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These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:28:22,850 --> 00:28:24,770 And then, every 30 metres or so, 2 00:27:48,210 --> 00:27:51,690 a huge crane lifting steel sections off railway wagons 3 00:27:51,850 --> 00:27:53,850 and swinging them into place. 4 00:27:54,010 --> 00:27:57,490 Dozens of men riveting them together in real time. 5 00:27:57,650 --> 00:28:01,530 And here, a powerful winch, operated by ten men, 6 00:28:01,690 --> 00:28:04,970 cranking it round and pulling the bridge forward. 7 00:28:08,210 --> 00:28:12,370 Incredibly, thousands of tonnes of steel would have been on the move, 8 00:28:12,530 --> 00:28:15,730 creeping out at up to six inches a minute, 9 00:28:15,890 --> 00:28:19,690 so, literally, the bridge would have been pushed out over that bank there, 10 00:28:19,850 --> 00:28:22,690 as life went on as normal down below. 11 00:27:46,730 --> 00:27:48,050 Imagine the scene - 12 00:28:24,930 --> 00:28:28,850 it would meet one of these sturdy, steel vertical supports. 13 00:28:30,770 --> 00:28:33,690 On top of those pillars were more bearings, 14 00:28:33,850 --> 00:28:35,530 and once the bridge reached them, 15 00:28:35,690 --> 00:28:38,250 it simply rolled onwards towards the next set of supports 16 00:28:38,410 --> 00:28:40,570 some 30 metres further on. 17 00:28:45,170 --> 00:28:46,850 Key to every part of this bridge, 18 00:28:47,010 --> 00:28:51,930 from the approach roads to the high arches, are rivets. 19 00:28:52,090 --> 00:28:55,210 The whole structure relies on nearly a million of them 20 00:28:55,370 --> 00:28:57,210 to keep it together. 21 00:27:16,330 --> 00:27:19,370 without disturbing the businesses below. 22 00:26:38,730 --> 00:26:42,530 building the approach roads changed the way bridges were built. 23 00:26:42,690 --> 00:26:47,050 Employing a revolutionary technique called 'launching'. 24 00:26:55,370 --> 00:26:59,650 This is Lombard Street, one of the key areas of old Newcastle. 25 00:26:59,810 --> 00:27:02,290 Now, these buildings were here a good 60 years 26 00:27:02,450 --> 00:27:04,210 before the bridge was even thought about, 27 00:27:04,370 --> 00:27:07,890 and the people living here had no choice but to watch 28 00:27:08,050 --> 00:27:11,130 as the huge approaches slowly crept out 29 00:27:11,290 --> 00:27:13,250 over the top of their homes. 30 00:27:13,410 --> 00:27:16,170 As with the arches, the aim here was to build the approaches 31 00:28:58,210 --> 00:29:01,410 A rivet is no more than a mushroom-shaped steel peg. 32 00:27:19,530 --> 00:27:21,970 And it's all down to the way they were constructed. 33 00:27:22,130 --> 00:27:24,730 Essentially, they're two huge steel beams, 34 00:27:24,890 --> 00:27:27,410 held apart by those smaller cross pieces. 35 00:27:28,490 --> 00:27:32,170 Like everything else on the bridge, they were built on site. 36 00:27:33,250 --> 00:27:35,730 This is where the ones on the Gateshead side were built. 37 00:27:35,890 --> 00:27:37,410 But instead of being built on the ground, 38 00:27:37,570 --> 00:27:40,130 these were built on massive rollers. 39 00:27:40,290 --> 00:27:43,810 That meant the beams could be rolled forward as they were constructed. 40 00:27:43,970 --> 00:27:46,570 Literally, pushed out over the drop. 41 00:30:38,330 --> 00:30:41,370 someone would man the fire and then throw them up where they 42 00:30:15,850 --> 00:30:18,410 Before they can be hammered in, the rivets need to be heated up 43 00:30:18,570 --> 00:30:22,250 to an incredible 1,000 degrees Centigrade. 44 00:30:22,410 --> 00:30:24,570 Doug uses a modern induction heater, 45 00:30:24,730 --> 00:30:27,890 but in the 1920s it was far more basic. 46 00:30:28,050 --> 00:30:30,050 'Cause this must've been dangerous work, then? 47 00:30:30,210 --> 00:30:31,530 Very dangerous work. 48 00:30:31,690 --> 00:30:34,450 So they wouldn't have used this when they were building the Tyne Bridge? 49 00:30:34,610 --> 00:30:35,970 No, they would use a grazer. 50 00:30:36,130 --> 00:30:38,170 When it heated up to around 1,000 degrees Cs, 51 00:30:12,530 --> 00:30:14,290 ..a second of pressing the button. 52 00:30:41,530 --> 00:30:43,530 would be either caught in a bucket or caught by hand 53 00:30:43,690 --> 00:30:46,810 and then placed in the steelwork before being riveted up. 54 00:30:46,970 --> 00:30:49,850 So they chucked these things at around 1,000 degrees C? 55 00:30:50,010 --> 00:30:51,690 Yeah. Flippin' heck! 56 00:30:53,450 --> 00:30:57,490 So when I'm on that rivet gun, any tips? Just hold it down? 57 00:30:57,650 --> 00:31:00,530 Just hold it down and gently... Don't let it kick back too much. 58 00:31:00,690 --> 00:31:04,290 Just hold it down and sort of go in a circular motion. 59 00:31:04,450 --> 00:31:06,570 Whoa! Look at that. 60 00:31:06,730 --> 00:31:08,810 Right, you can feel the heat off that. 61 00:29:45,410 --> 00:29:48,330 The firm specialises in restoring old structures 62 00:29:01,570 --> 00:29:05,650 Heated white-hot, it's pushed into a hole drilled through the steel, 63 00:29:05,810 --> 00:29:07,970 to be joined together. 64 00:29:08,130 --> 00:29:11,770 Then, powerful hammers form a second head. 65 00:29:11,930 --> 00:29:15,810 As it cools, the rivet pulls the two parts of the metal together, 66 00:29:15,970 --> 00:29:19,370 forming a bond almost as strong as a modern weld. 67 00:29:33,090 --> 00:29:36,530 The Tyne Bridge was one of the last really big engineering projects 68 00:29:36,690 --> 00:29:38,890 to use these things, rivets. 69 00:29:39,050 --> 00:29:41,930 So I've come here to an engineering works just outside Newcastle, 70 00:29:42,090 --> 00:29:43,570 to find out more about them. 71 00:26:36,810 --> 00:26:38,570 Just like the great arches, 72 00:29:48,490 --> 00:29:52,290 like the Tyne Bridge and is run by Doug Judd. 73 00:29:52,450 --> 00:29:54,890 So, Doug, any chance you can show me the whole riveting process? 74 00:29:55,050 --> 00:29:57,250 How they built the Tyne Bridge? Yes, I can, actually. 75 00:29:57,410 --> 00:29:58,730 How we do it by modern standards. 76 00:29:58,890 --> 00:30:02,050 This is the first process, to heat up the rivets. To heat the rivets, yeah. 77 00:30:02,210 --> 00:30:05,490 This is what you use here now, and this is what, sorry? This is an induction heater. 