THESE historic pictures capture the moment the arch over the Silver Jubilee bridge was linked together.

The Old Transporter and the 1868 railway bridge can be seen in the background.

Retired fire station officer Joe Jeffries, who took the photographs, said: “I thought it would be interesting for readers to see these pictures as the new Mersey Gateway takes shape.

“You can see the actual final girders being put in.”

Joe, from Latchford in Warrington, remembers travelling over the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal on the Old Transporter.

“It was like a little basket that carried traffic across the river and the canal,” he said.

“There was no other way to cross. If it was windy you’d get knocked about.

“It was really stone age and better for horse drawn vehicles.

“This is a slice of history as we move on with the times now with the new bridge.”

The Old Transporter was Britain’s first transporter bridge and opened in 1905.

It was demolished after the Silver Jubilee opened in 1961.