Royal Victoria Docks Docklands London Barge

The Royal Victoria Docks are 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from London Bridge, and 36 kilometres (22 mi) from Gravesend 17 and were designed and engineered by George Parker Bidder. Although, the structure was in place in the year 1850, it was opened in 1855, on a previously uninhabited area of the Plaistow Marshes. It was the first of the Royal Docks and the first London dock to be designed specifically to accommodate large steam ships. It was also the first to use hydraulic power to operate its machinery and the first to be connected to the national railway network, via the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway section of what is now the North London line. It was initially known as "Victoria Dock"; the prefix "Royal" was granted in 1880.