Railway bridges struck by road vehicles - merged topic, ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[chuffed]

Poor Rose had to wait a bit longer for her Norfolk bronzed turkey then ? At least, I think I am on safer ground in suggesting that the driver wasn't our own dear CfN then ?!

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for your concern, chuffed, but I am able to confirm that I cannot possibly be blamed for that latest one. 

[JayMac]

Mercedes Sprinter would have passed under that bridge with ease!

[LiskeardRich]

I wonder if the road under that bridge has recently been resurfaced. A resurface often raises the surface a few inches. I've seen a number of bridge strikes have been reported in the media that the truck had gone under it before a resurface.
This looks to be an inch or two too tall at most.

Edit***
After a little research As suspected the road is scheduled for resurfacing between November and mid December, road works can be seen in the photos attached to some articles.

[TonyK]

Such a lot on my mind today, and someone has reminded me of turkey. Must order!

It is today my middle daughter's birthday, and as of 8.05 yesterday, courtesy of my youngest daughter, I have become Four Grandchildren, Now! This meant a departure at 03.00 with Mrs FT, N! to mind our oldest grandson, a return at 22.00 without her, followed by a "normal" day at work with me in an unusually affable humour. Luckily, I am no slouch in the kitchen.

Young William will, I am sure, grow to like railways. His elder brother already does, as well as aircraft.

After a little research As suspected the road is scheduled for resurfacing between November and mid December, road works can be seen in the photos attached to some articles.

Let's hope they plane off more tarmac than they put back on.

[JayMac]

Young William will, I am

That nickname's already taken FT,N! 

[stuving]

Anyone know a good, cheap bricklayer?

As I was going to Tesco in Wokingham this morning, I was struck by just how bad this poor old bridge (on the RGRR over the A321) has got. I don't recall any single strike that was reported as especially bad, so I guess it is just cumulative damage.

The road slopes upwards towards this end, and you can see how vehicles gouge more deeply into the brickwork as that come up the hill and then push the facing bricks off. I wonder just how much worse can it get without jeopardising the train service.

WBC have a plan (or rather several options) to build a new one, either replacing this one or next to it. As usual, they seem determined to get almost all the money from s.106 contributions, so it may not happen at all soon.

[TonyK]

Anyone know a good, cheap bricklayer?

I know several who can satisfy either one of the conditions, but none who fits the bill on both counts.

[stuving]

As I was going to Tesco in Wokingham this morning, I was struck by just how bad this poor old bridge (on the RGRR over the A321) has got. I don't recall any single strike that was reported as especially bad, so I guess it is just cumulative damage.

Network Rail are now going to repair this bridge, closing Finchampstead Raod for next weekend (12th-15th). Apparently there was a particularly serious strike a few weeks ago - though I guess it was still the last camel.

[SandTEngineer]

As I was going to Tesco in Wokingham this morning, I was struck by just how bad this poor old bridge (on the RGRR over the A321) has got. I don't recall any single strike that was reported as especially bad, so I guess it is just cumulative damage.

Network Rail are now going to repair this bridge, closing Finchampstead Raod for next weekend (12th-15th). Apparently there was a particularly serious strike a few weeks ago - though I guess it was still the last camel.

....or is it possible NR^» (Network Rail - home page) has been reading this thread as they don't seem bothered by other things falling down....

[CLPGMS]

Spare a thought for the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, which reports the following on its Bridges to Broadway site.  Restoration of the bridge was only completed a few weeks ago.

"We are heartbroken to have to report that Broadway bridge was hit by a skip lorry at 12.50 on November 26th, while the Broadway gang was at work there. The skip scraped along the underside and damaged the paintwork and bolt ends. The lorry made off in reverse without leaving any details, however, we know the owner and registration number. The police have been informed.

To cap it all, Broadway bridge was hit a second time yesterday evening at 22.30hrs, in a similar way. Again the paintwork underneath was damaged, and one bolt was ripped out. The lorry involved was an articulated curtain sider, and after stopping briefly, again made off without leaving details. It must have suffered some damage, as several pieces of steel were left by the roadside. If anyone can give us more information on this second collision, we would be grateful to hear."

