Coppergate Bridge
.
History
Location origins
The Coppergate Valley was an area of great importance early on in Rotherhythe's history. With it providing the largest number of Ice Spikes used to create the indoor appeals of the castle interior. The River was conceived to be the most important route for which to build a settlement onwards to Lake Bigman.
Construction drafts
The Coppergate Bridge/Viaduct was drafted in February 2023 along with the commencement of construction for the Rotherhythe Central Railway Station to help begin a railway link from Rotherhythe Keep to the Redstone Expo site - With an onward connection to Steambolt following. The bridge was included in Phase 2 of the railway construction - With Phase 1 being the station and tunnel through Mount Richard, and Phase 3 being the viaducts along the Melted Valley.
Design brief
When it came time to design the bridge, many bonus challenges had been presented, such as the importance of the river it would be crossing at it's southern side and the need to remain level with the Mount Richard tunnel exit, as well as the requirement to line up with terrain on the north flank.
To meet these requirements, it was decided the bridge would need a high platform profile, and a long distance to cover the terrain until meeting a suitably high ledge to avoid the need for banking along the viaduct, while retaining arches high enough to fit the Challenge class Paddlesteamers that frequent Coppergate Valley and Rotherhythe
Design
The design phases of the Coppergate bridge spanned 6 days of planning and draft.
Technical details
The structure is explained in order of design
Viaduct
The Viaduct which carries the railway in both directions and the pantograph pylons is made entirely of blackstone sealed around the gravel base of the railway tracks. The tracks are in UV Standard model gauge of 2 rails split by a one block gap, with the pantographs at the standard height with the cables running 12 blocks over the gravel. This viaduct is raised by arches that span on both sides back down to the feet with beams supporting the superstructure
Feet
The bridge is held up by 3 foot sites, 2 located underground, and one located on the Riverbank. These feet support the tower structures that link the individual bridge segments together, while also holding the arches that support the viaduct. These feet are made of 4 blackstone columns that spread the weight of the segment crossovers directly above them and the load of the viaduct arches
Canopy superstructure
The Canopy superstructure is modelled off the Forth Bridge in Scotland, UK. Selected for it's perfect blend of industrial engineering and functional design, matching the demands of the Rotherhythe - Redstone Expo railway. This canopy structure is an extension of the columns that support the viaduct from the arches below, creating 3 segments that descend from their grounded feet, slowly closing the gap between the top arches and the viaduct support arches. In the two instances of this close gap, the banner of Rotherhythe is displayed on the South side, and Steambolt on the North side, symbolising which side of the viaduct leads in which direction. There are 3 identical superstructures meshed together by the crossovers.
Use
The bridge will carry trains from the Mount Richard tunnel across the Coppergate Valley and onward to Steambolt, the bridge will also lead into the Mount Richard underground maintenance facility and the Rotherhythe Bypass link for Future trains to Savahford towards the Outpost central station project.