The historic Newport Transporter Bridge crosses the River Usk in Newport, South Wales. The bridge is very rare—only 20 transporter bridges have ever been built worldwide with just eight remaining in use today.

In the 1900s Newport was a very busy port. Industry was expanding on the east side of the Usk river where the Transporter Bridge now stands, but the majority of workers were based on the west side of the river. To access the new steelworks on the east side, workers would be required to make a four-mile journey to cross the river, via Town Bridge.

The river banks are very low at the desired crossing point—an ordinary bridge would need a very long approach ramp to attain sufficient height to allow tall ships to pass underneath as they made their way to the town docks. Further complicating matters, the ever changing times of the tide meant that a ferry was not a practical method for workers to cross the river. Building a tunnel was deemed technically difficult and too expensive.

The solution was the transporter bridge, designed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin. A very tall horizontal bridge allowed ships to pass underneath and the hanging gondola could carry six cars and 120 people across the river in one journey.

At the opening ceremony in 1906, the new bridge was described as:  “A giant with the grace of Apollo and the strength of Hercules.” 

Client: Crafted, a design-led store selling items sourced from within a 25 mile radius of Newport City Centre.
The print measures 10 x 13 1/2 inches, to fit perfectly in the 40 x 50 cm IKEA Virserum frame.

With thanks to this incredible drone footage, here and here, and photos by googlemaps and photo everywhere.

{This travel print was a limited run and has sold out. Thank you to everyone who bought one! A percentage of proceeds was donated to Friends of Newport Transporter Bridge to help preserve the bridge. There are greeting cards available at Crafted.}