78 00:30:05,650 --> 00:30:07,730 If we press this button here, 79 00:30:07,890 --> 00:30:09,890 it shows you how long it takes to heat the rivet up. 80 00:30:10,050 --> 00:30:12,370 Wow, we've got smoke coming off the rivet here within... 81 00:23:13,290 --> 00:23:14,610 Wow. 82 00:22:49,290 --> 00:22:53,050 His grandson, Bob Collins, still lives in the city 83 00:22:53,210 --> 00:22:56,890 and remembers the impact Nathaniel's death had on the family. 84 00:22:57,050 --> 00:22:58,650 Hello there. Hey, I'm Rob. 85 00:22:58,810 --> 00:23:00,250 Bob. Hello there, Rob. Nice to meet you. 86 00:23:00,410 --> 00:23:02,090 Welcome, come on in. Thank you. 87 00:23:03,770 --> 00:23:06,290 There's the grandfather, there. 88 00:23:06,450 --> 00:23:08,010 Do you have some more photos of Nathaniel? 89 00:23:08,170 --> 00:23:10,130 Well, all I've got is... 90 00:23:10,290 --> 00:23:13,130 Actually, there he is in his Light Infantry uniform. 91 00:22:40,890 --> 00:22:44,290 but the only one who didn't recover from his injuries. 92 00:23:14,770 --> 00:23:16,930 This was from First World War? Yes. 93 00:23:18,730 --> 00:23:23,010 That was an article about when he fell off... 94 00:23:23,170 --> 00:23:24,930 There he is, Nathaniel, scaffolder... 95 00:23:25,090 --> 00:23:27,370 Yes, scaffolder. 96 00:23:27,530 --> 00:23:31,890 "Fell at about 175 feet above the river 97 00:23:32,050 --> 00:23:36,010 "and watchers gasped as he tumbled off the bridge." 98 00:23:36,170 --> 00:23:39,970 His body hit the foot... That's the bottom of the bridge there, 99 00:23:40,130 --> 00:23:43,850 and bounced off that and he went in the river. 100 00:23:44,010 --> 00:23:49,090 But he died of a fractured skull... Yeah. 101 00:22:00,530 --> 00:22:03,730 and this is a newspaper article from the Northern Daily Mail, 102 00:21:30,010 --> 00:21:34,170 working at heights of up to 200 feet, without any protection whatsoever. 103 00:21:34,330 --> 00:21:38,010 Deaths on constructions like this were taken as part of the job, 104 00:21:38,170 --> 00:21:40,450 but the Tyne Bridge seemed blessed. 105 00:21:40,610 --> 00:21:43,850 The monkeys working up on the high beams seemed invincible 106 00:21:44,010 --> 00:21:46,850 and dozens of people would regularly gather down below 107 00:21:47,010 --> 00:21:48,730 to watch as they scampered about. 108 00:21:51,010 --> 00:21:54,890 But just six days before the great arch was completed, 109 00:21:55,050 --> 00:21:58,530 those crowds saw something they'd never forget. 110 00:21:58,690 --> 00:22:00,370 According to the accounts at the time, 111 00:23:49,250 --> 00:23:52,530 And then the policemen and one of the staff 112 00:22:03,890 --> 00:22:07,530 on the morning of Saturday 18 February, 1928, 113 00:22:07,690 --> 00:22:12,650 a scaffold erector by the name of Nathaniel Collins, aged just 33, 114 00:22:12,810 --> 00:22:15,130 was walking along one of those beams 115 00:22:15,290 --> 00:22:21,610 when he lost his footing and fell into the river, some 175 feet below. 116 00:22:24,690 --> 00:22:28,890 Incredibly, he surfaced alive and was pulled out by a boatman 117 00:22:29,050 --> 00:22:32,850 employed by Dorman Long for exactly that purpose. 118 00:22:34,130 --> 00:22:35,650 According to the newspapers, 119 00:22:35,810 --> 00:22:38,930 Nathaniel Collins was the 57th man who'd fallen in 120 00:22:39,090 --> 00:22:40,730 and had had to be rescued, 121 00:25:47,210 --> 00:25:50,850 all its weight being taken down through the hinges, onto each bank. 122 00:25:07,970 --> 00:25:10,410 the last parts were lowered into position. 123 00:25:11,970 --> 00:25:14,570 But the gap was still not closed. 124 00:25:17,690 --> 00:25:19,650 From the start of construction, 125 00:25:19,810 --> 00:25:23,610 each half of the arch had been held up by great cables 126 00:25:23,770 --> 00:25:26,050 attached to winches at each side of the bank. 127 00:25:28,050 --> 00:25:30,610 Now those cables were slackened 128 00:25:30,770 --> 00:25:34,570 and both halves pivoted on their huge hinges until they met, 129 00:25:34,730 --> 00:25:37,730 almost 200 feet above the Tyne. 130 00:25:43,090 --> 00:25:47,050 From that moment on, the bridge became self-supporting, 131 00:25:04,810 --> 00:25:07,810 just a few days after Nathaniel Collins' death, 132 00:25:53,570 --> 00:25:56,050 Today, the steel arches over the river 133 00:25:56,210 --> 00:25:58,610 are as solid as they were 90 years ago. 134 00:26:00,810 --> 00:26:03,050 But building these massive arches... 135 00:26:04,370 --> 00:26:06,490 ..was only half the story. 136 00:26:18,410 --> 00:26:21,530 Now, this central span is 161 metres, 137 00:26:21,690 --> 00:26:23,410 but on either side are the approach bands, 138 00:26:23,570 --> 00:26:27,970 each over 100 metres long, and supported by steel pillars. 139 00:26:28,130 --> 00:26:30,290 And building those was almost as difficult 140 00:26:30,450 --> 00:26:32,370 as building the bit over the river. 141 00:24:19,610 --> 00:24:24,650 But there was only one man killed and that was him, unfortunately. 142 00:23:52,690 --> 00:23:57,370 came to tell my nanna in the afternoon and that was that. 143 00:23:57,530 --> 00:23:59,170 End of a life. 144 00:23:59,330 --> 00:24:01,770 She was left with four children to bring up 145 00:24:01,930 --> 00:24:04,290 but she never married again. 146 00:24:04,450 --> 00:24:06,170 She was... 147 00:24:07,730 --> 00:24:10,290 She wasn't too fond of the bridge, and that's a fact. 148 00:24:10,450 --> 00:24:14,370 She hated the bridge as well, you know, for what it did to the family. 149 00:24:15,850 --> 00:24:17,170 Very sad. 150 00:24:17,330 --> 00:24:19,450 That's very tragic, Bob. Yes. 151 00:31:08,970 --> 00:31:12,130 This is not dissimilar to a kind of gun they would've used... 152 00:24:24,810 --> 00:24:26,130 Yep. 153 00:24:26,290 --> 00:24:27,970 So, how does it make you feel, 154 00:24:28,130 --> 00:24:30,930 whenever you see the Tyne Bridge or walk across it, even? 155 00:24:31,090 --> 00:24:35,250 You think of him every time? Yes. Every single time. Yeah. 156 00:24:45,530 --> 00:24:50,210 Despite the fatality, work on the Tyne Bridge continued at pace. 157 00:24:51,570 --> 00:24:55,370 For three years, great cranes had been inching out over the waters, 158 00:24:55,530 --> 00:24:58,450 lifting 8,000 tonnes of steel into place. 159 00:25:00,810 --> 00:25:04,650 Finally, on 23 February, 1928, 160 00:39:17,530 --> 00:39:21,890 I...I can't really believe it, it's all gone. 161 00:38:47,130 --> 00:38:49,890 and witnessed the industry's fatal decline. 