Ejido Otilio Montano Railway bridge, Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico, North America 1903

Andrew Handyside who made Friargate bridge in Derby also made hundreds of other bridges around the world, here is one such example in Mexico.

Ejido Otilio Montano Railway bridge was built in Derby in 1903.

Ejido Otilio Montaño (often referred to locally as Ejido Otilio) is a rural agricultural community located in the municipality of Victoria, Tamaulipas, just south of Ciudad Victoria.   The railway history connecting Ejido Otilio and the broader Tamaulipas region centers on the Monterrey al Golfo Line:

Late 19th Century Expansion (1888–1891) During the Porfiriato era, Mexico experienced rapid expansion of its national rail network. The construction of the Ferrocarril de Monterrey al Golfo (Monterrey to Gulf Railway) began in the late 1880s to link northern Mexico's industrial and agricultural interior to the port of Tampico. As tracks laid southeastward through the central valley of Tamaulipas past Ciudad Victoria, rights-of-way passed directly through rural farming lands, establishing local flag stops, crossings, and rural freight waypoints for small communities including what became the Ejido Otilio area

Acquisition & Upgrade (1903): While the original route of the Ferrocarril de Monterrey al Golfo was laid between 1888 and 1891 using lighter steel rails and temporary wooden trestles, the line was acquired in 1903 by the Ferrocarril Central Mexicano (Mexican Central Railway)

Industrial Modernization: To handle heavier freight loads, higher capacity steam locomotives, and expanding industrial cargo between Monterrey and Tampico, the Mexican Central Railway replaced older wooden crossings with heavy-duty riveted iron and steel truss structures across riverbeds and arroyos throughout 1903.

Global Railway Supply Chains: During the Porfiriato, railway expansion in Mexico relied heavily on imported materials. While American rail companies and capital often managed construction, structural steel components, heavy-duty spans, and specialized bridge girders were frequently sourced from top-tier international foundries in the United States and Great Britain.

The 1903 Infrastructure Overhaul: When the rail corridors connecting Monterrey, Ciudad Victoria, and the port of Tampico were upgraded to handle heavier, more powerful locomotives around 1903, the rail administration imported prefabricated British truss or girder spans. Handyside components were engineered precisely to specifications, shipped across the Atlantic to Gulf ports like Tampico, and hauled inland for assembly over Tamaulipas's rivers and arroyos.

Handyside ironwork wasn't entirely unfamiliar to the region; architectural ironwork and decorative elements from the same Derby foundry can also be found in historic structures down the line in Tampico (such as components around the historic port plazas)

These photographs were kindly supplied by Jose Ivan Cumpian Medellin who told me about them after discovering the "A. Handyside" badges on them and googling for my dedicated blog to Handyside.

I think Puente Ferroviario Santa Engracia bridge (the next bridge north on this line) is also by Handyside.

Map Location : https://maps.app.goo.gl/cvXDFPCAms4jF4e97

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Andy

Video of Andrew Handysides grave in Derby

The famous Derby iron founder Andrew Handyside, who put Derby on the map is buried in Derby. In this video I will show you the location of his grave. I would like to thank Scott and colleagues at Friends of Nottingham Road Cemetery for tidying up the grave, removing Ivy and brambles and making it look more presentable. 

The inscriptions on Handyside's headstone are so badly worn away that its only just possible to make out the text. Anastasia Handyside's inscription is on the smaller block and is totally unreadable. 

My video : 

or click the link : Andrew Handysides grave in Derby

Andrew Handyside died on 3th June 1887, age 81.

His wife Anastasia Handyside was buried in the same plot 23 years later on 16th November 1910 age 89.

John Henley was Anastasia Handyside's Father.

Anastasia Henley was Anastasia Handyside's mother.

Mary Anne Whishaw was Anastasia Handyside's sister.

Anne Louisa was the wife of Alfred Henley, so related to Anastasia Handyside.

Alexander Buchanan was Andrew Handyside's Nephew and also a manager at the Britannia Iron Works in Derby. He died 14th Sept 1916 age 87. His wife Emily Buchanan died in 1912.

0:00 The grave location of Andrew Handyside

0:11 Uttoxeter New Road Cemetery Derby Plot D/*/1441 

0:27 Ground level tour of grave 

0:46 Inscription on the headstone

1:04 A look at associated graves

1:08 Anastasia Henley 

1:15 Alfred Henley

1:22 John Henley 

1:32 Mary Anne Whishaw

1:39 Anne Louisa

1:48 Emily Buchanan

1:56 Alexander Buchanan

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Andy

Edmund Road Drill Hall, Highfield, Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK. Roof built in 1878-80 by Andrew Handyside

Andrew Handyside who made Friargate bridge in Derby also made iron/steel work for lots of buildings around the world, here is one such example in Sheffield.

