Building the last Main Line Railway

Great Central Bridge and Viaduct: gcrcs141

The two remaining spans of the now famous 'Birdcage' bridge (Bridge 451) over the old London & North Western Railway line (the current West Coast Main Line) at Rugby Station. Originally there were six steel spans in the viaduct as well as fourteen brick arches (Bridge 450). The longest span, one of the three main girder sections, was 160 feet long. When new, the bridge obscured the view of the signals on the LNWR line below, so the GCR had to erect a second set of signals above the first which were visible above the height of the bridge. The resulting structure was probably the most spectacular signal gantry ever seen on Britain's railways. In 1977, most of the old bridge had been demolished except for these two surviving spans. The signal gantry had also been replaced by modern colour-light signals.

back