Viaduc de la Souleuvre is a partially demolished

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

viaduct over the Souleuvre River in La Ferrière-Harang,

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and is now used for bungee jumping. {{coord, 48, 57, 3.72, N, 00, 51, 50.29, W, type:landmark_region:FR-14_scale:3000, display=title

History

Built by French engineer

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...

for the Caen to

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; br, Sant Lo) is a commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.

and

Vire Vire () is a town and a former commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Vire Normandie. Geography The town is located on the river Vire. Much of i ...

line, the Viaduc de la Souleuvre opened November 12, 1893. The total length of the viaduct was 364.20 m (1,200 ft), had a maximum height of 62.50 m (210 ft) and was set on five stone pillars. The height of these pillars varies between 26 m and 60 m, their bases are 18 m by 8 m and their tops are 7 m by 4 m. They were built with

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

blocks from the Vire region

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

, each of a weight of 350 kg, and with mortar sand from the Chausey Islands, totaling 14000 m³. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, about 15 trains a day crossed the viaduct. It was used by the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

during the War. The Allied Forces tried to destroy the viaduct in 1944, but only managed to partially damage it. More than 500 bombs were dropped around it without hitting it. In August 1944, the viaduct was repaired by the

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

. When the rail line closed in 1960, the viaduct went into disrepair. Despite large local preservationist opinion campaigns, the railway platform was

demolished Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

in 1970. Only the five large stone pillars remain.

Bungee jumping

In 1990, a permanent platform for bungee jumping was established by

A. J. Hackett Allan John "A. J." Hackett (born May 1958) is a New Zealand entrepreneur who popularised the extreme sport of bungy jumping. He made a bungy jump from the Eiffel Tower in 1987 and founded the first commercial bungy site in 1988. He is also the ...

atop the highest pillar. A light gangway was established where the railway platform used to be, allowing access to the platform from the side of the bridge.

Photo gallery

Image:Calvados viaduc souleuvre cpa vuegenerale.jpg, Calvados viaduct at Souleuvre Image:Calvados viaduc souleuvre cpa voie.jpg, Entrance to the Calvados viaduct at Souleuvre Image:Saut à l'élastique Superman - Viaduc de la Souleuvre.JPG, Bungee jump from the Souleuvre Viaduct Image:Bungie-Jumping.jpg, Bungee Jump from Viaduc de la Souleuvre

External links

Official web site
Viaducts in France Bridges completed in 1893 Buildings and structures in Calvados (department) Demolished bridges Tourist attractions in Calvados (department) Bungee jumping sites Gustave Eiffel's designs