162 00:38:51,050 --> 00:38:53,930 30,000 workers, when I was there. Aye. 163 00:38:54,090 --> 00:38:56,770 I mean, when I first started, there were 600 apprentices... 164 00:38:56,930 --> 00:38:59,530 Aye, aye. ..taken on each year. Aye. 165 00:38:59,690 --> 00:39:02,810 And that just petered out as the years went by. Wow, wow, wow. 166 00:39:02,970 --> 00:39:04,770 600. 600 apprentices. 167 00:39:04,930 --> 00:39:10,010 That number, 30,000, to then suddenly not have employment... 168 00:39:10,170 --> 00:39:12,130 It slowly just dwindled away. 169 00:39:12,290 --> 00:39:15,730 So, how does it make you feel to look at this site now? 170 00:38:43,250 --> 00:38:46,970 Both John Ashburner and his father worked for Swan Hunter 171 00:39:22,050 --> 00:39:24,050 But I knew it would get less and less, 172 00:39:24,210 --> 00:39:27,130 but there's none at all now, shipyards on the Tyne. 173 00:39:27,290 --> 00:39:30,290 You'd never think in my lifetime you wouldn't see a ship being built. 174 00:39:30,450 --> 00:39:32,730 Really, just unimaginable, when you were there 175 00:39:32,890 --> 00:39:34,490 with the amount of activity down there. 176 00:39:34,650 --> 00:39:36,370 Job for life, you know. 177 00:39:36,530 --> 00:39:39,530 And how quickly things changed. Thousands being laid off. 178 00:39:41,690 --> 00:39:45,290 It's sad to see it just sat here like this now, isn't it? 179 00:39:49,450 --> 00:39:51,730 Tyneside's shipbuilding industry, 180 00:37:48,010 --> 00:37:49,810 It's sad. 181 00:37:21,090 --> 00:37:23,050 And from the top of the towers, 182 00:37:23,210 --> 00:37:24,530 you get a really good idea 183 00:37:24,690 --> 00:37:28,490 of how much the River Tyne has transformed over the years. 184 00:37:28,650 --> 00:37:30,250 Look at that view. 185 00:37:31,730 --> 00:37:33,050 The Tyne I'm looking at, 186 00:37:33,210 --> 00:37:37,490 the Tyne this bridge has stood over for almost 90 years, 187 00:37:37,650 --> 00:37:39,370 has completely changed. 188 00:37:39,530 --> 00:37:41,770 When this bridge was first built, 189 00:37:41,930 --> 00:37:46,370 almost every inch of the riverbanks would have been covered in shipyards. 190 00:39:51,890 --> 00:39:55,290 which the building of the Tyne Bridge had desperately tried to protect, 191 00:37:51,410 --> 00:37:53,650 For over 150 years, 192 00:37:53,810 --> 00:37:56,410 thousands of ships were launched from the yards 193 00:37:56,570 --> 00:38:00,130 that once stretched over 11 miles along the River Tyne. 194 00:38:00,290 --> 00:38:06,250 The most famous company, Swan Hunter, used to provide a job for life. 195 00:38:07,490 --> 00:38:12,130 The huge ships they built once towering over the city streets. 196 00:38:18,570 --> 00:38:21,610 But in 2006 it was all over. 197 00:38:23,890 --> 00:38:30,090 In April that year, this ship, the RFA Largs Bay, left the Tyne. 198 00:38:30,250 --> 00:38:32,890 And its builders, the mighty Swan Hunters, 199 00:38:33,050 --> 00:38:36,250 closed its doors forever. 200 00:42:06,450 --> 00:42:08,330 See that bridge, it just... 201 00:41:23,650 --> 00:41:26,330 The last of those built in 2001, this... 202 00:41:26,490 --> 00:41:29,970 ..the incredible Gateshead Millennium Bridge. 203 00:41:35,570 --> 00:41:38,130 Known locally as the Blinking Eye, 204 00:41:38,290 --> 00:41:43,930 this 21st-century bridge is a celebration of a new, cool Newcastle. 205 00:41:45,770 --> 00:41:50,370 One where the old quaysides are now packed with hip bars, 206 00:41:50,530 --> 00:41:52,930 restaurants, and stunning modern architecture. 207 00:41:54,010 --> 00:41:57,130 But at the end of the day, there will only be one bridge 208 00:41:57,290 --> 00:42:00,250 that truly embodies this part of the world. 209 00:42:02,490 --> 00:42:06,290 I think the Tyne Bridge means, when you see it, that you're coming home. 210 00:41:19,490 --> 00:41:23,490 another six bridges have spanned the river to deal with the city's growth. 211 00:42:08,490 --> 00:42:10,850 ..it just makes you feel that you're back at home. 212 00:42:11,010 --> 00:42:13,530 And everybody says the same, we just love it. 213 00:42:20,930 --> 00:42:22,930 Throughout all those changes, 214 00:42:23,090 --> 00:42:26,530 this bridge, the Tyne Bridge, remains an icon, 215 00:42:26,690 --> 00:42:29,930 a testament to the skill and determination of the Geordies. 216 00:42:30,090 --> 00:42:31,810 You only have to mention it to people round here 217 00:42:31,970 --> 00:42:33,850 to see how proud they are. 218 00:42:34,010 --> 00:42:37,210 And in my view, they've every right to be so. 219 00:43:01,090 --> 00:43:09,950 Captions by Ericsson Access Services (c) SBS Australia 2017 220 00:40:37,850 --> 00:40:41,290 For me, the fact that this bridge is now one of the most successful 221 00:39:55,450 --> 00:39:57,850 was finally given the death blow 222 00:39:58,010 --> 00:40:01,010 when the last great cranes at the Swan Hunter yard 223 00:40:01,170 --> 00:40:04,210 were demolished in June, 2010. 224 00:40:04,370 --> 00:40:06,210 (LOUD BANG, RUMBLING) 225 00:40:06,370 --> 00:40:09,370 (SQUEAKING, LOUD BANG) 226 00:40:19,970 --> 00:40:26,010 But as the industry on the Tyne declined, nature quickly moved in. 227 00:40:27,970 --> 00:40:31,050 One of the most telling indicators of the scale of change here 228 00:40:31,210 --> 00:40:34,130 is not the number of empty hardhats further downstream, 229 00:40:34,290 --> 00:40:37,690 but these little guys here, kittiwakes. 230 00:37:19,450 --> 00:37:20,930 Made it. 231 00:40:41,450 --> 00:40:43,490 breeding grounds for kittiwakes in the country 232 00:40:43,650 --> 00:40:47,170 shows just how much change this bridge has seen. 233 00:40:49,250 --> 00:40:53,530 The first pair of kittiwakes nested on the bridge in 1997. 234 00:40:53,690 --> 00:40:57,090 Now, there are over 700. 235 00:40:58,130 --> 00:41:02,490 But the Tyneside they fly over is far from dead. 236 00:41:02,650 --> 00:41:06,210 Its population is now again growing fast. 237 00:41:08,010 --> 00:41:10,610 The heavy industries may have all but disappeared, 238 00:41:10,770 --> 00:41:16,730 but 21st-century high-tech Newcastle is buzzing with energy and optimism. 239 00:41:17,890 --> 00:41:19,330 Since the Tyne Bridge was built, 240 00:33:14,290 --> 00:33:19,930 and the recent difficulties so justly deserve. 241 00:32:32,890 --> 00:32:36,650 causing both a design and structural nightmare. 