5472 x 3648 px | 46,3 x 30,9 cm | 18,2 x 12,2 inches | 300dpi
Aufnahmedatum:
16. April 2021
Ort:
Meldon Viaduct, Oakhampton, Devon
Weitere Informationen:
Meldon Viaduct carried the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) across the West Okement River at Meldon (near Okehampton) on Dartmoor in Devon, South West England. The truss bridge, which was constructed from wrought iron and cast iron not stone or brick arches, was built under the direction of the LSWR's chief engineer, WR Galbraith. After taking three years to build, the dual-tracked bridge opened to rail traffic in 1874. Usage was limited to certain classes of locomotive because the viaduct had an axle load limit. Although regular services were withdrawn in 1968, the bridge was used for shunting by a local quarry. In the 1990s the remaining single line was removed after the viaduct was deemed to be too weak to carry rail traffic. The crossing is now used by The Granite Way, a long-distance cycle track across Dartmoor. The viaduct, which is a scheduled monument, is now one of only two such surviving railway bridges in the United Kingdom that uses wrought iron lattice piers to support the cast iron trusses (the other is Bennerley Viaduct between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire)
