page_title: Runcorn Railway Bridge
section_title: Name
hierarchical_section_title: Runcorn Railway Bridge / Name
caption_attribution_description: English: Victoria shield on the western face of the Runcorn-Widnes railway bridge showing an LNWR loco and train crossing the viaduct leading to the bridge.
context_page_description: The Runcorn Railway Bridge, Ethelfleda Bridge or Britannia Bridge crosses the River Mersey at Runcorn Gap between Runcorn and Widnes in Cheshire, England. It is alongside the Silver Jubilee Bridge. The bridge is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II* Listed building.
  In 1861, Parliamentary approval for a railway crossing the Mersey was obtained by the London and North Western Railway. The design for a bridge and viaducts was produced by William Baker, the company's chief engineer. In 1863, preparatory work for the bridge and approach viaducts commenced. The bridge was completed in 1868 and was opened for traffic on 10 October. The first goods traffic crossed the bridge on 1 February 1869 and the first passenger train on 1 April.
  The bridge has received few alterations. In 1965, the pedestrian footway alongside the railway was closed to the public but retained for maintenance access. The bridge is used by rail traffic on the Liverpool branch of the West Coast Main Line. The lines are electrified and 25 kV AC overhead lines installed.
context_section_description: The official name of the bridge has been a subject of debate. Locally, it has been called the Queen Ethelfleda Viaduct, but is also called the Britannia Bridge. It has been claimed that it was named after Ethelfleda, a ruler of the historic Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia, and that the southern abutments and pier of the bridge have been built on the site of the Saxon burh that had been erected by her in 915. This connection is alleged to be the reason why LNWR had opted to have elements of the bridge castellated. There are three shields above the footway showing, from the southern end, the Coat of Arms of the City of London, Britannia (from the crest of the railway company) and the Liver Bird of Liverpool. Because of the presence of the crest, the bridge is also known as the Britannia Railway Bridge.
caption: Britannia shield on the western face of the bridge showing an LNWR loco and train crossing the linked viaduct.
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