Transporter gets centenary plaque to mark engineering landmark’s hundred years
A commemorative plaque was unveiled at the Tees Transporter Bridge on Wednesday 19 October to celebrate the engineering landmark’s centenary.
The plaque was unveiled as part of a ceremony rededicating the bridge’s prestigious Engineering Heritage Award from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Professor Roderick Smith, President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said:
“Middlesbrough has often been called the town that built the world, and the Tees Transporter Bridge stands as an iconic, world class example of Britain’s engineering skills.
"The fact that it has stood proudly against the elements for one hundred years is testament to the superb engineering that went into its design and construction, and it remains a proud part of Britain's industrial heritage.”
Ian Parker, Chief Executive of Middlesbrough Council, said:
“The Transporter is a much loved symbol of Teesside and a powerful reminder of the industrial and engineering role played by the whole region.
“This award is fitting acknowledgement of that heritage, especially as the bridge continues to work just as well now as it did when it opened a century ago.”
The Tees Transporter Bridge is the longest operational transporter bridge in the world and one of only four surviving examples worldwide. Since its opening on 17 October 1911 it has survived a direct hit from a German bomb in 1943 and a ship collision in 1956 to become one of Middlesbrough’s most iconic landmarks.
Originally awarded to the Tees Transporter Bridge in 1993, the Engineering Heritage Award celebrates the greatest surviving examples of Britain’s rich engineering history. Other Heritage Award winners include the world’s first rail locomotive, the Thames Barrier and Bletchley Park’s Bombe code-breaking machine.