Blackfriars Railway Bridge
Blackfriars and Southwark, London SE1 and EC4

In 1860 the London Chatham & Dover Railway (LDCR) was allowed to build an extension from its existing station at Beckenham to Ludgate Hill in the City of London.  The new railway line would cross the Thames beside Blackfriars Bridge. 

As the road bridge was being rebuilt by Joseph Cubitt, it was agreed that he should design both bridges.  Work started on the railway bridge in 1862 and the bridge and the station, then called St Paul's, opened in  1864. 

The wrought-iron girder railway bridge has spans supported by masonry abutments and composite piers.  Since the bridge formed part of St Paul's Station it was given a great deal of cast-iron ornamentation.  The supports had ornate Romanesque capitals and decorated with large, brightly coloured  shields incorporating the coat of arms of the LCDR.     

The Blackfriars Railway Bridge carried only four tracks and 20 years later it was decided to construct a second railway bridge beside the first.  Designed by W. Mills, the new wrought-iron bridge opened in 1886.  Its river spans match the old bridge, and on the downstream side the bridge is decorated with pulpit turrets, while on the upstream side there are Gothic-style cast-iron parapets.

Following the re-organisation of the railways in 1923, the new Southern Railway decided to concentrate all its long-distance and Continental traffic at Waterloo and Victoria. As a result St Paul's Station lost all but its local and suburban services. 

In 1937 St Paul's Station was renamed Blackfriars Station and the St Paul's Railway Bridge lost its identity to become just a widening of Blackfriars Railway Bridge. 

However, by the mid-20th century the old bridge was considered too weak to carry modern trains and the obsolete railway bridge was eventually dismantled in 1984.  

Today all that is left are the ornate red columns of the original bridge.  One of the cast-iron shields bearing the insignia of the LCDR can now be seen on display on the South Bank.