Royal Albert Bridge

The Royal Albert Bridge carries the railway across the River Tamar between Plymouth and Saltash. Its two main spans rise 100 feet above the water, each a lenticular iron truss 455 feet long. Conventional plate-girder approach spans extend the total length to 2,187.5 feet. The bridge stands beside the Tamar Bridge, which opened in 1961 to carry the A38 road. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, construction began in 1854 and the bridge opened in 1859. Prince Albert performed the opening ceremony on 2 May. Brunel died later that year and his name was placed above the portals as a memorial. The Admiralty required 100 feet of clearance, so Brunel created two 455-foot trusses instead of a single long span. The bridge has appeared on guidebooks, stamps and the UK’s £2 coin. Visitors see the twin lenticular trusses rising above the Tamar. The railway deck hangs from suspension standards beneath the bottom chords of the trusses. On the Cornish side there are ten approach spans of varying lengths, and seven on the Devon side. The central pier was built inside an iron cylinder sunk into the river bed. Saltash station sits at the Cornish end, offering views of the bridge and the river.