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Cherry-picker van hits Bradford railway bridge


The vehicle hit the bridge in Mill Lane, Bradford, at about 09.35 GMT

A cherry-picker van has crashed into a railway bridge in West Yorkshire causing delays to train services.

Police said the accident happened at about 09.35 GMT in Mill Lane, Bradford, near the Bradford Interchange.

Northern Rail said services were suspended from about 11.30 to 12.15 while Network Rail engineers inspected the bridge.

The road, which was closed to allow the vehicle to be removed, has since reopened. No-one was injured.

[TonyK]

One of the more expensive incidents - a bridge hit by several cars!The source is BT's homepage

Brand new Ford Focus cars wrecked after lorry gets wedged under low bridge
Driver has some explaining to do after a shortcut took his car transporter under a low bridge ^ wrecking five new cars worth up to ^110,000.



This is the moment a fleet of brand new Ford cars were wrecked before they even had a chance to clock up a single mile ^ after the driver of a car transporter got wedged under a low bridge.

The hapless driver took a shortcut to avoid queuing traffic when he collided with a 4.4m (14.5ft) high bridge.

Dramatic pictures showed the top tier of the vehicle ^ containing five brand new Ford Focus cars - virtually flattened in the crash.

The incident happened when the driver from Merseyside, drove under the Snowford Hill railway bridge near Long Itchington, Warkwickshire.


New Ford Focus cars start at ^13,995 for the 1.6-litre petrol model, rising to ^21,795 for the top-of-the-range diesel edition.

One motorist who witnessed the crash said: "It was like watching it in slow motion.

"It's a long road and it was pretty obvious the transporter was too high for the bridge but it kept going and suddenly there was a crunch and all these new cars got wrecked.

"The driver wasn't hurt but he looked as white as a sheet, he was no doubt trying to think of how he was going to explain it to his bosses at Ford.

"It had to be Friday 13th when the accident happened. If you want take a chance on a shortcut that is not the day to try your luck."



It is believed the damage to the cars and the bridge will run into tens of thousands of pounds.

An engineer from Warwickshire County Council was sent to inspect the damage and make a report.

A spokeswoman for Ford confirmed the "serious incident" was currently under investigation and said it was not possible to comment further at this stage.

Photo credits: SWNS

I love the line "It is believed the damage to the cars and the bridge will run into tens of thousands of pounds." - duh! Two wrecked cars runs into tens of thousands.

[JayMac]

One from 'our' area:

From the Wilts & Gloucestershire Standard:

Lorry recovered after crashing into railway bridge near Kemble
Last updated 15:03 Friday 20 March 2015

A LORRY crashed into a railway bridge on the A433 into Kemble but the road has now been reopened.

The A433 was closed by police as structural assessments took place.

The lorry hit the bridge on the A433 between Cirencester and Tetbury at around 10am this morning and the road was reopened at around 2.10pm.

The lorry was carrying recycled plastic granules which were not hazardous. There were no injuries as a result of the crash.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Lorry hits bridge as train heads towards it in North Dulwich


Passengers were stranded on board the train after the lorry hit the bridge's parapet

A lorry has crashed into a rail bridge that had a passenger train heading towards it.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) said it was called at about 11:25 BST after a crane on the lorry hit the bridge in Village Way, North Dulwich.

LFB said no one was injured and it managed to transfer all 89 passengers on to another train to continue their journeys.

Passenger Paul Coggins said he was trapped on the train for over an hour.


The 89 passengers were transferred to a second locomotive to continue their journeys

Richard Knighton, from LFB, said: "The lorry has smashed into the bridge and the 'grabber' on top has gone on to the track. The train driver has quickly seen it and jumped on the emergency brakes, which has narrowly escaped a potential disaster. The track has also been damaged so there was also the possibility of a derailing."

Network Rail said the lorry's crane attachment, which was extended at the time, hit the bridge parapet causing part of it to fall on to the railway. The rail company said: "Power was cut off to the conductor rail and the train. An engineer is on site inspecting the bridge further and should any structural defect be found, then we will have to stop trains for repairs to be made."