Bourne End Railway Bridge is a railway bridge carrying the Marlow Branch Line, and a footpath over the River Thames in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, England. It crosses the Thames on the reach between Cookham Lock and Marlow Lock.
Bourne End Railway Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Bourne End Railway Bridge showing cantilevered footbridge | |
| Coordinates | 51°34′30″N 0°42′51″W / 51.57500°N 0.71417°W |
| Carries | Marlow Branch Line Thames Path |
| Crosses | River Thames |
| Locale | Bourne End, Buckinghamshire |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Box girder and cantilever |
| Material | Iron |
| Height | 15 feet 6 inches (4.72 m)[1] |
| History | |
| Opened | 1895 |
| Location | |
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The bridge was originally constructed in wood by Isambard Kingdom Brunel as part of the Wycombe Railway, opened in 1854 and operated in broad gauge until 1870.[2] The narrow spans were unpopular with river traffic and the bridge was reconstructed in steel in 1895. A footbridge, cantilevered out from the railway bridge was added in 1992, to take the Thames Path across the river;[3] this substitutes for the historical towpath crossing point at Spade Oak ferry, about 1 km upstream of the bridge.[4]
In 2013, the bridge was restored and repainted in green, and a large number of rivets which had rusted away were replaced. The restoration took nearly a year to complete, being finished in December.[5] There was a plan to electrify the line,[6] but due to cost overruns during electrifying the GWR main line, this has apparently been postponed indefinitely.