Ireland's Most Interesting Bridges

Judgement Day

LISPOLE VIADUCT, CO.KERRY

Okay, change of idea, most interesting bridges rather than most beautiful! I will kick off with this pic of Lispole Viaduct on the former Tralee & Dingle Railway. The viaduct is interesting for all sorts of reasons:

*It was situated on a falling gradient the bottom of which was on the central span of the bridge.
*The viaduct was in such poor condition by the 1930s that double-heading across it (two locomotives) was forbidden but in practice was frequently ignored. This was due to trains being pushed too fast down the 1:29 gradient in the westerly direction, and drivers heading for Tralee being afraid that if they stopped to detach a locomotive they would not be able to restart their train on the incline.
*Scene of a serious goods train accident in 1907.
*The fact that it refuses to die some 57 years after the last train passed over it.




Gradient profile: www.chestermodelrailwayclub.com

mk6705

It's also a narrow guage bridge.


This is a viaduct on the former Farranfore to Valentia Harbour rail line. It is located in Kells, Co.Kerry. It spans a fairly sizable valley on the line between Kells and Killorglin.

BluntGuy

Adro947 wrote: »

It's also a narrow guage bridge.

<Image Snipped>

This is a viaduct on the former Farranfore to Valentia Harbour rail line. It is located in Kells, Co.Kerry. It spans a fairly sizable valley on the line between Kells and Killorglin.

Ah, back in the days we had a little ambition.

I actually found the broadmeadow viaduct to be quite a nice bridge... even after it took on a "dramatic" new form courtesy of Irish Rail.

Judgement Day

This bridge is on the former Mallow/Waterford line which closed in 1967 and is still in good shape. I was out on it in the mid-1970s and great views can be had up and downstream. It is probably most famous for its role in the 1966 movie "The Blue Max" which starred George Peppard, James Mason and Ursula Andress.



Guess I will have to wait to hear back from Paudie before the pics can reappear - sorry. In the meantime the fascinating pics are available on Paudie McGrath's Photography website here:http://www.fermoyireland.50megs.com/thebluemax.htm

In the meantime a pic of the viaduct:

LordSutch

Nine Arches bridge, Miltown, Dublin.

Judgement Day

LordSutch wrote: »

Nine Arches bridge, Miltown, Dublin.

You beat me to it! Reputed to be haunted.

Judgement Day

The iconic Luas landmark. The bridge spans a gap which in the days of the Harcourt Street line was a small single arch stone bridge! The cable-stayed bridge has a main span of 108.5 metres and the pylon height is around 50 metres.

Photo: www.archiseek.com/

Judgement Day

Former CIE civil engineer Michael Barry published an excellent book on bridges back in 1983 - "Across Deep Waters: Bridges of Ireland" and I note that there are a couple of copies available on www.abebooks.com for a paltry €20 from an Irish dealer. Get in there quick if you're interested.

Judgement Day

Another strange bridge - not in appearance but in the tales that go with it - see here: http://www.inver.org/ceantar/des.htm

Located not far from the former ESB Bellacorick power station the bridge crosses the Owenmore River and seems a tranquil enough place. There is a legend that says you will be married if you do something (?) on the bridge - I can't remember what or find a link but I know I was married quite soon after being there! The more interesting prophecy connected with the bridge is that it will never be completed and to this day the last block of stone is still missing!

Stonewolf

Judgement Day wrote: »

The more interesting prophecy connected with the bridge is that it will never be completed and to this day the last block of stone is still missing!

Probably because someone drove into it on their way back from the pub.

Judgement Day

Dainty and obscure this fairytale structure is at the Vartry Reservoir nr.Roundwood in Co.Wicklow.

Empire o de Sun

This is my favorite in ireland. The bridge that never was. Not sure about its history, was it supposed to be a rail link between the two westerly railways, before the Phoenix Park Tunnel was built. I have no idea.

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=swt5bcgg2mh2&scene=53213111&lvl=2&sty=o

sean_84

I'm not sure if this counts, because the bridge itself is fairly ordinary, but the style of the gateway building on one end of it is apparently unique to this country. It's Dromana Bridge in west Waterford.

http://www.abandonedireland.com/Dromana.html

Judgement Day

Surprisingly this structure still survives although its surroundings have changed massively since I first set eyes on it back in the late 1960s. Back then a small road passed beneath, the handrails and telegraph poles still clung precariously to the bridge and it was an altogether nicer spot for a photograph. The bridge dates from 1849/51.



