When the first railways were built, the only means of
transporting goods around the country was horse and cart, coastal shipping and
canals. Therefore, in order to avoid the cost and difficulty of moving building
materials in bulk, the early railway builders used locally sourced supplies
wherever possible. Once the railways became developed, the transport of heavy
goods became cheaper and easier, so it became more common to used materials
from elsewhere, especially if these were superior to what could be obtained
locally or more suitable.
 |
Godstone Road bridge, Purley - slow lines, photographed on 26th
August 2007.
photograph by Gregory Beecroft
|
| Godstone Road bridge, Purley - fast lines, photographed on 25th
August 2007.
photograph by Gregory Beecroft
|
 |
The bridges over Godstone Road, Purley illustrate this change. The only
locally-available building materials are brick and timber. The South Eastern
Railway used timber quite extensively, but the London & Brighton Railway
did not. The original bridge, now carrying the slow lines, is a brick arch
(above left). When the line was quadrupled, a plate girder bridge was
constructed for the fast lines (above right).
 |
Godstone Road bridge, Purley - Caterham branch, photographed on
26th August 2007.
photograph by Gregory Beecroft
|
The span carrying the Caterham branch illustrates 20th century bridge
building, having been reconstructed with welded steel beams and concrete.
| Balcombe station, rock cutting slope and masonry wall,
photographed on 26th August 2007.
photograph by Gregory Beecroft
|
 |
 |
Balcombe, Bridge number 134, photographed on 14th October 2007.
photograph by Gregory Beecroft
|
| Balcombe, London Road bridge, photographed on 2nd January 2010.
photograph by Gregory Beecroft
|
 |
There is an excellent example of local use of materials further down the
Brighton line. Almost all bridges between London and Brighton were constructed
of brick, but at Balcombe the railway cut through an outcrop of rock. There is
a rock slope behind the down platform (above right). London Road bridge, at the
south end of the station, is substantially built of stone, as is an overbridge
bridge (above left) a short distance north of the station. This carries a minor
lane, and in shape and dimensions is the same as brick bridges elsewhere on the
line.
 |
Lower Green Road bridge, Esher, photographed on 10th May 2009.
photograph by Gregory Beecroft
|
The extensive use of locally-available brick by the early railway companies,
and lack of experience in building wide arches, resulted in some very small
underbridges, particularly where the line was running on a low embankment. This
is the London & Southampton bridge at Lower Green Road, Esher and there are
several others like it. When the railway was widened plate girder spans were
added on both sides, and it can be seen how greater width and height were
possible. There are a number of equally restricted brick underbridges on the
Brighton line. |
