Bridge Gondola

A miserable, dark and cold morning here in Newport,
Taken near the base of the bridge of the Gondola through the two uprights of the bridge.

Transporter Bridge
The remarkable Newport Transporter Bridge is one of only six operational transporter bridges left world wide from a total of twenty constructed.

The bridge opened in 1906 and has dominated the Newport skyline ever since.

A transporter bridge is basically a suspended ferry that can operate more efficiently than a conventional ferry.

A high level boom that allows ships to pass underneath is suspended from towers at each end.

The boom carries a rail track on which a moving carriage or ‘traveller’ runs.

A gondola or platform is suspended from the carriage and can be pulled from one side of the river to the other by means of a hauling cable.

The Transporter Bridge is powered by twin 35 horse power electric motors.

Although an ‘aerial ferry’ was the idea of English engineer Charles Smith, the first working example was built by Spaniard Alberto Palacio and Frenchman Ferdinand Arnodin in 1893 at Portugalete near Bilbao in Spain.