This interesting piece from http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/sports-recreation/sport/road-bowling/chetwynd-viaduct/ describes the local competition of tossing an iron bowl/ball over the viaduct:

Chetwynd Viaduct, Cork-Bandon Road
The "Everest" of Road Bowling - The Chetwynd Viaduct - was conquered after decades of attempts, on September 8th, 1985. Watched by over 10,000 people, Hans Bohllen from West Germany lofted a 28 oz. bowl over the viaduct clearing the top by ten feet.

The event was sponsored by Murphy Brewery Ireland in association with Bol-Chumann Na hEireann as part of the Cork 800 Celebrations. The winner Hans Bohllen from the Ost-Friesland Club in Germany recieved a prize of five thousand pounds.

Three Irish bowlers, all Cork based, Bill Daly, Eamonn Bowen and Dan O'Halloran, also successfully lofted the viaduct with the 16 oz. bowl and shared another Murphy prize of one thousand pounds.

Bohllen arrived complete with his ramp, which has been part of the German tradition since their association was founded in 1645 and is used by every member of their 22,000 strong association. Bohllen lofted successful on his third attempt though the bowl touched a girder on its way down. His fourth attempt soared ten feet over clearing all obstacles. Hans Bohllen had made history on that Sunday of September 8th, 1985. He had truly overcome that invincible obstacle that has stood unconquered since 1849 when it was built.

Some Cork bowl players attempted the same feat down through the decades. At the turn of the twentieth century it is claimed that Dan Hurley from Bandon lofted the viaduct and was presented with a medal for his achievement, but there are no records to show what type of bowl was used or from where the actual loft took place. In the early 1930s, Bill Bennett from Killeady in West Cork is said to also have succeeded but again there are no written records of this attempt.

In 1955 the first official attempt was made. In March of that year the event was watched by 6,000 spectators. Mick Barry from Waterfall succeeded in bounding a 16 oz. bowl over the viaduct. Barry's brother Ned and Mick himself both struck the upper iron work with a 28 oz. bowl.

The viaduct is 90 feet high and 21 feet wide. Dr. George Reilly, then a lecturer in mathematical physics in University College, Cork was asked by Cork Examiner journalist, Val Dorgan to give a theoretic account of what it would be to loft the Chetwynd Viaduct. Dr. Reilly said that to get a 28 oz. bowl over the viaduct, one must stand back about 45 feet, pitch it at an angle of 77 degrees and give the bowl a velocity of at least 20 feet per second.

To this day the Chetwynd Viaduct still straddles the Cork-Bandon road although the last train to pass over was on March 31st 1961.

Judgement Day

Empire o de Sun wrote: »

This is my favorite in ireland. The bridge that never was. Not sure about its history, was it supposed to be a rail link between the two westerly railways, before the Phoenix Park Tunnel was built. I have no idea.

http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=swt5bcgg2mh2&scene=53213111&lvl=2&sty=o

Nope, this has been aired before it was a private footbridge built on the Guinness Estate for estate workers... there is a thread somewhere which I will link to when I find it.

Judgement Day

sean_84 wrote: »

I'm not sure if this counts, because the bridge itself is fairly ordinary, but the style of the gateway building on one end of it is apparently unique to this country. It's Dromana Bridge in west Waterford.

Apparently the original Hindu Gothic Arch was built out of papier mâché as a surprise for the homecoming newly weds of the Villiers-Stuart family of Dromana House. They were so taken by the structure that they had a permanent version built in 1849. Some of the details are a bit vague. One certain thing that I know is that the archway gates were eventually removed due to being a traffic hazzard and were then installed adjacent to the house. I purchased them in a moment of madness in 1989 and they were eventually sold on to somebody in east Cork. Small world!

tricky D

The remains of the Owencarrow Viaduct in Donegal (55° 5'8.10"N 7°52'4.87"W) on the N56 are a bit surreal. You can follow the route of the old railway for a few miles beside the road on the right heading NW. The road goes down a valley with the remains of the railway crossing over the road at the end of the valley. Then the railway skirts around the mountain for a few hundred yards and then across a boggy plain over the Owencarrow River. There's only the piers left, the decks are long gone making for a surreal view. (There's some photos on Google Earth) That they got railways all the way up to Creeslough, if not further, through those mountains is a testament to Victorian era engineering.

There's many derelict bridges and other clues in the landscape pointing to our previous railway heritage and its extensive network all the way from Monaghan to Creeslough and many other places.

westtip

JD some of these bridges will make great features on the greenways that will be put on all the disused rail lines.

