The Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge spans the Hawkesbury River just north of the town of Brooklyn on the northern outskirts of Sydney, Australia. The railway bridge was to be the last link in a railway network that linked Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane and was a major engineering feat at the time.Before the bridgeOn 7 April 1887, the single line section of railway track was opened between Hornsby and the Hawkesbury River. Passengers and goods heading north were unloaded at the River Wharf platform located on the eastern end of Long Island. Here they boarded a double decker, rear paddled-wheeled steamer named "General Gordon" that conveyed them out into Broken Bay and up Brisbane Water into Gosford where they could rejoin trains heading north. Once the long Woy Woy Tunnel was completed, the three hour trip was considerably shortened as the boat only had to cross the river and negotiate the lower reaches of Mullet Creek to reach Wondabyne railway station.First bridgeThe Union Bridge Company from New York was awarded the contract to construct the bridge in January 1886. However, subcontractors were also involved in the actual construction work. The piers consisted of concrete below water with sandstone masonry above. The spans were assembled on Dangar Island and floated or so across to the bridge site on barges.
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