Cannon Street Railway Bridge : Ask Biography

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Cannon Street Railway Bridge is a bridge in central London, crossing the River Thames. Downstream, the next bridge is London Bridge, and upstream Southwark Bridge. It carries trains over the river to Cannon Street station on the north bank. It was originally named Alexandra Bridge after Alexandra of Denmark who was the wife of the future King Edward VII.

The bridge was designed by John Hawkshaw and John Wolfe-Barry for the South Eastern Railway. It was opened in 1866 after three years of construction. In its original form, it carried the railway over the Thames on five spans standing on cast-iron Doric pillars. It was subsequently widened between 1886 � 93 by Francis Brady and extensively renovated between 1979 � 82, which resulted in many of its ornamental features being removed and the structure taking on an even more utilitarian appearance than before.

It was the scene of the Marchioness disaster in 1989.