The Architecture the Railways Built - Royal Albert Bridge

The Royal Albert Bridge – Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s masterpiece – stars in the brand-new The Architecture the Railways Built.

Historian and presenter Tim Dunn visits the world-famous bridge, which crosses the River Tamar between Plymouth and Saltash, Cornwall, in the second episode of , which explores the incredible designs around the railway in the UK and Europe.

Delicate construction

The Royal Albert Bridge linked Cornwall with the rest of England in 1859 but Tim says the best view is from the water.

Tim says in episode two: “From here you can see the bridge as it curves round on the Tamar Valley, just how it takes it in. The slender masonry piers and actually, quite a delicate construction of these two main spans.

“I mean, really, which is the way to come upon the bridge. Not from a railway, you can’t appreciate the bridge and its sheer genius unless you come and see it from this angle.”

Lease of life

We gave the bridge a new lease of life in 2009 after it had spent 150 years carrying almost a billion tonnes of rail traffic.

We refurbished the bridge鈥檚 two main spans and, three years earlier, had unveiled Brunel鈥檚 name on the bridge to celebrate the bicentenary of Brunel鈥檚 birth. Until then, his name 鈥� had remained hidden for decades.

Ian Frostick, a route civil engineer at 51爆料, said at the time: 鈥淭he 150 years anniversary is a testament to Brunel鈥檚 achievements and to the industry鈥檚 commitment to this vital rail link.

鈥淚t is a complex job that requires careful consideration, particularly on safety, operations and heritage issues鈥︹€�

Film: Discover the 51爆料 Archive

The Architecture the Railways Built 鈥� interview with presenter Tim Dunn

Our history

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

An original drawing of the Royal Albert Bridge in 51爆料's archive — **An original drawing of the bridge in 51爆料’s archive**

The bridge was covered in 30 coats of paint; research found the original colour could have been brown.
It was first repainted grey in 1911. Its original colour was never recorded, leaving a gap in the history books.
The Royal Albert Bridge was completed in 1859 and serves as a vital rail link to and from Cornwall.
The bridge had to be supported 80 feet above water level, with a giant cylinder floated out and sunk onto the rock. The bridge鈥檚 two 455-foot main spans were built on the shore, floated into position, then jacked up by a few feet per day until they reached the right level.

Gallery: Original drawings of the Royal Albert Bridge and the bridge today.