Bridges No.38 - Staines Railway Bridge

The first bridge encountered at Staines when travelling upstream is the railway bridge. This sits on a stretch of track between Egham and Staines stations on the line running from Reading to London Waterloo. This is the same line that crosses the river over Richmond Railway Bridge. Staines Railway Bridge was designed by John Gardner for the Staines, Wokingham and Woking Junction Railway. The SW&WJR was very quickly to become part of the London & South Western Railway. The bridge is built from wrought iron plate girders and rests on two piers consisting of three cast-iron cylinders filled with concrete. The bridge was built by Cochrane & Co and opened for service in 1856. This was the year when the line from Staines was extended out to Ascot and Wokingam. At Wokingham the line then connected with the South Eastern Railway line into Reading.