I made a special trip to see this Handyside ironwork back in 2011 and blogged about it 15 years ago, but you may not be aware of this one.

Edmund Road Drill Hall (also known as Norfolk Barracks), Highfield, Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK. Built in 1878-80.

It’s an extremely distinctive looking building with its castellated roofline.

The large hall is 180 feet long and 90 feet wide and can hold 12,000 persons, and seat 2,500. 

It was used by artillery units until 1967, after which it lay empty for a decade before finding commercial occupants.

The roof was manufactured in Derby by Andrew Handyside & Co Ltd and is constructed in one span, without pillars. Messrs. M. E. Hadfield and Son were the architects.

I know of three other drill halls that they supplied the ironwork for, there may be more Ive not found yet so if you know of one let me know.

The other three are Connaught Drill Hall in Portsmouth, Brighton Drill Hall and Derby Drill Hall (demolished).

The foundation stone was laid by the late Duchess of Norfolk on September 25th 1878, and the hall was opened on June 2nd 1880, having been erected at a cost of £13,000, towards which the Duke of Norfolk gave £5,000."

This building was Grade II listed on 20 December 1978.

Today the drill hall is home to several businesses such as Access Techniques, The Bike specialists, Altofix, 

The building is confusingly known both as the Volunteer Artillery Drill Hall and Norfolk Barracks, and the address given as either Clough Road or Edmund Road.

Google Streetview of this drill hall :
https://maps.app.goo.gl/kmofmdBtWkU4T9Lz7

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Andy

Bristol Temple Meads railway station canopies made by Andrew Handyside 1878

Andrew Handyside who made Friargate bridge in Derby made lots of railway station ironwork around the world, here is an example of some at Bristol Temple Meads railway station

which I went to see last month. See my video. 

Bristol Temple Meads station opened on 31st August 1840, as the western terminus of the Great Western Railway. Designed by the famous British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
The station was expanded in the 1870's and again in 1930 and 1935.

Handyside was the main iron manufacturer contracted during Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt’s major redevelopment of Temple Meads in 1871–1878.
They cast the structural columns, girders, and ornamental brackets for the 1870s station expansion, including the original overall iron
canopy along Station Approach.
I noticed some of the support columns near the southwest end of the canopy near the statue of Isambard Kingdom Brunel were marked with "W. A. Baker Newport", they
were the supplier for the extension of the station in 1930–1935, Handyside had gone into liquidation by then otherwise Im sure they would have continued to supply the ironwork for this station.

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My video of the Handyside Ironwork : 

or use this link : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lKpRWdF8s8

Thanks
Andy

Dom Luís I Bridge (Ponte de Dom Luís I) Portugal - A bridge that Handyside didn't win the contract for.

I have lots of interesting articles on Handyside I've collected over 19 years. This one is about a tender Handyside submitted for the design of the Luis Bridge (River Douro), Porto in Portugal. Ultimately they didnt win the contract for this bridge, it was awarded to Belgian Société de Willebroek. But below is their tender for the design. 

A competition was initiated in November 1880, in order to construct a double-deck metal bridge, which included projects by Compagnie de Fives-Lille, Cail & C., Schneider & Co., Gustave Eiffel, Lecoq & Co., Société de Braine-le-Comte, Société des Batignolles (which submitted two ideas), Andrew Handyside & Co., Société de Construction de Willebroek (also two projects), and John Dixon.

Here is the text taken from the tender by Andrew Handyside (see image above) : 

The fourth design was submitted by Messrs. Handyside and Co., of Derby. It was designed by Mr. M. Am Ende, M.I.C.E., Westminster, and, as shown by the paper recently read by him at the Institution of Civil Engineers, partakes in principle of his designs carried out by Messrs. A. Handyside and Co. on the Costa Rica Railway, in which, however, the intrados, or lower members of the arch, is polygonal instead of parabolic. 

The design is made with a view to erection, in the process of which the arch would be built in two parts and joined at the centre. The arch girders are spread towards their springing to gain lateral stability. The roadway is suspended by eleven bars, and the bracing consists of vertical and angular members. The estimated cost is £81,200

On 21 November 1881, the public work was awarded to the Belgian Société de Willebroek, from Brussels, for 402 contos. It was to be administered by Théophile Seyrig, the former partner of Gustave Eiffel and author of the project. It opened on 30th October 1886.

This is their bridge :

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Andy

Key dates relating to the Britannia Iron Works and Andrew Handyside inc Wetherhead and Glover, Thomas Wright, Anastasia, Alexander Buchanan

Having researched everything to do with Andrew Handyside for 19 years I thought it would be handy to create a simple bullet list of key dates relating to the Britannia Iron Works and Andrew Handyside. Here it is : 

► 1805 25th July Andrew Handyside born in Edinburgh (To Hugh Handyside & Margaret Baird)

► 1818 Messrs Wetherhead and Glover established The Britannia Foundry, Duke Street, Derby.

