Charing Cross
Charing Cross train station in London was opened in 1864 and was designed by Sir John Hawkshaw with 6 terminus platforms and a large single span trussed arched train shed roof which was 164ft wide and 510ft long. It quickly became a busy station for both commuter and continental departures, having a direct link into London Bridge station and onwards to Folkestone and Dover.
Along with the station, Sir John Hawkshaw also designed the Hungerford Bridge which carried the railway over the River Thames and into Charing Cross. In 1845 Isambard Kingdom Brunel had built a suspension bridge over the Thames at the same spot, which now had to be demolished for the new railway bridge to be built. Two piers from Brunel’s bridge were used in the new railway bridge and the suspension chains reused in the Clifton Bridge at Bristol. Contemporary with Charing Cross the Clifton Suspension Bridge was being built as a memorial to Brunel with Sir John Hawkshaw and William Henry Barlow as consultant engineers.
Charing Cross
Charing Cross train station in London was opened in 1864 and was designed by Sir John Hawkshaw with 6 terminus platforms and a large single span trussed arched train shed roof which was 164ft wide and 510ft long. It quickly became a busy station for both commuter and continental departures, having a direct link into London Bridge station and onwards to Folkestone and Dover.
Along with the station, Sir John Hawkshaw also designed the Hungerford Bridge which carried the railway over the River Thames and into Charing Cross. In 1845 Isambard Kingdom Brunel had built a suspension bridge over the Thames at the same spot, which now had to be demolished for the new railway bridge to be built. Two piers from Brunel’s bridge were used in the new railway bridge and the suspension chains reused in the Clifton Bridge at Bristol. Contemporary with Charing Cross the Clifton Suspension Bridge was being built as a memorial to Brunel with Sir John Hawkshaw and William Henry Barlow as consultant engineers.