Maidenhead Railway Bridge

Maidenhead Railway Bridge spans the River Thames between Maidenhead and Taplow. It carries the Great Western Main Line on two wide red-brick arches, each 39 metres across and only 7.4 metres high. The bridge sits on a small island in the river, between Boulter’s Lock and Bray Lock. Two smaller arches lead trains over the river banks. The brickwork uses London stock bricks, and the piers rest on the existing island. Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed the bridge in the 1830s for the Great Western Railway. His low, flat arches were criticised at the time for looking unstable. Brunel insisted on leaving the wooden supports in place until a storm destroyed them in 1839. The bridge opened in 1839 and was widened in the 1890s by Sir John Fowler. It now carries four tracks and electric wires for modern trains. Visitors walk the Thames towpath under the right-hand arch, known as the Sounding Arch for its loud echo. The bridge appears in J. M. W. Turner’s painting ‘Rain, Steam and Speed’. It became a Grade I listed structure in 2012. Rowers racing at the Maidenhead Regatta pass close by each year. The arches remain the flattest ever built for their span.