These superb feats of engineering permit trains to navigate the steepest valleys and cross the deepest rivers.
We’ve acquired a severe weak point for spectacular railway bridges. Nothing beats rumbling throughout valleys and rivers whereas absorbing views of the beautiful landscapes unfolding under.
They usually’re now not merely feats of engineering – they’re landmarks that put locations on the map and visible reminders of the evolution of civil engineering.
This 12 months, one of the vital putting in Europe, Scotland’s Forth Bridge, is marking 10 years because it was granted UNESCO World Heritage standing – one in all only a few railway bridges to obtain the accolade. What’s extra, this month it celebrates its one hundred and thirty fifth anniversary.
This iconic cantilever railway bridge positioned throughout the Firth of Forth, is such part of Scotland’s pleasure and cultural heritage that you simply’ll discover it illustrated on some Scottish banknotes.
How have railway bridges modified over time?
Identical to railways themselves, bridges don’t look the identical as they did a century in the past.
“Railway bridges have developed considerably over the previous 100 years,” says Professor Luke Prendergast, an knowledgeable in civil engineering (and bridges particularly) on the College of Nottingham. “Previously, masonry arch-type bridges have been frequent,” he provides.
“These heavy stone constructions appeared stunning however ultimately gave method to metal bridges with truss techniques.”
However don’t make the error of assuming steel bridges can’t be artworks, too.
“Metal allowed longer spans to be created,” factors out Professor Prendergast.
“The most recent bridges are usually made out of strengthened concrete and different composite supplies, however all of those constructions could be aesthetically pleasing, and it’s a matter of non-public opinion relating to whether or not the unique masonry model is less complicated on the attention!”
Don’t look down: The place are the world’s highest railway bridges?
Whereas the latest skyscrapers are sometimes the tallest, the identical doesn’t apply to railway bridges. Montenegro’s Mala Rijeka Viaduct turned the world’s highest railway bridge when it opened in 1973.
That title has now been taken by a more moderen bridge in Guizhou, China.
However the Mala Rijeka Viaduct’s stats are nonetheless spectacular – at its highest level, the 499-metre-long bridge hovers 200 metres above the river under. Unsurprisingly, a construction of this dimension wants some severe assist, and the most important pillar rests on a base that’s the similar dimension as a tennis courtroom.
Southern France’s Viaur Viaduct may not have the peak of the Mala Rijeka Viaduct, however it’s no much less spectacular. The attractive metal construction was in-built 1902.
Well-known for its elegant design and hovering arches, its longest span measures 220 metres. Architect Paul Bodin achieved its swish look by embracing a brand new method often known as balanced arches, which allowed much less steel for use, and relied on a counterbalancing method reasonably than additional supplies to offer power.
The bridge, which is 116 metres above the Viaur River Valley at its highest level, was really a labour of affection, made with 3,800 tonnes of steel and held along with 160 tonnes of metal rivets, all of which needed to be tightened by hand.
Miracles of masonry in France and England
Bridges don’t get extra stunning than the Chamborigaud Viaduct – a 29-arch, 384-metre-long bridge constructed within the late 1800s by architect Charles Dombre for the Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean Railway Firm.
A masonry bridge that made the Cévennes area – with its deep valleys and hovering hills – way more accessible, the viaduct was designated a historic monument by the French authorities in 1984.
One other masonry marvel is northern England’s Whalley Viaduct, constructed to hold the Blackburn to Clitheroe railway line throughout the River Calder Valley. Unveiled in 1850, it was made with six million bricks and has 48 arches.
This towering construction has typically been in comparison with a cathedral or monastery. It’s suspected this was intentional. The viaduct is near Whalley Abbey, which dates again to the 1200s, and Terence Woulfe Flanagan, the engineer behind the bridge, was impressed by the abbey’s ecclesiastical design.
One other majestic work of masonry is the Ouse Valley Viaduct in Sussex, England. When it was constructed within the 1840s, it was properly forward of its time. The 37-arch railway bridge depends on architectural options often known as jack arches to scale back the variety of bricks required.
