Austin's pontoon before 1906
A downriver view from the south end of Wearmouth bridge.The two small boats on the left are paddle boats which were very manoeuverable and used as tugs. An amusing story was that being very basic they used sea-water in the boilers and during maintenance the engineer would put a potato in which would float on top if the salt had built up to the degree that a flush out was needed.
Information from Len Charlton.
Rail bridge and coal drops before 1904.The rail bridge and coal drops before 1904. The brickwork and lower girders of the old cast iron road bridge which is behind the rail bridge give a misleading impression of its structure.
Information from Len Charlton.
River Wear
This view downriver and taken from Wearmouth bridge shows several ships under construction. They are all big enough to need care in navigating the river bend in the distance for which purpose tugs were always employed.
Information from Len Charlton.
