A review of British railway bridge flood failures

摘要

The paper explores the hydrological characteristics of fluvial floods that have induced rail-bridge failure in Britain. Newspaper circulation and central reporting of rainfall data flourished in the improved communications afforded by railways. The research draws on rainfall archives, newspapers and other information to investigate some 30 incidents, and an attempt made to classify each according to the rarity of the flood that triggered failure. During the study, reference was found to a further tenfloods in which rail bridges failed.