Judgement Day

The Roughty River Bridge at Kenmare in Co.Kerry dates from the 1930's and replaced an earlier suspension bridge at the same location. While not exactly a thing of beauty it is unusual looking and seems positively alien in rural Kerry.



More paintings like this available here: http://www.neidin.net/joan/

Judgement Day

westtip wrote: »

JD some of these bridges will make great features on the greenways that will be put on all the disused rail lines.

Hands off - the sooner you're banned from here the better!

westtip

Judgement Day wrote: »

Hands off - the sooner you're banned from here the better!

as you well know JD there won't be a train rolling over most of these old bridges ever again. phew that was some rant and rave over there wasn't it? I needed several GB's to get over it all. there are some truly wonderful structures out there to be admired, i rather like what they have done over the shannon at Carrick with the suspended walkway on one side of the bridge (if anyone has pics) same could be done to help widen a few of our older bridges - it would for example be a good way of widening the Moy bridges in Ballina (were they have built an absolutely pointless foot bridge.)

Judgement Day

Like something from the Wild West or that you might knock up yourself, this structure was the scene of a serious accident on the 9th August 1867. Two people died and an unknown number were injured. Poor quality rails rather than defects in the bridge were found to be responsible. The unfortunate injured were transported by goods wagons out the Harcourt Street line to a point near Loughlinstown Hospital, from where they were carried across the fields to "A+E" 1860s style! A 21st century type disaster with 19th century type emergency services.

sean_84

Judgement Day wrote: »

Nope, this has been aired before it was a private footbridge built on the Guinness Estate for estate workers... there is a thread somewhere which I will link to when I find it.

I think this is it:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=2055727199

Stroke Politics

I grew up beside Portumna Bridge, still have a real grá for it. It swivels up to 6 times each day to allow boats pass through on the Shannon. It's looking a bit shabby now, all it needs is lick of paint before it's 100th birthday next year. Here's a clip of a refurbishment of the passing channel from 2008...

http://www.shannonimages.net/lmkeating.html

lyverbird1

Judgement Day wrote: »

Dainty and obscure this fairytale structure is at the Vartry Reservoir nr.Roundwood in Co.Wicklow.

This is indeed a quirky structure in a lovely area. I'd love to revisit and find a way through the first locked gate to walk across!

Stonewolf

tricky D wrote: »

The remains of the Owencarrow Viaduct in Donegal (55° 5'8.10"N 7°52'4.87"W) on the N56 are a bit surreal. You can follow the route of the old railway for a few miles beside the road on the right heading NW. The road goes down a valley with the remains of the railway crossing over the road at the end of the valley. Then the railway skirts around the mountain for a few hundred yards and then across a boggy plain over the Owencarrow River. There's only the piers left, the decks are long gone making for a surreal view. (There's some photos on Google Earth) That they got railways all the way up to Creeslough, if not further, through those mountains is a testament to Victorian era engineering.

The best way to see it is heading Towards Letterkenny, you come around a corner heading uphill and suddenly above you there's the remains of the bridge but the span is missing.

Judgement Day

When is a gate lodge a bridge - well at Ballysaggartmore where 'Keeping up with the Jones' (in-laws) got out of hand. Arthur Kiely-Ussher built the towers as an entrance to his demesne, and intended grand house, but as the money ran out the family had to be contented with living in a more modest farm house on the estate. The full story to this fascinating place is told below. I haven't been there for years but I doubt that much has changed. The fact remains that it is a bridge over a stream - the Ballywayna - and is worthy of inclusion here as one of Ireland's most interesting bridges.



http://www.liosmor.com/thetowers.html

John C

Judgement Day wrote: »

Nope, this has been aired before it was a private footbridge built on the Guinness Estate for estate workers... there is a thread somewhere which I will link to when I find it.

From Infrastructure: Oddities of irish infrastructure.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=66599005#post66599005

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:49VREt_CtmMJ:www.fingalcoco.ie/YourLocalCouncil/AboutFingal/OtherServices/Architects/PublicBuildings/FileDownload,22093,en.pdf+strawberry+beds+bridge&hl=en&gl=ie&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjAuzXeUtDFFfHksMgyeOqblfQ_nOVc-oSVSU-HySbjYTQFpPf_jFgCJr8gJuB9ZVRFJS-H03sDljLr1ugoalrwi6VEsy-EsjEgZ3Y4VGc2755ZP6vsxc6wGF702M72CeQPZirt&sig=AHIEtbS1dhnGdg3B1Lury4hXwT_dYWx--g

trellheim

I think the LUAS bridge at Dundrum sweeps over the junction nicely

Cookie_Monster

Judgement Day wrote: »

There is a legend that says you will be married if you do something (?) on the bridge - I can't remember what or find a link but I know I was married quite soon after being there!

propose maybe? :pac:

KC61

Fascinating stuff JD - an excellent thread!!! You deserve a kudo for this one!