► 1822 Andrew Handyside moved to St Petersburg, Russia to work with uncle Charles Baird.

► 1839 Andrew Handyside Married Anastasia Henley in St Petersburg, Russia.

► 1844 Andrew & Anastasia Handyside moved to England at 35 Ashbourne Road, Derby.

► 1845 September Thomas Wright takes over The Britannia Foundry.

► 1845 29th October Thomas Wright died, age 42.

► 1846 18th March Britannia Foundry buildings for sale.

► 1847 21st June Andrew Handyside takes over The Britannia Foundry.

► 1873 Alexander Buchanan became the Managing Director of the firm.

► 1887 9th June Andrew Handyside died from bronchitis, age 81.

► 1891 Anastasia Handyside moved to Twickenham.

► 1900 Anastasia Handyside moved to The Manor House at Elmswell, Suffolk.

► 1904 Site enlarged to include new Clarke street works, alongside Duke street and Fox street works.

► 1910 16th November Anastasia Handyside died, age 89.

► 1910 28th September Andrew Handyside & Co Ltd went into voluntary liquidation.

► 1915 A new company of the same name Andrew Handyside & Co Ltd was registered 

► 1923 24th August again went into voluntary liquidation.

► 1924 Andrew Handyside & Co Ltd was again used to register a company.

► 1931 13th April this final version of the company also went into voluntary liquidation.

► 1931 11th May Andrew Handyside & Co Ltd of Britannia Iron Works was acquired by Derby Castings Limited.

► 1933 Derby Castings ltd went into liquidation.

► 1936 February The Duke Street works were demolished, all buildings were demolished nothing survived to this day.

► 1936 Handyside Street and Buchanan Street built in honour of the two directors of the foundry.

► 1978 The former GNR railway bridge over Derwent named Handyside Bridge in honour.

► 2007 August I started my research into Andrew Handyside.

► 2007 November created a petition to restore Friar Gate bridge.

► 2011 February 2011 I started my Andrew Handyside blog.

► 2026 March I started my Andrew Handyside Facebook Group.

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Here is a very rare photograph of their Plate shop looking south taken in 1904. Look at all that ironwork destined for places around the world, I wonder where they are located now?

Peel Street bridge, Bristol made by Andrew Handyside 1878

Andrew Handyside who made Friar Gate bridge in Derby made hundreds of bridges across the globe, here is a bridge made in the same year as Friar Gate bridge that I went to see on a recent visit to Bristol.

Peel Street bridge, Saint Pauls/Judes, Bristol, UK.

This bridge was designed by Frederick Ashmead and made by Andrew Handyside of Derby in 1878. It has a span of 49 feet and it is 25 feet wide.

It was reported in the Western Daily Press on 2nd January 1878 that the tender from Messrs Handyside had been accepted.

The bridge was built to connect the new communities in the area, spanning across the River Frome.

The bridge was opened in October 1878 and is still in use by pedestrians and cyclists 148 years later.

It originally connected the former Peel Street to Wellington Road and Monk Street, Its a lattice girder bridge, made from semi-circular upper chords of wrought iron.

Today this is only used as a footbridge, connecting Riverside Park to Peel Street Green Space. Riverside Park was established in 1975.

Peel Street disappeared when the area was redeveloped and the M32 and A4032 were built as you can see in the "then and now" section of my video.

The Frome Valley Walkway runs alongside the River Frome here.

In the "then and now" view I have used two vertical top-down photographs of a location, one taken by the RAF in the 1940's and one from Google Maps Satellite view, I have 

lined them up precisely with each other so that you can watch as it fades back and forth to reveal what has changed in the decades that have passed between the two views.

As you can clearly see there has been significant changes with lots of the streets demolished. On the far left is the former St Paul's church, built 1794 but since 2004 the home of Circomedia. 

Old map link to this area : https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=19.1&lat=51.46217&lon=-2.57787&layers=117746211&b=ESRIWorld&o=100

Please share this post to anyone you think would be interested.

If you know of any items (apart from Post boxes) in the world bearing the Andrew Handyside badge that I have not marked on my world map, then please let me know.

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Thanks

Andy

Video markers :
0:00 How the bridge looked in 1878
0:05 How it looks in 2026

0:09 Views of the roadway and north parapet of bridge
0:22 Views of the south parapet of bridge
0:32 view of the substructure of the bridge viewed from the south side
0:49 Views of the north parapet of bridge
0:59 An 1890 map of the bridge and surrounding streets
1:11 The and now view from 1946 to 2026