GWR Route: Banbury to Wolverhampton

Leamington Spa Station: gwrls2106

Travelling half a mile south east from Leamington Station, just before the location of Leamington's second Engine Shed, the Birmingham & Oxford Junction Railway (B&OJR) crossed the Warwick and Napton Canal (see map 'gwrls2044'). With a span of 65 feet on a 30 degree skew, it is believed that one of IK Brunel's bowed balloon-topped wrought iron girder bridges was erected here during the construction of the B&OJR. IK Brunel was the engineer responsible for this railway's construction, but his resident engineer was TA Bertram. This GWR drawing No 11210 shows the constructional details of the centre girder of a bowed balloon-topped wrought iron girder bridge and although believed to be a generic drawing, it has been signed by TA Bertram as a copy and given locational information in the top margin indicating it was this canal crossing at Leamington.

It is known that a temporary signal box was erected in March 1888 to control single line working over this Canal Bridge and it is likely that this was to facilitate bridge strengthening works. At other similar bridges on the line this involved the replacement of the original hard wood floor beams with riveted plate and angle section cross girders at four foot, five inch centres, above which longitudinal baulks were laid to support each of the rails. We are indebted to Graham Laucht for allowing us access to his research into Brunel's bridges on the B&OJR.

Robert Ferris

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