the old railway bridge 1858-1941, Bern, Switzerland

This was known as die rote Brücke (the red bridge) as its iron tended to rust and it was painted with red paint to combat this.

The bridge was carried by two stone pillars. On the top deck there were two tracks and on a lower deck a roadway for pedestrians and carriages. This road was laterally enclosed by a lattice structure and fitted with a roof to prevent hot coals from the train tracks falling onto the roadway.

Nevertheless there were repeated accidents on the roadway because of horses shying from the steaming trains above. Therefore, the bridge also had the nickname Würgengel (destroying angel).  It was replaced by the Lorraineviadukt in 1941.