242 00:32:36,810 --> 00:32:40,970 The men risking their necks, six days a week, hundreds of feet up, 243 00:32:41,130 --> 00:32:45,290 often in gales and rain blowing in off the North Sea, 244 00:32:45,450 --> 00:32:48,810 but somehow the Geordies managed it. 245 00:32:50,610 --> 00:32:53,010 And on the 10 October, 1928, 246 00:32:53,170 --> 00:32:57,610 the bridge was officially opened by King George and his wife, Queen Mary. 247 00:32:59,050 --> 00:33:04,010 It is my earnest hope that this notable improvement 248 00:33:04,170 --> 00:33:10,850 may help to bring back to your city the full tide of prosperity 249 00:33:11,010 --> 00:33:14,130 which your courage and patience 250 00:32:29,890 --> 00:32:32,730 The government clause saying it had to be built from above, 251 00:33:20,090 --> 00:33:25,850 I have much pleasure in declaring the Tyne Bridge open 252 00:33:26,010 --> 00:33:28,090 for the use of the public. 253 00:33:28,250 --> 00:33:33,170 But despite the pomp and ceremony and the years of hard graft, 254 00:33:33,330 --> 00:33:36,530 the multi-million pound gamble didn't work. 255 00:33:36,690 --> 00:33:40,050 The North East was still in deep trouble. 256 00:33:40,210 --> 00:33:44,210 By 1931, just a few years after the bridge was completed, 257 00:33:44,370 --> 00:33:49,250 14 yards on the Tyne had closed, including the mighty Palmers, 258 00:33:49,410 --> 00:33:52,250 who'd launched over 1,000 ships. 259 00:33:58,930 --> 00:34:00,850 As a means of keeping the men of Tyneside 260 00:31:42,010 --> 00:31:44,650 Yeah, I guess if you're doing that... 261 00:31:12,290 --> 00:31:13,770 Yeah, exactly the same. 262 00:31:13,930 --> 00:31:15,250 ..building the Tyne? 263 00:31:15,410 --> 00:31:17,010 Right, let's get that down. Go for it. 264 00:31:17,170 --> 00:31:19,330 Am I going? Away you go. 265 00:31:20,610 --> 00:31:22,330 OK, here we go. 266 00:31:29,730 --> 00:31:31,370 Is that alright? Nice work, yeah. 267 00:31:31,530 --> 00:31:33,010 Ah, look at that! 268 00:31:36,290 --> 00:31:39,370 I'm quite proud of that. That looks great. 269 00:31:39,530 --> 00:31:41,850 Good job. Ah, thanks, Doug. 270 00:34:01,010 --> 00:34:02,490 employed and off the streets, 271 00:31:44,810 --> 00:31:46,490 I mean, I guess, what, 100 a day? 272 00:31:46,650 --> 00:31:49,370 I would not like to try putting in 100 a day. 273 00:31:49,530 --> 00:31:52,370 But when they were back building the bridge, they would've done, what? 274 00:31:52,530 --> 00:31:55,210 They would have done 100 a day easily, without a doubt. 275 00:32:11,290 --> 00:32:14,530 After my brief apprenticeship as a riveter, 276 00:32:14,690 --> 00:32:17,050 I cannot help but have a huge amount of respect 277 00:32:17,210 --> 00:32:18,850 for the men who built this bridge. 278 00:32:23,850 --> 00:32:26,530 Of all the bridges in Britain, building the Tyne Bridge 279 00:32:26,690 --> 00:32:29,730 must've been one of the toughest assignments going. 280 00:36:40,770 --> 00:36:42,090 Lifts were even installed 281 00:36:02,250 --> 00:36:04,530 serving industry on the River Tyne, 282 00:36:04,690 --> 00:36:08,170 industry everyone hoped would boom again like the old days. 283 00:36:08,330 --> 00:36:11,330 I mean, just look at this place, it's cavernous, 284 00:36:11,490 --> 00:36:13,610 and not at all what you'd expect from the outside. 285 00:36:23,690 --> 00:36:26,250 The hope was that once the bridge was built, 286 00:36:26,410 --> 00:36:30,450 the recession would be over and Tyneside would return to its role 287 00:36:30,610 --> 00:36:33,490 as the great manufacturing hub of the North East. 288 00:36:33,650 --> 00:36:37,490 These towers would be packed with five floors of merchandise, 289 00:36:37,650 --> 00:36:40,610 waiting to be transported around the country. 290 00:35:59,410 --> 00:36:02,090 These towers were meant to be vast warehouses 291 00:36:42,250 --> 00:36:46,010 to carry the goods up and down from the quayside. 292 00:36:46,170 --> 00:36:51,250 But it was not to be and these warehouses were never even finished. 293 00:36:52,490 --> 00:36:55,330 It really is quite spooky up here. 294 00:36:55,490 --> 00:36:58,770 The echo of the voice, the constant rumbling of traffic, 295 00:36:58,930 --> 00:37:01,370 the birds flapping about. 296 00:37:01,530 --> 00:37:03,730 It's such an empty void. 297 00:37:03,890 --> 00:37:06,610 They never even got to putting the floors in. 298 00:37:06,770 --> 00:37:09,850 And since then, it's just been gathering dust. 299 00:37:13,170 --> 00:37:14,650 Whoo. 300 00:34:59,090 --> 00:35:00,770 Symbol of the North East, 301 00:34:02,650 --> 00:34:04,090 building the bridge helped for a while, 302 00:34:04,250 --> 00:34:06,010 but it didn't bring the old time back to life. 303 00:34:06,170 --> 00:34:08,810 In fact, you can even see evidence of its death 304 00:34:08,970 --> 00:34:11,050 inside the bridge tower here. 305 00:34:11,210 --> 00:34:14,730 The towers on either side of the bridge are normally locked, 306 00:34:14,890 --> 00:34:18,770 but we've been given special access to show you inside. 307 00:34:21,250 --> 00:34:24,050 Because it's in here that you can clearly see 308 00:34:24,210 --> 00:34:25,810 why the building of the Tyne Bridge 309 00:34:25,970 --> 00:34:29,850 marked the beginning of the end of Newcastle's golden age. 310 00:21:25,690 --> 00:21:29,850 For four years thousands of people laboured to build this bridge, 311 00:35:00,930 --> 00:35:04,610 the Tyne Bridge has stood above the river for almost 90 years. 312 00:35:06,610 --> 00:35:08,610 Built in the depression of the 1920s, 313 00:35:08,770 --> 00:35:13,330 it's role was not just to take traffic across the busy river below, 314 00:35:13,490 --> 00:35:17,010 but to help boost employment and keep the engineering skills 315 00:35:17,170 --> 00:35:20,570 of the North East alive, until its industries boomed again. 316 00:35:26,210 --> 00:35:28,730 Sadly, that never happened, 317 00:35:28,890 --> 00:35:31,370 and the bridge itself stands testament 318 00:35:31,530 --> 00:35:34,130 to just how much Newcastle has changed. 