Faughan Railway Bridge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

An 11-span, 355ft long railway bridge erected by the LMS (NCC) in 1937 as a replacement of a timber bridge over the River Faughan, on the Belfast-Londonderry line. It is situated at the mouth of the river where it enters the sea, and has embanked approaches at each end. It has the sea to the north and fields (on reclaimed land) to its east and south.
The abutments are those of the original timber viaduct and comprise split stone rubble with yellow brick quoins. Each is surmounted by an advanced reinforced-concrete pillow block added when the present bridge was erected. The approach walls have been repaired with concrete blocks. The piers are also of concrete and have rounded ends. The principal spans comprise four pre-cast reinforced-concrete T-beams laid side by side, and the ends of which rest on the abutment pillow blocks and tops of the piers. Along each side is a smaller rectangular beam, which supports the footway decks along both sides of the track. The pier end rests on smaller pillow blocks – one over the abutment pillow block, and the other atop the pier end. The parapets, which are also pre-cast, are each embellished with three recessed rectangular panels and are topped by a later galvanised steel handrail. The footway slab decks may have been cast integral with the parapet sections. McCutcheon states that the track ballast was laid directly on the four main beams, without an intermediate slab deck.

Setting
Located at the mouth of the River Faughan where it meets the River Foyle before entering the sea, on the Belfast-Londonderry railway line, north-east of the City of Derry. It sits on an approximately east-west axis with agricultural land to its east and south, and industrial lands to its west.

Materials
Abutments split stone rubble
Piers concrete
Spans pre-cast reinforced concrete

Historical information

The single-track railway between Londonderry and Limavady, on which this bridge is situated, was opened by the Londonderry & Coleraine Railway Co (L&CR) in 1852. It was extended to Coleraine the following year but it was not until 1860, with the completion of a bridge over the River Bann at Coleraine, that there was a continuous line running between Belfast and Londonderry.
The L&CR was taken over by the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway (BNCR) in 1861. The BNCR was bought by the Midland Railway (MR) in 1903, and operated locally by its Northern Counties Committee (NCC). The MR became part of the London, Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1923, and continued to be run by a local committee.
During the 1930s, the LMS (NCC) undertook an upgrading of its entire infrastructure. This bridge over the mouth of the River Faughan was part of that programme. It was erected in 1937 as a replacement of the original multi-span timber viaduct. Designed by N.C. Cain, the company’s Chief Civil Engineer at that time, it is similar in its structural system to the multi-span concrete bridges over the Kellswater (erected 1936) and River Roe (1937-38) (HB02/10/025). The viaducts at Bleach Green, Green Island (HB21/10/001A-E) and the replacement viaduct over the Bann at Coleraine were also part of this redevelopment programme.
The LMS pioneered the use of structural components in pre-cast reinforced-concrete in Northern Ireland. The beams for this particular bridge were pre-cast adjacent to the site. Overall there are six 31ft 8in spans, and five 33ft 6in spans – necessitating 44 main beams, and 22 secondary ones.
The original bridge is captioned as “Faughan Br (Wooden)” on the 1853 OS 6-inch map. However, on the 1904-05 map and subsequent editions, the bridge is simply “Faughan Br”.
In 1948, the LMS was nationalised and its N. Ireland lines came under the auspices of the Ulster Transport Authority. The line was subsequently operated by Northern Ireland Railways and continues to be run by Translink.

References - Primary sources:
1. PRONI OS/6/5/14/2. Second edition OS 1:10,560 map, Co Londonderry sheet 14 (1853). CHECK SHEET
2. PRONI OS/6/5/14A/3. Third edition OS 1:10,560 map, Co Londonderry sheet 14A (1904-05).
3. PRONI OS/6/5/14A/4. Fourth edition OS 1:10,560 map, Co Londonderry sheet 14A (1924).

References - Secondary sources:
1. J.R.L. Currie, The Northern Counties Railway, vol.2: 1903-1972, pp 152-153 (Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1974).
2. W.A. McCutcheon, The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland, p.170 (Belfast: HMSO, 1980).
3. S. Johnson, Johnson’s Atlas & Gazetteer of the Railways of Ireland, p.105 (Leicester: Midland Publishing, 1997).
4. M. Kennedy, The LMS in Ireland: an Irish Pictorial Record (Leicester: Midland Publishing, 2000).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A substantial pre-cast reinforced-concrete multi-span railway bridge carrying the Belfast-Londonderry line over the River Faughan where the River Faughan meets the River Foyle, to the north-east of Derry City. It was constructed in 1937 to designs by N.C. Cain of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (Northern Counties Committee) to replace an earlier multi-span timber viaduct. Its structural system of pre-cast reinforced-concrete components is of interest, the use of which was pioneered on N. Ireland railways by the LMS (NCC) in the 1930s. The 11-span, 355ft long railway bridge is largely unaltered except for the addition of a metal handrail and concrete block repairs to its approach walls. It is an example of the innovatory use of pre-cast concrete in Northern Ireland however it is not considered to have sufficient special architectural and historic interest to merit listing.