Findhorn Viaduct (Tomatin)
Findhorn Viaduct | |
|---|---|
The Findhorn Viaduct | |
| Coordinates | 57°20′05″N 3°59′05″W / 57.33472°N 3.98472°W |
| Carries | Railway |
| Crosses | River Findhorn |
| Heritage status | Category B listed building |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Rubble piers and latticed steel girders |
| History | |
| Architect | Murdoch Paterson and John Folwer |
| Construction end | 1897 |
| Location | |
The Findhorn Viaduct is a railway bridge approximately 500 metres (550 yd) east of the village of Tomatin (south-east of Inverness) in the Scottish Highlands, which carries the Perth to Inverness railway line over the valley of the River Findhorn.[1]
History
The skyline around Tomatin is dominated by two railway viaducts, of which the one over the Findhorn is the largest, located around 500 metres (1,600 feet) east of the village. The other is Tomatin Viaduct, a masonry bridge just to the north. There is another large viaduct at Slochd, around five miles (eight kilometres) south of the village. It shares its name with the viaduct at Forres of the same name which crosses the same river.[2]
The Findhorn Viaduct was designed and built for the Highland Railway between 1894 and 1897 by Murdoch Paterson,[3] their chief engineer, and John Fowler, who was the consulting engineer and who also worked on the design of the Forth Rail Bridge. The viaduct was Fowler's suggestion in order to create a more direct route; the railway company had originally planned a more circuitous route around the valley, over a mile longer. The steel for the lattice work was supplied by the Butterley Iron Company in Derbyshire, England. The granite for the piers was supplied by Kemnay Quarry in Kemnay, Aberdeenshire, which also supplied materials for the Forth Bridge.[4]
It was opened to traffic on 19 July 1897.[1][5]
The viaduct is still in active use in the 2020s. It is a Category B listed building, first listed in 1971, a status which grants it legal protection.[5]
Design
The viaduct is 435 yards (398 metres) long and reaches a maximum height of 144 feet (44 metres). It consists of nine lattice girder spans, constructed with double warren steel trusses, similar to those used by Fowler on the Forth Rail Bridge.[4][5] The spans are supported by slender, tapering piers of tooled rubble.[5][6] The viaduct is on a gentle curve across the valley.[4][7] It is approached on either side by two traditional semi-circular masonry arches of 24-foot (7.3-metre) span.[2]
Benedict Le Vay described it as "spectacular" in his 2014 book Britain from the Rails.[8] Roland Paxton and Jim Shipway, in the Civil Engineering Heritage series, called it "a striking and well-proportioned example of Victorian railway engineering".[4]
References
- ^ a b "Findhorn Viaduct". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ a b Biddle, Gordon (2011). Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: A Gazetteer of Structures (second ed.). Hersham: Ian Allan. p. 740. ISBN 9780711034914.
- ^ "MHG2801 - Findhorn Viaduct, Tomatin". Highland Historic Environment Record. The Highland Council. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ a b c d Paxton, Roland; Shipway, Jim (2007). Civil Engineering Heritage Scotland: Highlands and Islands. Thomas Telford. pp. 144–145. ISBN 978-0-7277-3488-4.
- ^ a b c d Historic Environment Scotland. "Tomatin, Railway Viaduct over River Findhorn (LB14893)". Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ "Tomatin, Railway Viaduct". CANMORE. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ Banerjee, Jacqueline. "Findhorn Viaduct, Tomatin, Scottish Highlands". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ Le Vay, Benedict (2014). Britain from the Rails: A Window Gazer's Guide (2nd ed.). Chalfont St Peter: Bradt Travel Guides Ltd. p. 44. ISBN 9781784771089. Retrieved 4 July 2019.