Greyhound Bridge

The Greyhound Bridge is the name of a road-connection spanning the River Lune as it runs through Lancaster; serving as the primary route northwards, on account of a one-way system that directs all southbound traffic over the Skerton Bridge. It is the third bridge to stand on the present site and can be found situated between the Lune Millennium Bridge and the Carlisle Bridge, (see Carlisle Bridge, Lancaster).

History (1848-Present)

The current bridge was erected in 1911, replacing earlier bridges of 1848 and 1864, as part of the Morecambe Harbour and Railway Company's fledgling network, stretching from Lancaster Green Ayre station, (adjacent to Skerton Bridge), to Morecambe Harbour Railway Station.

The first incarnation of what would later be the Greyhound Bridge, was originally constructed out of laminated timber in 1848; later being replaced during 1862-1864, with a wrought-iron viaduct that served the railway network for nearly half a century...before being replaced again by the current structure. An interesting aside to the demolition of the 1864 bridge was that material-salvage would, in fact, be used in the 1913 reconstruction of what is now the 'Old Halton Railway Bridge', further up the River Lune, as part of the same railway network.

After the closure of the Railway in 1966, the Greyhound Bridge was converted for use by road-traffic and since being re-opened in 1972, to the present serves in excess of 20,000 northbound vehicles a day.

Significance

The structure is notable for its westward curve, onto the northern bank of the River Lune; a feature that has been prominent on the landscape, since at least the second incarnation of the bridge, (wrought-iron), completed in 1864.

With overhead electrification of the Lancaster-Morecambe Line in 1908, (see Lancaster Green Ayre Railway Station), it is very possible that the Greyhound Bridge may have been the first bridge in the United Kingdom to carry electrified rolling-stock; owing to it being the only bridge on that section of line.

Sources

http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=583 (accessed 07.02.15) http://www.drakkar.co.uk/ch13.pdf (accessed 07.02.15) (To be formatted properly)