319 00:07:08,650 --> 00:07:11,130 not just keeping families out of poverty, 320 00:06:27,610 --> 00:06:29,810 As protests swept the rest of the country, 321 00:06:29,970 --> 00:06:33,050 the government of the day was terrified trouble was brewing 322 00:06:33,210 --> 00:06:35,130 in the North East. 323 00:06:35,290 --> 00:06:38,730 In a bid to protect one of the country's most important industries, 324 00:06:38,890 --> 00:06:42,170 the first Labour prime minister, Ramsay MacDonald, 325 00:06:42,330 --> 00:06:44,610 came up with a radical plan - 326 00:06:44,770 --> 00:06:47,410 building the Tyne Bridge. 327 00:07:00,450 --> 00:07:05,170 By using the skills of Tyneside's unemployed riveters and steelworkers, 328 00:07:05,330 --> 00:07:08,490 the bridge would serve as a massive employment scheme, 329 00:06:20,450 --> 00:06:25,090 And unemployment among the Regent ship builders was as high as 40%. 330 00:07:11,290 --> 00:07:15,410 but keeping alive those essential shipbuilding skills it was hoped 331 00:07:15,570 --> 00:07:20,370 would once again be needed when the great recession was finally over. 332 00:07:25,210 --> 00:07:27,050 To make sure the plan happened, 333 00:07:27,210 --> 00:07:30,010 the government put up over half the cost of the new bridge - 334 00:07:30,170 --> 00:07:33,890 around £40 million in today's money. 335 00:07:34,050 --> 00:07:37,330 With money on the table, the local council acted fast. 336 00:07:37,490 --> 00:07:42,010 The entire design and contracting process taking just ten months. 337 00:07:46,850 --> 00:07:49,530 The bidding process to win the job 338 00:07:49,690 --> 00:07:53,250 became a battle between two of the North East's industrial giants. 339 00:05:48,050 --> 00:05:50,290 the men of the North East returned from the trenches 340 00:05:17,370 --> 00:05:20,970 that finally prompted the building of the Tyne Bridge, 341 00:05:21,130 --> 00:05:23,130 it was a far bigger problem. 342 00:05:25,490 --> 00:05:28,610 These great arches have been linking Newcastle and Gateshead 343 00:05:28,770 --> 00:05:30,490 for almost 90 years now 344 00:05:30,650 --> 00:05:33,530 but it's not just a bridge joining two sides of the river. 345 00:05:33,690 --> 00:05:36,690 For all its magnificence, stone and steel work, 346 00:05:36,850 --> 00:05:39,290 this bridge was, in fact, a political bridge, 347 00:05:39,450 --> 00:05:42,130 built in part to keep the country from falling to pieces. 348 00:05:44,610 --> 00:05:47,890 In 1918, when World War I ended, 349 00:07:54,890 --> 00:07:56,290 A favourite to win was 350 00:05:50,450 --> 00:05:54,290 to what they hoped would be a land fit for heroes. 351 00:05:54,450 --> 00:05:58,170 Instead, many of them found themselves out of work 352 00:05:58,330 --> 00:06:00,650 and barely able to feed their families. 353 00:06:00,810 --> 00:06:03,170 (BABY CRIES) 354 00:06:05,650 --> 00:06:08,210 The war had caused a global downturn in trade. 355 00:06:08,370 --> 00:06:10,090 The coal mines cut wages 356 00:06:10,250 --> 00:06:13,650 and there were few new orders for the shipyards. 357 00:06:13,810 --> 00:06:16,010 By the early 1920s, 358 00:06:16,170 --> 00:06:19,290 over a third of the Tyneside shipyards had closed down. 359 00:10:08,090 --> 00:10:11,730 forced its engineers to rewrite the rulebook. 360 00:09:16,570 --> 00:09:19,210 from where the Tyne Bridge was to be built, 361 00:09:19,370 --> 00:09:21,130 and nothing was allowed to interfere 362 00:09:21,290 --> 00:09:24,050 with boats heading to and from the factory, 363 00:09:24,210 --> 00:09:27,050 not even the much-needed Tyne Bridge. 364 00:09:27,210 --> 00:09:31,170 So Dorman Long's engineers were faced with a massive problem - 365 00:09:31,330 --> 00:09:37,210 how to build an 8,000 tonne steel bridge 170 feet in the air, 366 00:09:37,370 --> 00:09:39,770 without affecting the river below. 367 00:09:48,490 --> 00:09:54,690 The solution would push the company's engineers to their limits. 368 00:10:03,410 --> 00:10:07,930 In 1925, building Newcastle's iconic Tyne Bridge 369 00:09:13,170 --> 00:09:16,410 Armstrong Whitworth was situated just upstream 370 00:10:11,890 --> 00:10:15,250 The incredible 8,000 tonne steel structure 371 00:10:15,410 --> 00:10:18,930 was built using techniques never tried before 372 00:10:19,090 --> 00:10:22,530 and the reason lay in the Tyne River itself. 373 00:10:24,370 --> 00:10:28,650 Although the aftermath of World War I had triggered a nationwide recession, 374 00:10:28,810 --> 00:10:32,970 the River Tyne was still a vital artery for the nation's trade. 375 00:10:38,170 --> 00:10:41,090 And because that river traffic was so important, 376 00:10:41,250 --> 00:10:45,410 Parliament ruled that it couldn't be disrupted in any way. 377 00:10:47,410 --> 00:10:50,330 If the constructors, Dorman Long, were to succeed, 378 00:10:50,490 --> 00:10:54,610 they needed to find a whole new approach to bridge building. 379 00:08:30,570 --> 00:08:32,570 it was a construction company too, 380 00:07:56,450 --> 00:07:59,010 the engineering firm of Armstrong Whitworth, 381 00:07:59,170 --> 00:08:01,890 then one the biggest employers in Newcastle. 382 00:08:02,050 --> 00:08:04,250 Armstrongs, who'd already built the Swing Bridge there, 383 00:08:04,410 --> 00:08:06,570 bid for the contract to build it, 384 00:08:06,730 --> 00:08:11,330 but their bid of nearly £750,000 was just too expensive. 385 00:08:11,490 --> 00:08:13,850 Instead the contract went to Dorman Long. 386 00:08:18,090 --> 00:08:21,210 Based just a few miles south of Newcastle, in Middlesbrough, 387 00:08:21,370 --> 00:08:25,010 Dorman Long was one of the biggest steel manufacturers in the world. 388 00:08:26,650 --> 00:08:30,410 But Dorman Long wasn't just a steel manufacturer, 389 00:05:15,530 --> 00:05:17,210 But it wasn't queuing Geordies 390 00:08:32,730 --> 00:08:36,250 using its steel to build bridges throughout the Empire. 391 00:08:38,610 --> 00:08:42,770 But despite its vast experience building big and complicated bridges 392 00:08:42,930 --> 00:08:46,530 in far flung places like Egypt and Zimbabwe, 393 00:08:46,690 --> 00:08:51,370 the Tyne Bridge was to be the steel company's greatest ever challenge. 394 00:08:52,690 --> 00:08:55,890 And the reason was down to Dorman Long's original competitor 395 00:08:56,050 --> 00:08:59,330 for the construction contract - Armstrong Whitworth. 396 00:09:01,290 --> 00:09:05,690 Central to this industrial empire, founded by William Armstrong, 397 00:09:05,850 --> 00:09:09,290 was one of the most important munitions works in the land. 398 00:09:09,450 --> 00:09:13,010 Supplying huge guns to the British Army and Navy, 399 00:02:04,930 --> 00:02:08,610 Eight thousand tonnes of solid steel and granite 400 00:01:33,810 --> 00:01:38,090 Once, the Tyne was the most important industrial river in the land. 401 00:01:38,250 --> 00:01:41,450 Millions of tonnes of coal would travel down it, 402 00:01:41,610 --> 00:01:43,730 powering the rest of the country. 