Selby is a small town some 15 miles south of York, with an excellent bus service from York, so when I wanted a day out Selby was the choice. Just east of the bus station in Selby, the railway crosses the River Ouse on a rather impressive swing bridge. As you can see, there was a signal box built above the bridge, which controlled the opening of the bridge.
The bridge was once regularly opened for river traffic, since Selby was quite a busy inland port, although there is less traffic now. The railway was also busier in the past, with London to Scotland trains crossing this bridge before a new line was built to the west in the 1980s, to avoid the Selby coalfield that was being developed at that time, though there are still frequent trains between Hull and Leeds which pass over this bridge.
The bridge was built around 1890. The bridge had a swinging span of 130 feet (40 m) and a fixed span 110 feet (34 m) with the swing span centre on the north bank of the Ouse. There were small approach bridges, one on the north bank and two on the south side, of which one on the south side form an underpass for a road ('Ousegate'). The bridge was operated by hydraulic engines. This bridge replaced an earlier bridge which dated back to 1840.
Interesting reading and bridge. fav. Coming from the "Waterkant" (North German Coast) I'm always interested in anything to do with water, bridges, ships, oceans etc.
@casablanca Thank you - mum was a bit disappointed by the limited improvement in her vision so far, but the hospital has reassured her that it will continue to improve.
Ian
November 5th, 2019
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Thanks for sharing
Thank you for your lovely comments and favs. Ian read them all before going to look after his mum who was having a cataract operation today.
Katharine
Ian