Hagg Bank Bridge

 Hagg Bank Bridge near Wylam in Northumberland , UK, is confusingly known by several names. It is known locally as 'Points Bridge' or, even more colloquially, as the 'Bird Cage'  and is also known as Wylam Railway Bridge (to distinguish it from Wylam Bridge which is a nearby road bridge, both across the River Tyne). It is an early example of an arch suspension bridge or "through arch bridge". It was built in 1876 by the Scotswood, Newburn & Wylam Railway Company and  its design, by W.G. Laws, who became later City Engineer of Newcastle, was way ahead of its time. Locals contend that it was a model both for the, nearby, and much later, Newcastle Tyne Bridge (constructed by Dorman Long in 1928 and designed by Mott, Hay and Anderson) and, because it was both designed and constructed by the same two companies, Sydney Harbour Bridge (built 1932). Its single span design was necessitated  by the fact that building a pier in the centre of the river would have both affected and be affected by shallow coal mine workings directly below.

The link to the Sidney Harbour bridge is contested and most people cite Hells Gate Bridge in New York as the inspiration for the Sydney bridge. In fact their are engineering reasons to dispute the local claim relating the the way the loads are taken by the  abutments on the Hagg Bank Bridge but the locals still stick by their claim. Whatever the truth it remains a very attractive bridge.The bridge originally allowed trains to cross the river Tyne from North Wylam Station to join the Newcastle to Carlisle line at the West Wylam Junction. The bridge has a single span of 240 feet and is made of  iron, cast by Hawks, Crawshay & Co. of Gateshead. It used to carry a double railway line but was closed on March 11th 1968 and is currently used as a cycle footbridge. Although not  open to traffic it is still driveable and was used as a location for a hit and run murder in the iconic British TV detective series Vera.