Como railway bridge

Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP

This article is about the current railway bridge that carries the Illawarra railway line across the Georges River. For the former railway bridge now converted to pedestrian and cycleway usage, see Old Como railway bridge.

Como railway bridge
Coordinates	33°59′43″S 151°04′13″E / 33.9952°S 151.0703°E / -33.9952; 151.0703 (original)
Carries	Illawarra railway line
Crosses	Georges River
Locale	Como
Characteristics
Design	Lattice truss bridge
Total length	954 feet (291 m)[1]
Longest span	158 feet (48 m)
No. of spans	6
Piers in water	5
Clearance below	35 feet (11 m)
History
Architect	John Whitton
Opened	25 December 1885[2]
Closed	26 November 1972
Statistics
Daily traffic	rail

Como railway bridge
Original bridge in the foreground in December 2006
Coordinates	33°59′43″S 151°04′14″E / 33.9952°S 151.0706°E / -33.9952; 151.0706 (second)Coordinates: 33°59′43″S 151°04′14″E / 33.9952°S 151.0706°E / -33.9952; 151.0706 (second)
Carries	Illawarra railway line
Crosses	Georges River
Locale	Como
Preceded by	Como Railway Bridge
History
Opening	27 November 1972
Replaces	original single track bridge

The Como railway bridge carries the Illawarra railway line across the Georges River between the Sydney suburbs of Oatley and Como.

Contents

• 
  1 First bridge
  


• 
  2 Second bridge
  


• 
  3 Heritage
  


• 
  4 References
  


• 
  5 External links
  

First bridge

Main article: Old Como railway bridge

The original Como Railway Bridge opened on 25 December 1885 as part of the extension of the Illawarra railway line from Hurstville to Sutherland. It was a single track lattice truss bridge designed by John Whitton, the Chief Engineer of the New South Wales Government Railways. In 1890 the northern part of the Illawarra Line was duplicated, and the southern part towards Sutherland in 1891. This involved merging the two lines using points to a single line. In 1894 the tracks across the bridge were altered into a single gauntlet track on the bridge, which enabled trains to cross in either direction without points.^[3]

Between 1935 and 1942, the Metropolitan Water Sewerage & Drainage Board built two 24 in (61 cm) diameter pipelines to pump water from the recently completed Woronora Dam to the reservoir at Penshurst. The pipeline was supported on new steel outriggers cantilevered from the main girders.^[3][4] The ownership of the old bridge was transferred from the Railways Dept to Sydney Water.

Second bridge

To relieve the bottleneck, a new double track reinforced concrete bridge immediately to the west opened on 27 November 1972. The original bridge reopened as a cycleway on 15 December 1985.^[3][5][6]

Heritage

Both bridges are listed on the various heritage registers of the state.

References

1. 
   ^ "TESTING THE GEORGE'S RIVER BRIDGE". The Sydney Morning Herald (14,921). New South Wales, Australia. 20 January 1886. p. 8 – via National Library of Australia. 
   


2. 
   ^ "THE ILLAWARRA RAILWAY". The Daily Telegraph (2013). New South Wales, Australia. 25 December 1885. p. 4 – via National Library of Australia. 
   


3. 
   ^ ^abc Como Railway Bridge Sydney Water
   


4. 
   ^ "Como Rail Bridge". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. 
   


5. 
   ^ "Como(Georges River) Underbridge". New South Wales State Heritage Register. Office of Environment and Heritage. 
   


6. 
   ^ Fairley, Alan. "Establishing the Oatley-Como Bikeway/Walkway" (PDF). Oatley Flora & Fauna Conservation Society. 
   

External links

• 
  Media related to Como Bridge at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Bridges in Greater Sydney, New South Wales
Road	Alfords Point Anzac Barry Wilde (Parramatta) Bennelong Bennett Road (St Clair) Bernie Banton Brooklyn Captain Cook Church Street (Hunters Hill) Clancy Street (Padstow Heights) Colemans Street (Mays Hill) De Burghs Endeavour Fig Tree Fullers Gladesville Iron Cove James Ruse Drive Kent Road (Orchard Hills) Lansdowne Lennox Macarthur (Parramatta) Malga Avenue (East Roseville) Mamre Road Milperra Myrtle Street (Balgowlah) Pacific Highway (Wahroonga) Peats Ferry Bridge Rings (Parramatta) Roseville Ryde Silverwater Spit Sydney Harbour Tarban Creek Tom Uglys Victoria Windsor Woronora
Railway	Clyde-Carlingford Como Hawkesbury River John Whitton
Pedestrian	Albert Cotter Arncliffe Balgowlah Boothtown Aqueduct Elizabeth Street (Parramatta) Fairfield West Huntleys Point Kogarah Linley Point Mt Annan Pyrmont Macquarie Culvert Meadowbank (underbrdige) Rozelle Skye Winter (Claymore) Sydney University footbridges (Darlington) (Forest Lodge) Thackeray (Camellia) Woollahra
Closed	Glebe Island