403 00:01:43,890 --> 00:01:48,570 While along its banks, great shipyards constructed the ships 404 00:01:48,730 --> 00:01:50,930 that helped build the British Empire 405 00:01:51,090 --> 00:01:52,770 and put the North East on the map. 406 00:01:52,930 --> 00:01:54,450 But if you're a Geordie, 407 00:01:54,610 --> 00:01:58,330 it's not the River Tyne that reminds you of home, it's this... 408 00:01:58,490 --> 00:02:00,090 ..the Tyne Bridge! 409 00:01:27,250 --> 00:01:30,530 Gateshead on the south, and Newcastle on the north side. 410 00:02:08,770 --> 00:02:10,570 that dominate the skyline. 411 00:02:10,730 --> 00:02:13,370 It might not be one of the biggest bridges in the world 412 00:02:13,530 --> 00:02:16,770 but it's definitely one of the most famous. 413 00:02:16,930 --> 00:02:20,130 This is such a striking piece of civil engineering on the landscape. 414 00:02:20,290 --> 00:02:21,770 It's just stunning. 415 00:02:23,010 --> 00:02:24,890 For the locals, the Geordies, 416 00:02:25,050 --> 00:02:29,490 this bridge symbolises everything that's great about the North East, 417 00:02:29,650 --> 00:02:33,730 because the Tyne Bridge is truly a local bridge. 418 00:02:37,530 --> 00:02:40,330 To understand why the Geordies love this bridge so much 419 00:00:36,970 --> 00:00:40,210 ..and the sweat and sacrifice that went into their constructions. 420 00:00:06,810 --> 00:00:10,210 have not only linked our island, but made it great. 421 00:00:10,370 --> 00:00:13,370 These are the bridges that are known around the world, 422 00:00:13,530 --> 00:00:16,930 built by visionaries like Stephenson and Brunel, 423 00:00:17,090 --> 00:00:19,330 who are famous, even today. 424 00:00:20,730 --> 00:00:22,530 Look at this! 425 00:00:22,690 --> 00:00:25,570 From the banks of the Tyne to the mighty Thames, 426 00:00:25,730 --> 00:00:27,690 from the Firth of Forth to the Menai Strait... 427 00:00:30,410 --> 00:00:34,850 ..I'm on a journey to discover how those great bridges were built... 428 00:00:35,010 --> 00:00:36,810 Here we go. 429 00:02:40,490 --> 00:02:42,930 you only have to look out across the landscape. 430 00:00:40,370 --> 00:00:42,250 Stopping traffic. 431 00:00:42,410 --> 00:00:46,370 I'll uncover the huge egos, flawed geniuses and jealous rivalries 432 00:00:46,530 --> 00:00:48,450 behind their creation. 433 00:00:48,610 --> 00:00:51,490 It's as if he'd been airbrushed from the whole story. 434 00:00:53,690 --> 00:00:56,770 These are Britain's Greatest Bridges. 435 00:00:59,450 --> 00:01:01,650 (HELICOPTER WHIRRS OVERHEAD) 436 00:01:17,530 --> 00:01:20,410 This is the mouth of the River Tyne, 437 00:01:20,570 --> 00:01:24,130 but over 100km long, it's the artery that pumped life 438 00:01:24,290 --> 00:01:27,090 into two of England's greatest industrial centres - 439 00:04:37,930 --> 00:04:41,330 It was built for what had become the London and North Eastern Railway 440 00:03:55,970 --> 00:03:58,770 Something that the North East is very, very proud of. 441 00:04:07,570 --> 00:04:12,810 The Tyne Bridge is by far the most famous bridge over the river. 442 00:04:12,970 --> 00:04:16,170 It's a bridge that re-wrote the engineering rulebook, 443 00:04:16,330 --> 00:04:20,250 and an icon men risked their lives to build. 444 00:04:22,690 --> 00:04:25,690 But it wasn't the first bridge to be built here. 445 00:04:25,850 --> 00:04:29,130 Back in the 1920s, when construction started, 446 00:04:29,290 --> 00:04:32,410 Newcastle already had two bridges. 447 00:04:32,570 --> 00:04:34,850 The advent of trains in the 1840s 448 00:04:35,010 --> 00:04:37,770 had brought Robert Stephenson's High Level Bridge. 449 00:03:52,890 --> 00:03:55,810 MAN: I think it's the iconic image of Tyneside. 450 00:04:41,490 --> 00:04:43,530 and the trains still thunder across today. 451 00:04:43,690 --> 00:04:47,450 But it also carried trams and pedestrians on this road deck here, 452 00:04:47,610 --> 00:04:49,130 beneath the trains. 453 00:04:52,970 --> 00:04:56,970 And just a little further downstream is the Swing Bridge. 454 00:04:57,130 --> 00:04:59,250 Both did exactly what they were designed to do - 455 00:04:59,410 --> 00:05:02,090 get people and traffic across the Tyne 456 00:05:02,250 --> 00:05:04,130 without stopping shipping on the river. 457 00:05:05,570 --> 00:05:09,130 But with the Swing Bridge opening almost 20 times a day, 458 00:05:09,290 --> 00:05:12,570 Newcastle really needed a new bridge. 459 00:03:17,210 --> 00:03:20,090 This is a bridge more than any other 460 00:02:46,450 --> 00:02:50,570 Almost everything that built this bridge came from here. 461 00:02:52,930 --> 00:02:54,970 The refinery where all the steel was made 462 00:02:55,130 --> 00:02:57,210 was just an hour down the coast, at Redcar. 463 00:02:57,370 --> 00:02:59,690 The iron ore was mined from the Cleveland Hills, 464 00:02:59,850 --> 00:03:01,690 just 40 miles south from here. 465 00:03:01,850 --> 00:03:03,570 And the coal used to smelt it 466 00:03:03,730 --> 00:03:07,450 would have probably been mined just outside Gateshead, just over there. 467 00:03:10,170 --> 00:03:14,610 And the skilled labour that built it over a period of three years 468 00:03:14,770 --> 00:03:17,050 all came direct from the Tyneside shipyards. 469 00:10:58,530 --> 00:11:02,970 So how do you build a bridge like that, without clogging the river up, 470 00:03:20,250 --> 00:03:22,810 that embodies the story of the North East. 471 00:03:25,050 --> 00:03:26,650 And the rise... 472 00:03:26,810 --> 00:03:31,570 ..and fall of one of our country's great industrial centres. 473 00:03:36,730 --> 00:03:40,050 Even now, 90 years after its construction, 474 00:03:40,210 --> 00:03:44,490 the Tyne Bridge stands as symbol of the pride and passion of the Geordies 475 00:03:44,650 --> 00:03:47,930 who built it and live with it. 476 00:03:48,090 --> 00:03:50,130 I absolutely love the Tyne Bridge. 