 It was a bascule bridge, built to carry railway traffic across The Swale between the Isle of Sheppey and mainland Kent for the London, Chatham & Dover Railway Company.The LCDR operated rail traffic to the port of Sheerness.The LCDR and the South Eastern Railway (SER) amalgamated to form the South Eastern & Chatham Railway which replaced major elements of the bridge and during 1904, a replacement Scherzer-type moving section was installed.