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Information about Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge

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Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge
The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge (or simply Transporter Bridge) is the furthest downstream bridge across the River Tees. It connects Middlesbrough on the south bank to Port Clarence on the north bank. It is a transporter bridge, carrying a travelling 'car' or 'gondola' suspended from the bridge, across the river in 90 seconds. The car can carry 200 people, 9 cars or 6 cars and one minibus.

The bridge was built in 1911 under a 1907 Act of Parliament. The opening ceremony on the 7 October 1911 was performed by Prince Arthur of Connaught. The Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge reflects the dynamic industrial heritage of the area.

Teesside has a long tradition of bridge building. Many of the world's greatest bridges including the nearby Tees Newport Bridge, the Tyne Bridge and the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia were designed and constructed from Dorman Long steel.

However, the Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge at 850 feet (260 metres) long and 225 feet (69 metres) high at the tallest point, is the largest working bridge of its kind in the world. The distance between the two towers is 580 feet (177 metres).

In December 1993, the bridge was awarded the Institution of Mechanical Engineers' highest honour, The Heritage Plaque, for engineering excellence, in recognition of the Council's efforts in keeping the bridge in good working order. Its historical importance was also recognised in 1985 by its listing as a Grade II* Listed Building and its prominence as a local landmark was further enhanced in 1993 by the installation of flood lights that operate during the winter months.

It has featured in films and TV programmes including Billy Elliot, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, The Fast Show, and Steel River Blues. In the millennium celebrations of 2000, fireworks were fired from its length.

In the storyline of Auf Wiedersehen Pet (series 3, 2002) the bridge was dismantled to be sold to and re-erected in the USA. A public outcry ensued from people who believed that the bridge was really being pulled down. The BBC was required to put a disclaimer on the end of the last episode of the series stating that 'The Transporter Bridge remains in Middlesbrough'.

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Daimler Fleetline JDC544L at the Transporter Bridge
The bridge is also host to an annual vintage bus running day, organised by The 500 Group. On this one day per year, usually a Sunday in April, vintage buses take people on free rides around Teesside. As part of the 2006 and 2007 events the bridge made a special trip carrying former Teesside Municipal Transport Daimler Fleetline. Prior to this a double deck bus had not used the bridge in 30 years.

References

  • Anon. (1911) "The transporter bridge over the River Tees", The Engineer, 112 (September)
  • Fernández Troyano, Leonardo (2003) Bridge engineering : a global perspective [Tierra sobre el agua], London : Thomas Telford, ISBN 0-7277-3215-3
  • Prade, Marcel (1988) Ponts et viaducs au XIXe siècle, Poitiers (France) : Brissaud, ISBN 2-902170-59-9
  • Prade, Marcel (1990) Les grands ponts du monde: Ponts remarquables d'Europe, Poitiers (France) : Brissaud, ISBN 2-902170-65-3

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Coordinates:
Origin Cross Fell
Mouth North Sea

Length 137 km (87 mi)
Source elevation 754 m (2510 ft)

Avg. discharge sd
Basin area 1834 km² (708 mi²) The Tees is a river in Northern England.
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Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough ()

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For a settlement in Alaska, see .


Port Clarence is a small village now within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England.
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transporter bridge (also 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.
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An Act of Parliament or Act is law by the parliament (see legislation).
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Prince Arthur of Connaught (Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert; 13 January 1883 - 12 September 1938) was a member of the British Royal Family, a grandson of Queen Victoria. Prince Arthur held the title of a British prince with the style His Royal Highness.
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Tees Newport Bridge spans the River Tees a short distance upriver from Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge, linking Middlesbrough with the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, England.
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Tyne Bridge is a bridge over the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. It was designed by the engineering firm Mott, Hay and Anderson, who later designed the Forth Road Bridge, and was built by Dorman Long and Co. of Middlesbrough.
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Sydney Harbour Bridge is the main crossing of Sydney Harbour carrying rail, vehicular, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore.
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Dorman Long, based in Middlesbrough, England, are a major manufacturer and fabricator of steel components and structures . They have been involved in the manufacture and construction of many major bridges since 1875, including, in 1932, the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
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The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is the British engineering society concerned with mechanical engineering.

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Engineering is the applied science of acquiring and applying knowledge to design, analysis, and/or construction of works for practical purposes. The American Engineers' Council for Professional Development, also known as ECPD,[1] (later ABET [2]
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'listed building' refers to a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural, historical or cultural significance. It is a widely used status, applied to around half a million buildings.
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Billy Elliot is a 2000 film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Set in the fictional town of 'Everington' in the real County Durham, it stars Jamie Bell as 11 year old Billy, an aspiring dancer,
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Auf Wiedersehen, Pet was a popular British comedy-drama series about a group of seven British migrant construction workers: Wayne, Dennis, Oz, Bomber, Barry, Neville and Moxey, who, in Series 1, are living and working on a German building site.
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The Fast Show is a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for four series from 1994 to 2000. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and Caroline Aherne (1994–1997).
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Steel River Blues is a British television drama serial first broadcast in September 2004 on ITV. Produced by Ken Horn, it is based on the working and private lives of a group of firefighters in Middlesbrough.
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A millennium (pl. millennia) is a period of time equal to one thousand years (from Latin mille, thousand, and annum, year).
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firework is classified as a low explosive pyrotechnic device used primarily for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display.
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Teesside is the name given to the conurbation in the North East of England made up of the towns of Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Redcar and surrounding settlements. It was also the name of a county borough between 1968 and 1974.
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The Daimler Fleetline (known as the Leyland Fleetline from c.1975) was a rear-engined double-decker bus chassis built between 1960 and 1973 in Coventry, Warwickshire, England, and from 1973 until 1980 in Farington, Lancashire, England.
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Structurae is an online database containing works of structural and civil engineering of all kinds such as bridges, high-rise buildings, towers, dams, etc. Additionally, the database contains information on companies and persons (engineers, architects, and builders) involved in the
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