Judgement Day

Keeping up the matrimonial theme of the thread I include the former Harcourt Street line viaduct at the Brides Glen nr.Loughlinstown. When I was last on the viaduct in the 1970s it was in a quiet secluded spot but since the 'developments' at Cherrywood I suspect that this is no longer the case - I won't go back in case it spoils my memories of the place. I think that I'm correct in saying that the eventual extension of the Green Luas line (B2) to Bray will see track back on the viaduct? http://www.rpa.ie/en/projects/luas_bray_fassaroe/route_selection/Pages/default.aspx

The viaduct as seen from below.

The view westwards from the top of the viaduct.

Both views by kind permission of John Burke.
More pics on his Flickr site here:http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyghia1302/3551248780/in/photostream/

Judgement Day

When I was a child growing up in Bray we regularly used to make the short trip to Enniskerry for picnics, and the twisty little road to the village that follows the course of the River Dargle from the N11 passed this picturesque footbridge - reminiscent of the earlier one at the Vartry Reservoir.

This is Lawrence photograph from the National Library of Ireland and the collection can be viewed online at: http://www.nli.ie/en/udlist/photographs-collections.aspx

Cookie_Monster

Judgement Day wrote: »

Keeping up the matrimonial theme of the thread I include the former Harcourt Street line viaduct at the Brides Glen nr.Loughlinstown. When I was last on the viaduct in the 1970s it was in a quiet secluded spot but since the 'developments' at Cherrywood I suspect that this is no longer the case - I won't go back in case it spoils my memories of the place. I think that I'm correct in saying that the eventual extension of the Green Luas line (B2) to Bray will see track back on the viaduct?

this is pretty easily accessible now due to the estate backing right onto it. I can see it from the canteen in work

Some very tight turns required for the Luas if it is to get there, I think they will build a new bridge rather than use this one, mad as that sounds

Stonewolf

trellheim wrote: »

I think the LUAS bridge at Dundrum sweeps over the junction nicely

I do quite like that bridge. Firstly it's cable stayed which is far more aesthetically pleasing and more interesting engineering than the usual "ah sure we'll put up some concrete peirs and stick some concrete decking on top, it'll do like". Secondly, it's down low and the area around it is very accessible to the public so you can actually walk around it, see it from some great angles and of course, the engineering of the bridge is all on show which is fantastic.

The bridges in #13 #27 and #33 are really nice, I like how they've taken what would be a fairly regular bridge and really made it into something interesting and different. The chetwynd viaduct in #14 is also rather handsome, it's a shame it doesn't have its deck on.

veryangryman

KC61 wrote: »

Fascinating stuff JD - an excellent thread!!! You deserve a kudo for this one!

Make that 2

trellheim

There are two more of the Vartry style bridges at Bohernabreena



they are actually links to the valve houses to allow the reservoirs be drained, normally locked off

Although you do see kids in the summer jumping off. hideously dangerous as there is up to 48-inch pipe entrys directly below.

L1011

Cathleens' Falls bridge, 3 lane road with pedestrian bridge suspended beneath it.

Stonewolf

MYOB wrote: »

Cathleens' Falls bridge, 3 lane road with pedestrian bridge suspended beneath it.

That's a nice bridge alright, I've only ever seen it during the day though, lit up like that it looks fantastic.

Judgement Day

MYOB wrote: »

Cathleens' Falls bridge, 3 lane road with pedestrian bridge suspended beneath it.

Wow! Like something from a Sci-Fi movie. How old is it?

On a different tack - I have searched the internet for a photo of one of the border crossing bridges as altered by British security services - I don't mean a blown up bridge! Something with corrugated sheeting and a watchtower. Anybody?

L1011

5 years or less, its part of the N15 Bundoran/Ballyshannon bypass.

tricky D

Broom Bridge on the Royal Canal near Cabra has a bit of interest if you're up on your complex maths.


Also the original keystones (head sculptures) from O'Connell Bridge made their way to a building on Sir John Rogerson's Quay when they widened it in the 19th C. (Will dig up a photo sometime)

westtip

MYOB wrote: »

5 years or less, its part of the N15 Bundoran/Ballyshannon bypass.

