Battersea Railway Bridge

Also known as Cremorne Bridge and Battersea New Railway Bridge and West London Extension Bridge
1863: This bridge was opened to form the only north-south through route in London with connections to several of London's large rail termini. It was originally constructed to carry not only standard gauge, but also the wide GWR gauge designed by Brunel. The drawback with this bridge is that speed is limited to 15mph which makes it the slowest railway crossing on the Thames.
670 ft. long. Five iron arched spans are supported by four stone faced river piers. Engineer, William Baker.

1870: View of the Thames, artist unknown.
I fear I cannot afford the £40 for permission to reproduce this image.

'View of the Thames' was originally thought to depict Putney Bridge but is in fact Cremorne Bridge at Fulham (ie Battersea Railway Bridge).
The painting captures the wonder of Victorian engineering and the power of steam in addition to the local colour of the busy riverside walk.

1897: 'West London Extension Bridge', James Dredge -

Battersea Railway Bridge, James Dredge, 1897
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; D230199a

Wilfrid Thorley -

Dark barges trail in funereal pomp,
Laden with coal, and all the ripples romp
Home to the wharves as the long line goes by.
The gulls describe slow arcs on the grey sky
Or dip for flotsam; and the bright signs shout
'Here is the world's best market, Put about'.

In the foreground in Doug Myer's picture is the Lott's Road Power Station which used to supply electricity to the underground system. It is now awaiting 'development'. See previous page.
The tower in the centre is part of the Chelsea Harbour Health Club.

Battersea Railway Bridge © 2000 Doug Myers