Railway swing bridge.

The Manchester Ship Canal Company owned the largest private railway network in the country with over 200 miles of track and 75 steam locomotives on the Docks and  in Trafford Park alone, and in 1895 a single track railway bridge was built to connect the Salford and Trafford Park networks together.

The bridge was constructed so that it could swing to allow the passage of ships up and down the canal and was situated just to the west of the Trafford Road swing bridge.

The single track bridge was found to be  too restrictive for wartime traffic so a replacement double track one was built in 1942 by Dorman Long and Co. of Middlesbrough.

Once the docks closed the bridge became redundant and was in danger of  being scrapped, but a decision was taken to retain it and use it as a feature within the new Salford Quays redevelopment area. The bridge no longer lives in it's original position however, as in 1988 it was jacked up and moved on pontoons to it's new home at number 9 dock (now known as  Huron Basin). The bridge has been  renamed "Detroit Bridge" and has become a pedestrian walkway linking the new developments situated around the old dock.

The original supports for the bridge can still be seen in the canal opposite the Samuel Platt public house on Trafford Wharf Road.  The  pier which supported the turning mechanism of the bridge has in fact become part of the pub,  with a small round building,  linked to the main building, being built upon it.