As a Newport born man it always gladdens my heart when Newport do well. At the moment, having beaten the Met, Wrexham and Leicester they are on for a fifth round tie in the FA Cup with Manchester City. In order to get there they have to beat Middlesborough in the fourth round home replay next Tuesday. With teams like Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs already out, this is good going. The tie with Middlesborough also gives an excuse to add a bit of trivia about transporter bridges. The only two working models in Britain are to be found in Newport and Middlesborough.
A transporter bridge (or ferry bridge or aerial transfer bridge) is a type of movable bridge that carries a segment of roadway across a river. The gondola is slung from a tall span by wires or a metal frame. The design has been used to cross navigable rivers or other bodies of water, where there is a requirement for ship traffic to be able to pass. This has been a rare type of bridge, with fewer than two dozen built. There are just twelve that continue to be used today.
The Newport one was built in 1906 across the Usk because the river banks are very low at the crossing point (a few miles south of the city centre) a traditional bridge would need a very long approach ramp and a ferry could not be used at low tide. It is a Ferdinand Arnodin design. The Middlesborough one crosses the Tees featured in the 2002 series of the popular British TV show Auf wiedershen, Pet.
For more on this see here.
For more on this see here.
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