477 00:03:50,290 --> 00:03:52,730 It reminds us of home and we just love it. 478 00:17:56,130 --> 00:17:59,850 which means they're good at resisting forces trying to squeeze them. 479 00:17:17,210 --> 00:17:21,050 made out of either wood or stone, like this one. 480 00:17:30,890 --> 00:17:34,890 But the Wylam Bridge was one of the first to be built of metal, 481 00:17:35,050 --> 00:17:36,610 hundreds of tonnes of it. 482 00:17:37,690 --> 00:17:42,090 Keeping the whole thing up is the principal of the arch, 483 00:17:42,250 --> 00:17:45,370 something bridge builders have relied on since before Roman times. 484 00:17:45,530 --> 00:17:47,290 Let me explain what I mean. 485 00:17:47,450 --> 00:17:50,210 And the materials used to build an arch bridge, 486 00:17:50,370 --> 00:17:53,690 be it wood, concrete, steel or stone, 487 00:17:53,850 --> 00:17:55,970 are all relatively strong in compression, 488 00:17:13,370 --> 00:17:17,050 Arch bridges have been built around the world for thousands of years, 489 00:18:00,010 --> 00:18:05,450 Now, if I build a very simple model beam bridge here. 490 00:18:05,610 --> 00:18:09,250 Here is my beam on my two supports on the side of the canoe. 491 00:18:09,410 --> 00:18:14,570 If I apply a force, a load, onto the top, the beam bends. 492 00:18:14,730 --> 00:18:18,490 The two ends come up and the middle goes down and the whole beam bends. 493 00:18:18,650 --> 00:18:22,810 And that bottom surface of the beam is what's called being in tension. 494 00:18:22,970 --> 00:18:24,290 It's being stretched. 495 00:18:24,450 --> 00:18:26,330 If I kept pushing and kept pushing, 496 00:18:26,490 --> 00:18:29,010 it would bend and stretch so much until it broke - 497 00:18:29,170 --> 00:18:31,450 the bridge would fail. 498 00:15:58,210 --> 00:16:02,330 one of many so-called through arch bridges built around 1900. 499 00:15:27,410 --> 00:15:31,330 His name appearing on the Tyne Bridge drawings at least suggests 500 00:15:31,490 --> 00:15:34,490 he was a consulting engineer on the Tyne Bridge project. 501 00:15:34,650 --> 00:15:36,290 So Freeman could be the reason 502 00:15:36,450 --> 00:15:39,010 as to why these two bridges look so similar. 503 00:15:43,330 --> 00:15:45,570 But, personally, I doubt it. 504 00:15:45,730 --> 00:15:49,330 Impressive as both bridges are, they're far from unique. 505 00:15:49,490 --> 00:15:52,810 20 years before the Tyne Bridge was built, 506 00:15:52,970 --> 00:15:55,410 New York had this. 507 00:15:56,610 --> 00:15:58,050 The Hell Gate Bridge - 508 00:18:31,610 --> 00:18:38,050 Now, instead, if I restrain the two ends and form an arch shape, 509 00:16:03,930 --> 00:16:07,210 But if you really want to find the inspiration for the Tyne Bridge, 510 00:16:07,370 --> 00:16:08,930 you don't have to cross an ocean, 511 00:16:09,090 --> 00:16:11,810 you simply have to travel a few miles upstream. 512 00:16:25,850 --> 00:16:30,210 It's a steel arch bridge called the Wylam Railway Bridge. 513 00:16:30,370 --> 00:16:36,130 Built in 1874, almost 50 years before the Tyne Bridge was designed, 514 00:16:36,290 --> 00:16:40,370 it's virtually identical to its cousin, just ten miles downstream. 515 00:17:04,130 --> 00:17:05,970 And key to both bridges' success 516 00:17:06,130 --> 00:17:09,370 is one of man's greatest engineering successes... 517 00:17:11,290 --> 00:17:13,210 ..the arch. 518 00:20:25,650 --> 00:20:29,730 Thousands of former shipyard workers who risked life and limb 519 00:19:48,610 --> 00:19:51,090 behind the stone cladding of the tower here. 520 00:19:51,250 --> 00:19:56,730 No matter how many lorries pass above me, this bridge stands strong. 521 00:19:56,890 --> 00:20:00,490 Back in 1925, it was those great abutments that were 522 00:20:00,650 --> 00:20:02,890 the first stage of the arch to be built. 523 00:20:03,050 --> 00:20:06,850 But as the bridge moved upwards, things got a lot more complicated. 524 00:20:08,610 --> 00:20:13,610 Its engineers having to devise radical new construction techniques. 525 00:20:13,770 --> 00:20:16,530 Building the bridge downwards from the sky, 526 00:20:16,690 --> 00:20:20,570 allowing the all-important river traffic to flow freely underneath. 527 00:20:21,850 --> 00:20:25,490 But the real heroes were the men of the Tyne themselves. 528 00:19:46,450 --> 00:19:48,450 wedged firmly into the bank itself 529 00:20:29,890 --> 00:20:32,570 to create this engineering marvel. 530 00:20:32,730 --> 00:20:34,610 Back then, there was no safety gear. 531 00:20:34,770 --> 00:20:38,930 Your life depended on a steady sense of balance and a good run of luck. 532 00:20:39,090 --> 00:20:40,930 It was a tragedy waiting to happen. 533 00:20:41,090 --> 00:20:44,610 And on the 18 February, 1928, it did. 534 00:21:03,370 --> 00:21:06,010 For almost 90 years 535 00:21:06,170 --> 00:21:09,370 the Tyne Bridge has been the symbol of the North East. 536 00:21:11,810 --> 00:21:15,370 The men who built it were seen as heroes. 537 00:21:15,530 --> 00:21:20,170 Their skills symbolising the industrial might of the time. 538 00:19:09,690 --> 00:19:12,530 All the weight of the bridge being passed along the arch, 539 00:18:38,210 --> 00:18:41,130 as I put load on the top there, as I push down, 540 00:18:41,290 --> 00:18:43,370 the material here is in compression. 541 00:18:43,530 --> 00:18:46,450 It's resisting it well, as well. Agh! 542 00:18:46,610 --> 00:18:49,890 So the load I push down is carried out 543 00:18:50,050 --> 00:18:51,690 through the curves of the arch 544 00:18:51,850 --> 00:18:55,210 and down into our strong, solid anchor points at each end. 545 00:18:55,370 --> 00:18:58,410 And that's what makes an arch bridge so strong. 546 00:19:01,610 --> 00:19:05,210 Just like the Wylam Bridge, the Tyne Bridge looks the way it does 547 00:19:05,370 --> 00:19:08,250 because it exploits the same ancient structure. 548 00:15:24,610 --> 00:15:27,250 the company who designed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 549 00:19:12,690 --> 00:19:14,290 down to the ground. 550 00:19:14,450 --> 00:19:17,850 So as long as the ends of the arch cannot move outward, 551 00:19:18,010 --> 00:19:21,010 the arch will stay super strong. 552 00:19:26,210 --> 00:19:29,410 This is the bottom of the Tyne Bridge's towering arch, 553 00:19:29,570 --> 00:19:31,850 here on the Newcastle side of the river. 554 00:19:32,010 --> 00:19:34,970 Thousands of tonnes of steel supporting a good chunk 555 00:19:35,130 --> 00:19:38,970 of Newcastle's busy traffic, day and night. 556 00:19:39,130 --> 00:19:42,770 But that traffic remains safe above me because the ends of the arch 557 00:19:42,930 --> 00:19:46,290 are supported by these anchor points, the abutments, 558 00:12:45,570 --> 00:12:49,170 Superficially, they do look similar. 