleton ring road near the old Rex cinema (close to Tommy Wass) and joining what is now the Wakefield (London) line opposite the white rose centre

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Tue 13 Nov, 2007 2:46 pm

There's nothing much left of the line to the south of Leeds but crossing the river opposite the stone buttress you've seen much of it is still in place all the way up to Neville hill. This is the view from the embankment on the other side of the river. Beyond the buffer stops was the arm of the massive swing bridge.

BlueSmoke · Post by **BlueSmoke** » Tue 13 Nov, 2007 5:28 pm

Wow just the kind of info I was after! As for the swing mechanism housing, I'm not sure about this. The confusing thing about it being that on the other thread with the photo of the bridge intact, the location of the pivot looks to be similar to where there is a platform today between the canal and the river....... The cylindrical structure I originally referred to, which does indeed look very similar to the one in the bridge pic, just seems to be too far away, being located on the opposite bank to where the end of the tracks are. Could the whole thing have been moved to dry land in some kind of act of preservation? It seems to be too big a difference to be a camera trick making me think that..... I am going to get some up to date pics of this to show you guys. I'm kind of excited about getting involved in a mystery now lol!I do have a phone pic I took on the day I was there actually, that I will try and find later and see if it shows everything. It was a few months back when we had the real bad rain storms. I actually went down to take a look at how bad the river had gotten.

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Tue 13 Nov, 2007 6:10 pm

No it really honestly is the round stone buttress to the swing bridge.. It was MASSIVE. It was the heaviest bridge in Leeds built to open for when tall ships would navigate the canal but they never did. The Canal company hated the railways & devised the plan for tall ships so the railway had to go to all the trouble & expense of this massive structure. The bridge only ever opened once, it was so heavy it dropped a foot & had to be jacked back up. The plan for the tall ships was scrapped straight after the bridge was built leaving the canal company smugly satisfied at the trouble they had caused the railway. If memory serves me well the bridge was demolished in 1977 & the line closed in 1967.. look on the picture on the other page. The brick supports still stand in the river to this day. Coal staithes for the Middleton & Waterloo colliery can be still seen either side of the banks nearby..

moggy · Post by **moggy** » Tue 13 Nov, 2007 8:41 pm

tyke bhoy wrote: You didn't do emough reading of the threads blue smoke

There is a picture of the swing bridge in this threadhttp://www.secretleeds.com/forum/Messages.aspx ... ight=1What you think is an air shaft probably housed the swing mechanism. The line ran to skleton/knowsthorpe and in the other direction crossed the A61 just up from first direct. you can see the supporting wall of the bridge on the first direct side only. Having crossed what is now the Pontefract line (was the derby line) it meandered through belle isle and Middleton crossing under Middleton ring road near the old Rex cinema (close to Tommy Wass) and joining what is now the Wakefield (London) line opposite the white rose centre Hi Tyke bhoyDon,t remember this line passing through Middleton, Belle Isle yes over whats now the motorway bridge over Belle Isle road. Walked from the Rex as far as said bridge as a kid when the tracks were ripped up.

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Tue 13 Nov, 2007 8:47 pm

Yes it crossed directly over the Middleton railway.. it even connected to it.. Just where the South Leeds stadium is it ran straight through there towards Beeston. You can follow the course of the old line on google earth if your good at spotting clues for old railways.

moggy · Post by **moggy** » Tue 13 Nov, 2007 8:55 pm

Hi Phil it crossed the Middleton light railway (trams) also but the point where it crossed was certainly not Middleton , Hunslet /Belle Isle yes But never Miggy.Regards Moggy

moggy · Post by **moggy** » Tue 13 Nov, 2007 9:01 pm

Hi again Phil just another thought I can't remember this line joining the middleton railway either the bridge that crossed it was some thirty odd foot up in the air, there is a leodis pic i will seek out then you will see what i mean.all the best Moggy

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Tue 13 Nov, 2007 9:13 pm

Yes it ran down an embankement & connected to it,,, honest