My god I have driven over it dozens of times and never seen it at this angle (just as well as I am in a car) Nice bit of lighting on modern architecture does wonders!

DWCommuter

Judgement Day wrote: »

Keeping up the matrimonial theme of the thread I include the former Harcourt Street line viaduct at the Brides Glen nr.Loughlinstown. When I was last on the viaduct in the 1970s it was in a quiet secluded spot but since the 'developments' at Cherrywood I suspect that this is no longer the case - I won't go back in case it spoils my memories of the place. I think that I'm correct in saying that the eventual extension of the Green Luas line (B2) to Bray will see track back on the viaduct? http://www.rpa.ie/en/projects/luas_bray_fassaroe/route_selection/Pages/default.aspx

The viaduct as seen from below.

The view westwards from the top of the viaduct.

Both views by kind permission of John Burke.
More pics on his Flickr site here:http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnnyghia1302/3551248780/in/photostream/

Nice viaduct and very well hidden. Not as well known as the "arches". But I'm trying to find a snap I have of the alignment across it, littered with beer cans, condoms and camp fire remains.:D Seriously.

My personal faves are Gleensk viaduct and Chetwynd for sheer scale and beauty.

Judgement Day

Another one from the Tralee & Dingle Light Railway to finish me for today. Hard to believe that this peaceful spot on a bend on the N86 Tralee/Dingle road was the scene of carnage on May 22nd, 1893. A fair special from Dingle containing passengers and a consignment of pigs ran away down the notorious Glen-na-galt bank (3 miles of falling gradient at 1:30) and crashed off the western side of the viaduct. The train was estimated to be travelling at 40 mph when it derailed instead of the regulation 6 mph! The three railway men on the footplate were killed in the crash and 13 passengers were injured some seriously. The full Board of Trade report into the accident is available as a pdf file and makes fascinating reading: http://www.tdlr.org.uk

Some of the points undercovered during the enquiry found that the train was being driven by a locomotive inspector not familiar with the line, that the railway equipment itself was defective and that that the railway had been built on the cheap thereby leading to overly steep inclines and sharp curves - literally cutting corners to save money. Although some slight easing of the curves was carried out in the years following the accident it was not until 1907 that a new bridge and associated deviation was completed. See photo and map below - by kind permission of Ted Polet. His website: http://www.narrowgauge.nl/site/english/tdsurvey.htm contains other drawings and photographs of the Tralee & Dingle today.



And below the 'new' 1907 deviation bridge which is still in situ today.


Interestingly the insignificant Finglas River was crossed by no less than four bridges in close proximity -the two pictured here, the Tralee/Dingle road bridge and a short distance north of the accident scene the Castlegregory branch of the T&D also crossed the river but sadly only the abutments survive today hidden in the trees.

Further fascinating information about the T&D is available at: http://www.tdlr.org.uk/

pearljamfan

Judgement Day wrote: »

Dainty and obscure this fairytale structure is at the Vartry Reservoir nr.Roundwood in Co.Wicklow.

can u walk on it or is it closed off???

DWCommuter

From my locality;

DWCommuter

I think this bridge near Ardnacrusha dam is interesting, because its representative of a more modern Ireland in its infancy. A very distinctive structure that still stands out in the locality. Similar structures are present along this particular man made water channel to divert the shannon to the power station. A stunning piece of infrastructure for those who can appreciate the enormity of it in the late 1920s.

DWCommuter

One final contribution from me tonight. The Bord na Mona Shannon rail bridge, that runs into the Former Ballinasloe Grand Canal branch (converted to rail use). A modern structure by all accounts and built at considerable cost to link the oul turf with a power station. Little known railway crossing of the shannon, but beautiful all the same.

Bullseye1

The pedestrian bridge at the Enniskerry juntion N11. What a waste of money.

L1011

DWCommuter wrote: »

I think this bridge near Ardnacrusha dam is interesting, because its representative of a more modern Ireland in its infancy. A very distinctive structure that still stands out in the locality. Similar structures are present along this particular man made water channel to divert the shannon to the power station. A stunning piece of infrastructure for those who can appreciate the enormity of it in the late 1920s.

From the top, most of the ESB-built bridges over both the 'proper' channel and the headrace seem very similar - I'd presume they all resemble this one from water level? They're far more elegant below than above in this case. They're without exception realistically too narrow for two lanes of modern traffic now, unfortunately.