TF3243 : Dropping off the end
taken 9 years ago, near to Boston, Lincolnshire, England
The railway swing bridge was designed by Richard Johnson, Chief Engineer of the GNR (Great Northern Railway). The bridge replaced a structure of wooden piles and girders, which was erected at the opening of the railway on 17th October 1848. The 8ft diameter, 50ft long pivot for the 60ft central span was started in September 1882. The hollow tube was slowly dug 25ft into the bed of the river and sunk to its proper level by October 1882. By then, filling it with concrete was well underway. It was completed in 1884 and tested by running two large goods engines of the GNR across it and placing them in the centre of the span. The combined weight was about 100 tons. The test was satisfactory. The connection at the west bank was via a span of 120ft and at the east via a span of 110ft. The river has been narrowed since then.
The bridge was given Grade II Listed status in 1975.
Trainload freight ceased in January 1993 on this former GNR branchline due to a slow decline in traffic following WWII. The link to Grimsby closed in 1970 and by 1980 the branch was only carrying 10% of the port's traffic. The port was sold off to the Sutcliffe Group, a private sector and British Rail stated they may refuse traffic from January 1990. This did not occur for three years, which then culminated in an unwelcome increase in road traffic from the dock. Then came privatisation of the railways and the dock company and EWS, the UK's main railfreight operating company, agreed to a resumption of traffic following track and loading improvements within the port. On September 29 1997, the service resumed with the arrival of 13 empty wagons for the Round Oak steel terminus near Dudley. The harbour branch was reborn.
Listed buildings and structures are officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. There are over half a million listed structures in the United Kingdom, covered by around 375,000 listings.
Listed status is more commonly associated with buildings or groups of buildings, however it can cover many other structures, including bridges, headstones, steps, ponds, monuments, walls, phone boxes, wrecks, parks, and heritage sites, and in more recent times a road crossing (Abbey Road) and graffiti art (Banksy 'Spy-booth') have been included.
In England and Wales there are three main listing designations;
Grade I (2.5%) - exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important.
Grade II* (5.5%) - particularly important buildings of more than special interest.
Grade II (92%) - nationally important and of special interest.
There are also locally listed structures (at the discretion of local authorities) using A, B and C designations.
In Scotland three classifications are also used but the criteria are different. There are around 47,500 Listed buildings.
Category A (8%)- generally equivalent to Grade I and II* in England and Wales
Category B (51%)- this appears generally to cover the ground of Grade II, recognising national importance.
Category C (41%)- buildings of local importance, probably with some overlap with English Grade II.
In Northern Ireland the criteria are similar to Scotland, but the classifications are:
Grade A (2.3%)
Grade B+ (4.7%)
Grade B (93%)
Read more at Wikipedia Link