This shows the walkway over the Transporter Bridge and was taken by Fred Starr in 1985. The walkway is quite wide and leads straight down to several flights of steps that lead back to the ground. 
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
I am writing Middlesbrough Council’s official book celebrating 100 years of the Transporter Bridge and would like to hear from anyone with any anecdotes or memories about working on or using the bridge. The Picture Stockton Team can provide you with my email address.
At the time I took these pictures it was not normally possible to use the steps or the walkway. However, after showing my camera and after "considering" the matter most carefully the bridge man unloocked the gates and let me go on top.
I worked for British Telecom, back in the 80’s, and I was a member of RSC (local fault team)
I remember one particular day, we were called out to the transporter, as there was a fault between the management huts (one on each side of the river)
We traced the fault, which involved a cable that went across from one side to the other, we ended up right on the top walkway. If you have never done this before it is quite simply amazing, what makes it more spectacular, is the meshed metal you walk on, you can see through!! Which is very unerving until you got used to it, and you carried on UNTIL….
The cradle stated moving and whole bridge shakes!!! We eventually found the fault in a joint swinging about in the wind about 500ft up, needless to say we used a spare pair of wires in the cable…PHEW!
When I was an apprentice my old Foreman told me he was carrying his bike over the Transporter when someone was doing the same from the other side. He said he had to go back because the two of them could not pass each other. I think it was his joke to me.
Fred, have you heard that in the "old days", some of the workers went over the bridge carrying their pushbike over their shoulder? It saved them a penny or so on the cost of taking their bike over the river on the gondola.
It is not the walkway, or the view, which is frightening, it is the steps back down. The steps are very steep and wide. My recollection is that there was no proper hand rail and one continually has the feeling that one will either be blown off the steps, or fall down and roll off the platform at bottom of each flight. I would not be surprised if some people, having got to the top, had to be escorted back down by one of the Transporter men.