Tower Bridge, North Side, London
Two unused postcards to share this week from the collection sent by friends. The cards have different views of the Tower Bridge, London, England. The card above was distributed by Thomas & Benacci Ltd. of London. At the lower left corner on the reverse is Lo 15.
The Tower Bridge, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry, was built between 1886 and 1894. The bridge crosses the Thames River close to the Tower of London. It is one of five bridges in London owned and maintained by the Bridge House Estates, a charitable trust founded in 1282. This bridge has become a London landmark and is sometimes confused with London Bridge located about ½ mile upstream. The length is 800 ft or 240 m and it has two 213 ft (65 m) towers that are connected at the upper level by walkways. About 40,000 crossing occur each day. The bridge deck is accessible to both vehicles and foot traffic. Today the high-level walkways and Victorian engine rooms are part of the Tower Bridge Exhibition. Originally the operating mechanism of the bridge was powered hydraulically. In the 1970s the operating system was converted to an electro-hydraulic system.
Tower Bridge, London
This second postcard is a Capital Souvenirs distributed card. The information blurb at the lower left corner on the reverse says: “Tower Bridge, London. Tower Bridge was completed in 1894. The opening of the two drawbridges allow the passage of large ships. They each weigh 1,000 tons. A bell rings before they open and road traffic is halted. A tug is always in readiness nearby for emergencies.” The upper level walkways can be seen in the photograph.
Thank you to K and J for sending the card.
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