The Tay Viaduct, also known as the West Railway Bridge, is a single-track railway
viaduct
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...
in
Perth,
Perth and Kinross
Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...
, Scotland. It is around long.
[ It carries the ]Scottish Central Railway
The Scottish Central Railway was formed in 1845 to link Perth and Stirling to Central Scotland, by building a railway line to join the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway near Castlecary.
The line opened in 1848 including a branch to South Alloa. The ...
, via a pronounced curve, across the River Tay
The River Tay ( gd, Tatha, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing') is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in Great Britain. The Tay originates ...
to and from Perth railway station
Perth railway station is the largest station on the Transperth network, serving the central business district of Perth, Western Australia. It serves as an interchange between the Airport, Armadale, Fremantle, Joondalup, Mandurah and Midland ...
, to the west. Built in 1864, the work of London's Francis Freeman & Lee,[''The Artizan'', Volume 5 (1847), p. 183] it replaced an earlier double-track timber viaduct dating from 1849.[David Ross, ''The Caledonian: Scotland's Imperial Railway: A History'', Stenlake Publishing Limited, Catrine, 2014, ] The first pier of today's structure is for a double track, but the line is now single.
The viaduct has seven iron girder spans on the city side of the river, ten stone arches on Moncreiffe Island, and six iron girder spans to the east of Moncreiffe Island.[ The earlier bridge had 25 arches and an iron swing bridge.
The bridge has two spans across the Tay from Perth: the first is to Moncreiffe Island; the second is from Moncreiffe Island to Barnhill on the river's eastern banks.
It has a pedestrian walkway on the outer edge of its curve. The curve is less severe than its predecessor's was. The current structure has 17 chains.][Tay Railway Viaduct (Perth)]
– Perth City Tours
File:Rail Bridge over River Tay - geograph.org.uk - 2785908.jpg, The bridge in 1925, looking towards Kinnoull
Kinnoull is a parish in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, approximately half a mile northeast of Perth city centre. Beginning at the level of the River Tay, Kinnoull's terrain continues to rise as it continues southeast, culminating in Kinno ...
File:Tay Railway Bridge at Perth - geograph.org.uk - 2671123.jpg, Looking west to Perth Water Works
Perth Water Works (also known as Corporation Water Works)''Official Guide to Perth and Its Neighbourhood by the Tramway Car Routes'' – Perth Town Council (1907), p. 19 is an historic building in Perth, Scotland, Perth, Scotland, dating to 1832. ...
(left) from the first span across the Tay, 2011
File:The Royal Scotsman crossing the Tay on the rail bridge at Perth - geograph.org.uk - 2542284.jpg, ''The Royal Scotsman
The ''Belmond Royal Scotsman'' is a Scottish overnight luxury train, started in 1985 by GS&WR (Great Scottish and Western Railway Co.), and run since 2005 by Belmond Ltd. Its itineraries include 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7-night journeys around the Scotti ...
'' crossing the bridge between Barnhill and Moncreiffe Island, 2011
File:Railway bridge across River Tay, Perth - geograph.org.uk - 3092846.jpg, Looking east to Moncreiffe Island and, beyond, Barnhill, 2012
References
External links
Tay Viaduct
– RailScot
Bridges in Perth, Scotland
Bridges completed in 1864
Viaducts in Scotland
Steel bridges
Railway bridges in Scotland
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