Old Blackfriars rail bridge

[EMD]

I've come across some London Weekend Television footage from July 1988 where the old Blackfriars rail bridge is still visible in one of the closing shots. Since it was the very last Six O'Clock Show and the shot moves from the crowd to the view of St Pauls I don't think this would have been reused stock footage. So, since every source including London Railway Atlas quotes 1985 as the year when the spans were removed how come they were still in situ in 1988?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYmd-80ICvo

 

[Deepgreen]

I think that is the further railway bridge, with the apparent lattice pattern being the platform wall support structures, which gave a criss-cross pattern for several sections.

 

[AlterEgo]

Head to oldaerialphotos.com and you'll be able to see old aerial photos of the area which confirm the bridge was demolished by 1988 (a photo from June 1986 shows the span removed and pillars extant).

Must be stock footage because the lattice structure in Deepgreen's photo isn't as big as the large structure in the video which definitely looks like the old bridge.

 

[Deepgreen]

Head to oldaerialphotos.com and you'll be able to see old aerial photos of the area which confirm the bridge was demolished by 1988 (a photo from June 1986 shows the span removed and pillars extant).

Must be stock footage because the lattice structure in Bletchleyite's photo isn't as big as the large structure in the video which definitely looks like the old bridge.

I, too, considered the stock footage possibility, but the crowd in the foreground seems to indicate it to have been 'live'.

 

[AlterEgo]

I, too, considered the stock footage possibility, but the crowd in the foreground seems to indicate it to have been 'live'.

It does, though I wonder if it was from a different event (the banners are quite generic and don't reference the event precisely).

I'm definitely satisfied the old bridge spans were gone by 1988.

There's a possibility that the structure in the distance is explained by Deepgreen's suggestion, but the size doesn't tally to my eyes.

 

[adrock1976]

Was the dismantled bridge the one where the investment banker Roberto Calvi's body was found hanging in 1982?

Calvi was the chap who apparently got murdered when an investment deal went wrong. He had invested a huge sum of money on behalf of the Italian Mafia, believed to be via the Vatican Bank. His body was hanging from one of the Blackfriars bridges so as to make it look like suicide.

To date, nobody has ever been brought to justice, although there have been the odd one or two trials, it was the wrong people in the dock.

 

[Deepgreen]

It does, though I wonder if it was from a different event (the banners are quite generic and don't reference the event precisely).

I'm definitely satisfied the old bridge spans were gone by 1988.

There's a possibility that the structure in the distance is explained by Bletchleyite's suggestion, but the size doesn't tally to my eyes.

I cannot see any post on this thread from a 'Bletchleyite' - am I missing something?

Bearing mind that the video camera view is towards the ENE, and the photo on my earlier post is a view facing SE (where the platform wall structure is of a lighter weight construction), I don't see any disparity between the two images. The platform wall support structure is larger and more substantial towards the north end of the bridge and fits well with the LWT footage. However, a generic 'good luck' video scene cannot be ruled out!

 

[Deepgreen]

Found another shot, which possibly lends further credence to the idea that it's the platform wall lattice pattern - painted to accord with the shot on the LWT footage.

 

[AlterEgo]

I cannot see any post on this thread from a 'Bletchleyite' - am I missing something?

Bearing mind that the video camera view is towards the ENE, and the photo on my earlier post is a view facing SE (where the platform wall structure is of a lighter weight construction), I don't see any disparity between the two images. The platform wall support structure is larger and more substantial towards the north end of the bridge and fits well with the LWT footage. However, a generic 'good luck' video scene cannot be ruled out!

Sorry, had two windows open at once and got confused! Duly amended.

 

[AlterEgo]

Found another shot, which possibly lends further credence to the idea that it's the platform wall lattice pattern - painted to accord with the shot on the LWT footage.

That is probably it then - the platform wall is large enough to be structure in the shot judging by that picture.

 

[EMD]

You're right it is the lattice structure although the combination of sun/angle made it look much more substantial than it actually was. Here's how it looked in 2008, screenshot taken from street view.

 

[Mutant Lemming]

Aren't some of the original cast iron railway company crests from some of the bridge supports now at Fawley Hill railway ?

 

[John Webb]

Aren't some of the original cast iron railway company crests from some of the bridge supports now at Fawley Hill railway ?

Just the one, I think. (Seen on a visit last year - sorry, no picture!)