559 00:12:14,410 --> 00:12:17,050 ..Australia's Sydney Harbour Bridge. 560 00:12:23,330 --> 00:12:24,730 They copied ours. 561 00:12:24,890 --> 00:12:26,410 This was here first and, yeah, 562 00:12:26,570 --> 00:12:28,570 as a city, we're very, very proud of it. 563 00:12:28,730 --> 00:12:32,490 It's as famous, if not more famous, than the Sydney Harbour Bridge, 564 00:12:32,650 --> 00:12:34,490 I would've thought, which is three times the size, 565 00:12:34,650 --> 00:12:38,090 but we think ours is the better of the two. 566 00:12:39,610 --> 00:12:41,730 But is there really any truth in the idea 567 00:12:41,890 --> 00:12:43,610 that the two bridges are connected? 568 00:12:09,130 --> 00:12:11,250 on the other side of the planet... 569 00:12:49,330 --> 00:12:51,490 Both are so-called 'through arches', 570 00:12:51,650 --> 00:12:53,130 with the bridge deck going through 571 00:12:53,290 --> 00:12:55,170 the arch, rather than on top. 572 00:12:57,250 --> 00:12:59,010 Both are constructed 573 00:12:59,170 --> 00:13:01,130 from great steel girders 574 00:13:01,290 --> 00:13:02,650 and both were built 575 00:13:02,810 --> 00:13:05,010 at roughly the same time. 576 00:13:05,170 --> 00:13:07,250 But is that just a coincidence? 577 00:13:11,490 --> 00:13:14,170 To find out, I've travelled 200 miles south, 578 00:11:31,490 --> 00:11:34,810 20-ton cranes were erected on top of the start of each arch, 579 00:11:03,130 --> 00:11:05,570 full of barges to hoist the steel up from? 580 00:11:05,730 --> 00:11:09,410 Well, the clue is at the end of the arches on each side. 581 00:11:11,490 --> 00:11:15,570 The entire weight of the arches rest on these round bearings. 582 00:11:15,730 --> 00:11:17,450 In effect, a simple hinge 583 00:11:17,610 --> 00:11:21,290 which allowed the whole bridge to be built from above, rather than below. 584 00:11:21,450 --> 00:11:25,210 Thick steel cables ran from the top of the arches 585 00:11:25,370 --> 00:11:27,370 to great winches on the banks, 586 00:11:27,530 --> 00:11:29,850 holding them up as they were gradually built outwards 587 00:11:30,010 --> 00:11:31,330 across the river. 588 00:13:14,330 --> 00:13:19,050 to the Institution of Civil Engineers in London. 589 00:11:34,970 --> 00:11:38,330 lifting beams from the bank and placing them out over the river, 590 00:11:38,490 --> 00:11:40,130 extending the arch. 591 00:11:40,290 --> 00:11:43,170 More beams were then positioned for the flat deck beneath. 592 00:11:43,330 --> 00:11:45,450 And once a whole section had been finished, 593 00:11:45,610 --> 00:11:48,050 the crane would move out further along the arch, 594 00:11:48,210 --> 00:11:51,770 further out over the river and the whole process would start again. 595 00:11:59,530 --> 00:12:02,010 It was an engineering triumph. 596 00:12:02,170 --> 00:12:06,210 And it's led many Geordies to believe that the building of the Tyne Bridge 597 00:12:06,370 --> 00:12:08,970 was a dress rehearsal for an even bigger project 598 00:14:54,370 --> 00:14:55,810 Here, for the Tyne Bridge, 599 00:14:20,290 --> 00:14:24,850 In fact, Dorman Long also produced the materials for both bridges, 600 00:14:25,010 --> 00:14:28,490 shipping over 42,000 tonnes of specialist steel 601 00:14:28,650 --> 00:14:31,850 all the way to Australia, for the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 602 00:14:35,450 --> 00:14:39,610 But that doesn't answer the question of which one came first and whether, 603 00:14:39,770 --> 00:14:41,330 as many Geordies believe, 604 00:14:41,490 --> 00:14:46,130 the design of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was based on the Tyne Bridge. 605 00:14:46,290 --> 00:14:48,770 Look back in the corners of the drawings though, 606 00:14:48,930 --> 00:14:52,610 and we can see two different firms of engineers who drew up the plans, 607 00:14:52,770 --> 00:14:54,210 the bridge designers. 608 00:14:12,210 --> 00:14:14,890 There it is clearly on both plans. 609 00:14:55,970 --> 00:14:58,250 we've got Mott, Hay and Anderson. 610 00:14:58,410 --> 00:15:00,170 And for Sydney Harbour Bridge, 611 00:15:00,330 --> 00:15:02,050 it's Douglas Fox and Partners. 612 00:15:03,690 --> 00:15:05,010 Now, dig a little further 613 00:15:05,170 --> 00:15:09,250 and there's another name on the Tyne Bridge drawings, Ralph Freeman. 614 00:15:09,410 --> 00:15:12,450 Ralph Freeman, later Sir Ralph Freeman, 615 00:15:12,610 --> 00:15:15,290 was one of Britain's greatest structural engineers 616 00:15:15,450 --> 00:15:20,330 and THE man to go to if you were planning to build a massive bridge. 617 00:15:20,490 --> 00:15:24,450 Now, we know at the time Freeman was working for Douglas Fox and Partners, 618 00:13:45,170 --> 00:13:48,410 And this is a copy of a plan of the Tyne Bridge 619 00:13:19,210 --> 00:13:20,650 Deep in its vaults is one 620 00:13:20,810 --> 00:13:24,170 of the largest engineering archives on the planet. 621 00:13:24,330 --> 00:13:26,730 It contains thousands of documents and plans 622 00:13:26,890 --> 00:13:30,010 from engineering projects around the world. 623 00:13:30,170 --> 00:13:34,050 Some going back to the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. 624 00:13:34,210 --> 00:13:37,530 So if there is a link between these two great bridges, 625 00:13:37,690 --> 00:13:39,330 I should find it here. 626 00:13:39,490 --> 00:13:42,170 From the archives I've managed to dig out 627 00:13:42,330 --> 00:13:45,010 an original plan of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 628 00:00:02,650 --> 00:00:06,650 ROB BELL: Britain's iconic bridges, spanning our most dramatic landscapes 629 00:13:48,570 --> 00:13:50,290 that I've brought with me. 630 00:13:50,450 --> 00:13:53,650 And straightaway, you can see there's an obvious similarity. 631 00:13:53,810 --> 00:13:57,730 They've both got the big steel arch, two towers at each end, 632 00:13:57,890 --> 00:13:59,930 and the flat suspended section. 633 00:14:00,090 --> 00:14:02,210 But have a closer look 634 00:14:02,370 --> 00:14:06,010 and it seems that connection goes a little deeper, 635 00:14:06,170 --> 00:14:08,810 because both bridges were manufactured 636 00:14:08,970 --> 00:14:12,050 by Dorman Long and Company of Middlesbrough. 54244

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