The Teesside Fettlers - Adrian Beadnell, Stewart McFarlane MBE, Bob Skingle and Stan Gee at the Nursery Inn Folk Club in Hartlepool on Sunday, May 11th, 2008. Photograph © Stan Laundon.

The Transporter Bridge Song was recorded at The University of Teesside in 2010 with a view to both celebrating the centenary of the superb Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge in 2011 and raise a little cash for local charities.

Each singer takes a verse of the song, Bob Skingle, Stewart McFarlane, Pete Betts and Vin Garbutt, and each verse reflects key aspects of the life of a tradesman working on the river, from apprenticeship to retirement.

You can also hear the track - with or without lyrics - on the Sound Cloud website and see the chords and lyrics on this special PDF file.

The Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough celebrated its 100th birthday on October 17th, 2011 with a wonderful fireworks display which was seen for miles around.

The bridge, in the old county of Yorkshire, crosses the River Tees. It connects Middlesbrough, on the south bank, to Port Clarence, on the north bank. As the name suggests it is a transporter bridge, carrying a travelling 'car' or 'gondola' suspended from the bridge, across the river in ninety seconds. The cart can carry 200 people, nine cars or six cars and one minibus.

The bridge was built by Sir William Arrol & Company in 1911. The opening ceremony, on October 17th, 1911 was performed by Prince Arthur of Connaught. The Transporter Bridge reflects the dynamic industrial heritage of the area.

Teesside has a long tradition of bridge building. Many of the world's greatest bridges, including the nearby Tees Newport Bridge, the Tyne Bridge and the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia, were designed and constructed from Dorman Long steel.

However, the Transporter Bridge, which is 100 years old in October 2011, at 850 feet (260 m) long and 225 feet (69 m) high at the tallest point, is the largest working bridge of its kind in the world. The distance between the two towers is 580 feet - 177 metres.

 

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