Its slimline construction is taken into account one in all England’s most elegant railway bridges and is legendary for its various hues, courtesy of its rust-red bricks (11 million, to be exact) and creamy limestone sourced from Normandy.
Construct it and they’ll come: Well-known bridges turn out to be vacationer sights
A few of Europe’s most stunning bridges are actually locations in their very own proper. One of many most interesting examples is Scotland’s Glenfinnan Viaduct, which had a starring function within the Harry Potter films.
Professor Vasilis Sarhosis, an knowledgeable on masonry bridges on the College of Leeds’ civil engineering division, is a big fan and factors out that it’s not simply its elegant design that units it aside.
“Glenfinnan Viaduct was constructed greater than 100 years in the past and it’s nonetheless one of many largest bridges in Scotland,” says Professor Sarhosis.
“It was constructed utilizing mass concrete – which implies that it doesn’t comprise any steel reinforcement, not like most trendy railway bridges immediately.”
One of many Victorian period’s most spectacular feats of engineering, this 21-arch bridge, which options on sure Scottish banknotes, has a size of 380 metres. One of the best views are from the Glenfinnan Customer Centre. It’s the place to begin for a sequence of footpaths lined with statement factors for these eager to admire this engineering marvel.
Scotland’s aforementioned UNESCO-listed Forth Rail Bridge is one other such marvel, positioned on the outskirts of Edinburgh. It’s been featured in British movie classics together with The 39 Steps and Stick with it Regardless – and in an episode of The Simpsons final 12 months.
Unveiled in 1890, this cantilever-trussed bridge was made with 54,000 tonnes of metal and is legendary for its rust-red hue. Immediately, its color is all the way down to using bespoke pink paint created to emulate the unique pink oxide colouration of the bridge when it first opened.
One other magnet for followers of railway bridges is Switzerland’s Landwasser Viaduct, essentially the most well-known spot on the UNESCO-listed Albula Mountain Railway. When the bridge was constructed within the early 1900s, building was carried out with out scaffolding. Engineers have been grateful for the simple entry to supplies because it was made with limestone hacked from the Dolomite Mountains by which the railway passes.
It’s comparatively brief in comparison with the opposite railway bridges we’ve listed right here – it options six arches and is simply 142 metres lengthy. Its tight curve and the best way one finish merely disappears right into a mountain – which was almost not possible to navigate previous to the bridge’s building – make it distinctive.
Equally putting is the Sittertal Valley’s Sitter Viaduct, in-built 1910 and the best standard-gauge railway bridge in Switzerland. Well-known for its so-called fish-belly central truss (an unsupported central part that depends on power offered by curving girders beneath the bridge), it championed progressive building methods and was hailed as an engineering marvel worldwide.
Additional proof that bridges could be sights in their very own proper is the Luís I Bridge in Porto, Portugal. One of many world’s most ornate railway bridges, it options stonework adorned with Portugal’s coat of arms. On the higher deck, lamps bathe the bridge with golden gentle after sundown.
Gustave Eiffel, the genius behind the Eiffel Tower, got here near being its designer, though his plans have been ultimately rejected and the mission was positioned within the fingers of German engineer Théophile Seyrig, as a substitute.
An progressive bridge to a car-free ski resort
Lastly, a glance forward, extra particularly, at one of many world’s most progressive railway bridges.
You’ll discover the Swiss Alps’ Stoos funicular railway bridge on a funicular railway that connects Schwyz with the car-free ski resort of Stoos. It’s the steepest funicular on the earth.
Passengers on this mountain railway – which has trains resembling modern glass orbs – move by three tunnels and two bridges. Probably the most spectacular bridge is the one spanning the Muota River. Whereas it’s most likely not for the traditionalists, it’s nonetheless very a lot worthy of inclusion in our tribute to the world’s most stunning railway bridges.