Britain's lowest railway bridge and weakest road bridges

[KeithW]

The best I can do is this 7ft 4" bridge leading to the Purple Parking lot for Heathrow on the site of the old Southall Gas Works. They take you to the terminal in a Transit Mini Bus that is seems like a tight squeeze but I am assured there is a good foot of clearance. The drivers always make sure they line up dead on centre though

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.50302 ... authuser=0

[Bryn666]

May I suggest Britain's lowest-clearance bus route, at least in terms of marked bridge height (6'0")?

Sherpa Mytholmroyd.jpg

Okay, a bit of a cheat, but the bus was in service, I assure you. Summer 1989, and the B6138 was closed for a day in the centre of Mytholmroyd while a building was demolished, meaning the minibus routes to Cragg Vale and Nest Estate were diverted under the railway bridge on Thrush Hill Road. I had made numerous trips under the bridge in the morning before going back in the afternoon to snap one of my colleagues suffering.

This is about the scariest I can make it appear on GSV:https://goo.gl/maps/oJoyZS9q7su

Not many outside people go under that bridge for the reasons you state! It's mostly locals.

[vlad]

I've mentioned this bridge before.

It's used regularly by buses between Stafford and Rugeley. Interestingly, the vehicle height displayed in the bus cab is over 10' so technically they shouldn't be able to get through....

[drm567]

At Bishton near Newport 5'6" https://goo.gl/maps/BjYfjwDSA7v.

This one features in a recent Youtube clip at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy9PmSRwG-k

[PhilC]

There's a railway bridge in Birmingham signed at 5ft 3in. Half way under the bridge there is a brick arch which makes the bridge lower.

https://goo.gl/maps/rkdh5ULZprB2

If you manage to get under the bridge without incident you have to negotiate a ford. This is the road from the opposite end.

https://goo.gl/maps/DxHy7A46Rqz
https://goo.gl/maps/1cjkbAUkYFz

[ais523]

There's a severe shortage of crossings of that railway, and many of them are inadequate (there aren't any crossings of the railway that are wider than S1 between Longbridge station and King's Norton station, 4km away as the crow flies). So i've actually used that crossing on many occasions, typically as a pedestrian (who can avoid the ford via a nearby footbridge).

There isn't enough room for a pedestrian to pass a car there, though, so using the bridge often involves yelling and waving of arms to try to warn any cars that might be trying to use it in the opposite direction!

Incidentally, the Google Street View car appears to not fit under the bridge, as the photos it took don't seem to get very near it.

[Nwallace]

Video of a very low bridge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qTBdcWHYCg

[PhilC]

Incidentally, the Google Street View car appears to not fit under the bridge, as the photos it took don't seem to get very near it.

From memory I think the Google Street View car is 8ft 3in high, so it wouldn't fit under many of the bridges in this thread.

[PhilC]

Not strictly a bridge, but this road is a causeway alongside and between two reservoirs. There is one road along the edge of the two reservoirs and a second which runs between them, with 2.5 tonne weight limits. Interestingly, the signage is different at one end from the other two.

At one end, the sign prohibits goods vehicles over 2.5 tonnes gvw.

https://goo.gl/maps/oCCJFEmabCL2

At the other two ends, there is an absolute 2.5 tonne weight limit.

https://goo.gl/maps/uL6SgSrceSv
https://goo.gl/maps/AVXHj3WPosR2

Even some quite modest SUVs and a few luxury saloons would exceed this weight when fully laden. I wonder how many drive along this road without realising (or caring).

[Chris Bertram]

Not strictly a bridge, but this road is a causeway alongside and between two reservoirs. There is one road along the edge of the two reservoirs and a second which runs between them, with 2.5 tonne weight limits. Interestingly, the signage is different at one end from the other two.

At one end, the sign prohibits goods vehicles over 2.5 tonnes gvw.

https://goo.gl/maps/oCCJFEmabCL2

At the other two ends, there is an absolute 2.5 tonne weight limit.

https://goo.gl/maps/uL6SgSrceSv
https://goo.gl/maps/AVXHj3WPosR2

Even some quite modest SUVs and a few luxury saloons would exceed this weight when fully laden. I wonder how many drive along this road without realising (or caring).

As I thought, Earlswood Lakes (actually canal feeder reservoirs for the Stratford upon Avon canal). Worth a walk round on a nice summer day. Two of them host fishing competitions, one also has a sailing club, and the third is kept in a more "natural" state. And only just outside south Birmingham and Solihull.