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Originally known as the '''Sukkur Bridge''' and renamed the '''Lansdowne Bridge''' on inaugeration in 1889, this was a railway bridge over the River Indus in upper [[Sind]] which connected the towns of [[Sukkur]] and [[Rohri]]. Also referred to as the ‘Indus Bridge’ in some documents.
'''Lansdowne Bridge''' provided the last link in the unbroken broad gauge([[Rail_gauge#Broad_Gauge|BG]]) [[North Western Railway]] (NWR) connection from [[Lahore]] to the port of [[Karachi]].[[Image:Lansdowne_bridge_drawing.png|thumb|right|500px|The bridge]]==Background==The [[Indus Valley State Railway]] had reached [[Sukkur]] in 1879 1878 and the steam ferry that transported eight wagons at a time across the Indus between [[Rohri]] and [[Sukkur]] was found to be cumbersome and time-consuming. The opening of the Lansdowne Bridge in 1889 solved this bottleneck and thus port of [[Karachi]] was connected to the railway network.
In 1886 the [[North Western Railway]] (NWR) had been formed by amalgamation of the [[Indus Valley State Railway]], the [[Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway]](SP&DR) and others. <br>''(The SP&DR had absorbed the [[Punjaub Railway| ‘Punjaub Railway - northern end Lahore-Mooltan section']] and the [[Scinde Railway| ‘Scinde Railway -southern end Kotri-Karachi section]])''. <br>With the completion of the bridge in 1889 the NWR ‘Ghaziabad-Karachi Mainline’ provided the through connection under one operator. ==The Bridge==A crossing was considered essential to link Lahore with the major port of Karachi on the Arabian Sea, and the section where the Indus is divided by the island of Bukkur was chosen as the most advantageous. Bridging the smaller Sukkur channel was straightforward, since its rocky bottom provided a solid foundation for masonry piers, but spanning the wider Rohri channel was a more challenging task, since its silty bottom would not allow pillars to be employed. Many different designs for the bridge had been considered from the mid 1870’s onwards (see ‘ Chronology’ below). Finally [[Alexander Meadows Rendel]], Consultant Engineer was then called in and he proposed a design consisting of two anchored cantilevers, each 310 feet (94M) long, carrying a suspended span of 200ft (61M) in the middle. This design was considered feasible and Westwood, Baillie and Co of London commenced the steelwork for the girders <ref>[http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Westwood,_Baillie_and_Co Grace's Guide "Westwood, Baillie and Co" ]; Retrieved on 11 Jul 2016</ref> <ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westwood,_Baillie Wikipedia " Westwood, Ballie"]; Retrieved on 11 Jul 2016</ref> <ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20130122080631/http://pakistaniat.com/2007/12/18/lansdowne-bridge-sukkur/ "All Things Pakistan - Lansdowne Bridge, Sukkur"]; Retrieved on 23 Apr 2016</ref>
Construction started in 1887 with the arrival of the steelwork and when it was completed in 1889 was the largest cantilever bridge in the world, the bridge came to be known as the 'Lansdowne Bridge'<ref name=wiki>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lansdowne_Bridge_Rohri Wikipedia "Lansdowne Bridge, Rohri"]; Retrieved on 23 Apr 2016</ref>. The bridge provided the railway link between Lahore, in the heart of the granary of British India, and the port of Karachi on the Arabian Sea.
*1872-74: First site survey is made of Rohri-Sukkur area by [[James Ramsay]] of the [[Public Works Department]] to bridge the River Indus here. He proposed a 650 feet(200M) long suspension bridge.
*1875: The survey was continued by Major General Sir James Browne who recommended a stiffened suspension bridge with cables formed of steel links and a span of 786ft(238M).
*1879: Railways reached [[Sukkur]] from [[Karachi]] and [[Guilford Lindsey Molesworth|Sir Guilford Molesworth ]] suggested a three-hinged arched bridge. [[James Richard Bell]] suggested a parallel truss cantilever bridge with a main span of 680ft(206M). These schemes were considered unsatisfactory and shelved.
*1882: A scheme of a bridge with 250ft(76M) spans supported on masonry piers was proposed. This design was almost chosen when a severe flood in the river took its bed depth down to 100 ft and this design was shelved.
*1939: Bridge strengthening was carried out to increase the load it could carry. This time 200 tons of dead weight of the bridge was removed.
==External Links==*The ‘Cambridge University Library Special Collections’ “Construction of Lansdowne Bridge, Sukkur, 1885-1889” <ref>[https://specialcollections-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=14253 ‘Cambridge University Library Special Collections’ “Construction of Lansdowne Bridge, Sukkur, 1885-1889” posted on 3 May 2017 by John C. ]; Retrieved 25 May 2019</ref> gives an introduction to the photographic album which is signed by the engineer who superintended the construction, [Image[Frederick Ewart Robertson]] (1847-1912). After articling with a British railway engineer, Robertson joined the Indian Public Works Department in 1868, working on the North Western State Railway. He went on to an extremely successful career, serving as Chief Engineer of the East Indian Railway, President of the Egyptian Railway Board and on the British Council of the Institute of Civil Engineers*[https:Lansdowne_bridge_drawing//en.wikipedia.png|thumb|center|500px|The bridge]org/wiki/Lansdowne_Bridge_Rohri Wikipedia "Lansdowne Bridge, Rohri"]
==Records==
