20369 - a photo on Flickriver

20369

            The route of the Bristol Harbour Railway, a preserved railway operated by Bristol Museums Galleries & Archives. It runs for about a mile along the south side of Bristol Harbour, starting at M Shed (the former Bristol Industrial Museum), stopping at the SS Great Britain, and ending at B Bond Warehouse (home of the Create Centre), one of the large tobacco warehouses beside Cumberland Basin. In Bristol, Avon.  

The original Bristol Harbour Railway was a joint venture by the GWR and sister company the Bristol and Exeter Railway, opened in 1872 between Temple Meads and the Floating Harbour. Its route included a tunnel under St Mary Redcliffe church and a steam-powered bascule bridge over the entrance locks at Bathurst Basin. In 1876 the railway was extended by 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) to Wapping Wharf.

By Act of Parliament of 1897, the GWR was authorised to make a westwards connection between the BHR and the Portishead Railway, and then create the West Loop at Ashton Gate which would face south towards Taunton and Exeter St Davids. This connection would allow a doubling of BHR rail access capacity to the Great Western main line. In 1906 this authorised extension was constructed, with new branches from the south via the Ashton Swing Bridge were built to: Canons Marsh on the north side of the Floating Harbour; and to Wapping via a line alongside the New Cut.

The Temple Meads connection was closed and the track lifted in 1964 (the bascule bridge engine survives in Bristol Museums). The Canons Marsh branch closed the following year, with the Canons Marsh goods shed is now the home of Explore At-Bristol, a hands-on science centre. The Western Fuel Company continued to use the branch from the Portishead line and Wapping marshalling yard for commercial coal traffic until 1987.

In 1978, the preserved railway was established as an element of Bristol Industrial Museum using locomotives built in Bristol and formerly used at Avonmouth Docks. At first, it connected the museum with the SS Great Britain, but when commercial rail traffic ceased in 1987 the museum railway expanded to use the branch alongside the New Cut. When the Portishead Railway was relaid the connection at Ashton Junction was severed.

Today the railway operates on selected weekends on standard gauge track over 1.5 miles (2.4 km). The railway is currently in use as far as B Bond Warehouse (home to the Create Centre and Bristol Record Office), a mile from the museum. On the south side of the harbour the railway crosses Spike Island, the narrow strip of land between the harbour and the River Avon, and clings to the side of the river as far as the junction with the northern branch at the Cumberland Basin. The former route east over the Swing Bridge is now the Pill Pathway rail trail and cycleway.

In 2006, Bristol Industrial Museum was closed and the site redeveloped into M Shed Museum of Bristol. The railway continues to operate between SS Great Britain Halt and the Create Centre, and in 2011 the railway became part of M Shed's working exhibits.

Taken in: United Kingdom / England / Bristol / Harbourside (show map)

Taken on: June 18, 2015

Tags:

Avon

Bristol

Greater Bristol

River Avon

Prince's Wharf

Wapping Road

M Shed

Bristol Harbour Railway

Bristol Museums Galleries & Archives

Great Western Railway

GWR

train

railway

transport

British Rail

Bristol and Exeter Railway

Floating Harbour

Portishead Railway

Bristol Industrial Museum

B Bond Warehouse « less

Sets appears in: • Avon • Bristol

Groups appears in: • Ruins • Bristol more » • Disused Railways • Travel Photography • Railway and all the things around • Train、Station & Terminal • Views: 200 • UK Railways • South West England • IMAGE`S OF BUILDINGS - OLD AND NEW • Avon area • Engineering as Art • Bristol Photographers • Old & Aged • Trains no more U.K « less

Camera: Nikon D7100, f/9.0, 1/320 sec, 18mm (=27mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D7100
Aperture:	f/9.0
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/320)
Focal Length:	18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	+0.12 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	ViewNX 2.9 W
Show full info

Stats: 3,014 views / 1 comment