Bridge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A stone and brick single-arch railway bridge built in 1887 for the Giant's Causeway Tramway.
This bridge carries a single line of operational 3-ft gauge track over a stream through the sand dunes at Runkerry Beach, between Bushmills and the Giant's Causeway.

The abutments are of quarried random rubble basalt brought to courses and embellished with rock-faced basalt quoins. The arch spans 8ft (2.46m) and is c.45ft (14m) deep. Its voussoirs and soffit comprise four courses of red brick and contrast with the random rubble basalt spandrels which are coped with a single course of partly-dressed stones. There were never any parapets, although a modern wooden picket fence now runs along its east side.

The new line of track crosses the bridge towards its west (seaward) side, with a gravel public footpath at east. The bed of the stream has been consolidated as part of the line's refurbishment works. The flow is now confined to a cement-lined channel within the arch and discharges over a c.3ft high weir on exiting the bridge.

Setting:
The bridge lies in the Bushfoot sand dunes just above the beach. Runkerry House (HB05/08/010) is within view to the north, at the end of the strand.

Materials:
Walling Stone and brick
Abutments Random rubble basalt
Quoins Rock-faced basalt quoins
voussoirs/soffit Red brick

Historical information

The Giant's Causeway tramway was opened as a tourist attraction between Portrush and Bushmills by the Giant's Causeway, Portrush & Bush Valley Railway & Tramway Co in January 1883. Instigated by William Traill, the 3ft-gauge, 6¾ mile long tramway has the distinction of being the first in the world to be powered by hydro-electricity; this was generated at Walkmills on the River Bush, just south of Bushmills.

Passenger services proved so popular that a 2½ mile extension to the Giant's Causeway was opened in 1887. This extension had two bridges along its course: this one over a stream, and the better-known Victoria Jubilee Bridge over the Bush (a three-span girder bridge).

The line eventually closed in 1949 after 66 years of service; the power station was dismantled and the track lifted.

The line was reopened as a tourist attraction in 2002 by the Giants Causeway & Bushmills Railway Company Ltd, a not-for-profit organisation. This entailed refurbishment of the bridge under review and renewing the girder spans of the Jubilee Bridge. The locos and rolling stock were brought from a tourist railway at Shane's Castle, Co Antrim.

The course of the line and this uncaptioned bridge are shown on the 1904 OS map and subsequent editions.

References - Primary Sources:
1. PRONI OS/6/1/3/3. OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 3 (1904).
2. PRONI OS/6/1/3/5. OS 1:10,560 map, Co Antrim sheet 3 (1921).

References - Secondary Sources:
1. J. McGuigan, Giant's Causeway, Portrush & Bush Valley Railway & Tramway Co Ltd (Holywood: Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, 1983).
2. Giant's Causeway & Bushmills Railway Company website, .

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
G. Innovatory Qualities
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

T. Historic Importance
Y. Social, Cultural or Economic Importance
X. Local Interest
R. Age
S. Authenticity

Evaluation

Although by no means a large bridge, this example is nevertheless a good example of a masonry bridge incorporating a brick arch. As such, not only was it relatively simple to build, but the red brick made a striking visual contrast with the black basalt from which the rest of it was constructed. The bridge's fabric is entirely authentic and it is also of historic importance being the only original bridge left on the entire route of the Portrush-Bushmills tramway. The Giant's Causeway tramway was opened as a tourist attraction between Portrush and Bushmills by the Giant's Causeway, Portrush & Bush Valley Railway & Tramway Co in January 1883. Instigated by William Traill, the 3ft-gauge, 6¾ mile long tramway has the distinction of being the first in the world to be powered by hydro-electricity; this was generated at Walkmills on the River Bush, just south of Bushmills