Tag Archives: Battersea Railroad Bridge

Bridge Madness 2026 – Elite Eight

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Rules

In the 2026 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 bridges that cross the Thames River in London go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features bridges visited by urbantraipsing on a 2012 bridge-walking expedition.

Results of the Sweet Sixteen:

  • Battersea Railway Bridge vs. Tower Bridge – 24% to 76%
  • Battersea Bridge vs. London Bridge – 43% to 57%
  • Albert Bridge vs. Cannon Street Bridge – 100% to 0%
  • Chelsea Bridge vs. Southwark Bridge – 67% to 33%
  • Grosvenor Bridge vs. Millennium Bridge – 38% to 62%
  • Vauxhall Bridge vs. Blackfriars Bridge – 33% to 67%
  • Lambeth Bridge vs. Waterloo Bridge – 92% to 8%
  • Westminster Bridge vs. Jubilee Bridges – 58% to 42%

Below are the brackets for the Elite Eight. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Saturday, March 14th, and then return on March 15th to vote for the Final Four.

To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.

The Bridge Brackets

Tower Bridge
London Bridge
Albert Bridge
Chelsea Bridge
Millennium Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge
Lambeth Bridge
Westminster Bridge

Bridge Madness 2026 Map

Bridge Madness 2026 – Sweet Sixteen

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Rules

In the 2026 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 bridges that cross the Thames River in London go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. This year’s tournament features bridges visited by urbantraipsing on a 2012 bridge-walking expedition. Below are the brackets for the Sweet Sixteen. Remember to vote for one bridge in each bracket by noon on Saturday, March 7th, and then return on March 8th to vote for the Elite Eight.

To learn more about the bridges, revisit the introduction which has links to posts on each bridge.

The Bridges

Battersea Railroad Bridge
Tower Bridge
Battersea Bridge
London Bridge
Albert Bridge
Cannon Street Railway Bridge
Chelsea Bridge
Southwark Bridge
Grosvenor Bridge
Millennium Bridge
Vauxhall Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge
Lambeth Bridge
Waterloo Bridge
Westminster Bridge
Jubilee Bridges

Bridge Madness 2026 Map

Bridge Madness 2026 – Introduction

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Rules

In the 2026 Bridge Madness Tournament, 16 London bridges go pier-to-pier in a reader’s choice tournament to pick the best one. I engaged with approximately 18 bridges across the River Thames on my last trip to London. Because the Blackfriars Station Railway Bridge was under construction when I was there, it is not included in this tournament. The Jubilee-Hungerford Bridges are either 1 or 3 bridges depending on how you count them. For the purposes of this tournament, we are counting them as 1 bridge to stay with our usual 16 tournament bridges.

Beginning March 1, you will be able to vote for your favorite bridge in each bracket. The champion bridge will be announced on March 29. Don’t forget to come back each week to vote your favorite bridge to #1!

Each round of voting will go live at 8 AM on the scheduled Sunday and close at noon the following Saturday. The schedule is:

  • March 1 – Sweet Sixteen
  • March 8 – Elite Eight
  • March 15 – Final Four
  • March 22 – Championship
  • March 29 – Winner announced

The 16 London Bridges in this tournament are listed below. Click on the links to learn more about urbantraipsing’s encounter with each bridge.

  • Albert Bridge
  • Battersea Bridge
  • Battersea Railroad Bridge
  • Blackfriars Bridge
  • Cannon Street Railway Bridge
  • Chelsea Bridge
  • Grosvenor Bridge
  • Jubilee Bridges
  • Lambeth Bridge
  • London Bridge
  • Millennium Bridge
  • Southwark Bridge
  • Tower Bridge
  • Vauxhall Bridge
  • Waterloo Bridge
  • Westminster Bridge

Bridge Madness 2026 Map

Battersea Railroad Bridge

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Just upriver from the Battersea Bridge – technically the first bridge I traipsed – is the Battersea Railroad Bridge. It mimics the deck arch style, and echoes the gold contrasted against a dark tone color-scheme, of the Battersea Bridge. The railroad bridge also has a similarly narrow road bed, making it the skinniest of the railroad bridges I encountered in my bridge walking of London in 2012.

This is the closest I got to the Battersea Railroad Bridge. My paper map ended about there – I refused to get a smartphone for several more years – and I had no idea there was another bridge just beyond that bend in the Thames that I could have walked. However, my motivating goal in walking bridges was to capture different views of the city. I took numerous photos from and near each of the bridges I walked, usually including at least one upriver and one downriver view, which enabled me to capture views of bridges that weren’t pedestrian accessible, such as the Battersea Railroad Bridge.