Victoria Bridge, Penrith, New South Wales

Victoria Bridge, Penrith

Together with its sister bridge at Menangle, the Victoria Bridge is one of the oldest and finest built-for-railway bridges in NSW. Spanning the Hawkesbury River near Penrith, it was built between 1862 and 1865. The bridge features three spans made of wrought-iron of a cellular construction, each 57m in length and resting on two intermediate piers. The bridge was destroyed by floods in 1857. Reconstructed, it was again destroyed in 1860. Restoration of the road bridge was deferred because plans were almost completed for the extension of the railway across the river and over the mountains and it was considered that part of the railway bridge could then be used by road vehicles.


Victoria Bridge, Penrith

One legend has it that the Victoria Bridge was originally constructed for the Crimea and when not required, was bought by the N.S.W. Government. This is not so. It was in fact designed in Sydney by the Engineer-in-Chief, John Whitton, who sent the design to England for checking. One interesting feature of the structure is that it is about 2 metres higher than was originally intended. Before the final designs for the piers were completed, severe floods indicated that it would be desirable to raise the level, and the design was adjusted. This explains the provision of the rising 1 in 200 grade on each side of the bridge.

The bridge was shared by single lanes of road and rail traffic until 1907, when double line railway trusses were completed alongside and it became a two-lane road bridge for the Gt Western Highway. As the width of the bridge was only 7.77 metres, during its time of carrying two modes of traffic a galvanised iron fence was erected down its centre to separate them. In order to prevent the larger road vehicles from striking the fence, two channel strips were laid to form wheel guides. In addition, a warning system was introduced so that horse-drawn vehicles could clear the bridge before a train crossed. This was because certain horses became nervous due to the noise of the trains.



Victoria Bridge is the sister bridge to the Menangle Bridge. Their sizes and design were such that they were featured in an international text book Modern Examples of Road and Railway Bridges by William H. Maw and James Dredge, London, 1872.


Nepean River Railway Bridge, Penrith

Nepean River Railway Bridge, Penrith

The introduction of heavier locomotives and trains indicated that a double track was needed. The viaduct was renewed in steel and a new railway bridge constructed, replacing Victoria Bridge. The foundation work was started on 1 June, 1904 and completed in April, 1906. Work on the superstructure was begun in March, 1906 and the bridge and viaduct, consisting of 53 spans of 9 metres each were brought into use on 2 June, 1907.

The bridge consists of five spans, four of 58.9 metres and one of 36.8 metres. An interesting feature in the design is that although one span is shorter than the others, the height of the trusses has been kept constant for appearance sake. On the opening of the new railway bridge, the Victoria Bridge was altered to provide for a double line of road traffic; a footpath about 1.5 metres wide was provided along the southern side.