Railway Bridge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

This bridge carries the main Belfast - Dublin double-track railway over the Carnagat Road. It comprises a single semicircular span in granodiorite throughout. The soffit and abutments are of ashlar. The faces of the blocks comprising the abutments are convex to give a bulbous finish. The quarry-faced voussoirs have tooled margins to the arch intrados and splay out across the spandrels, over which is a rusticated ashlar string course. This is surmounted on each side by a low concrete parapet, affixed to which is a two-bar galvanised metal safety railing. The wing walls are of irregularly-coursed squared rubble. They are coped with rusticated stone and terminate in square piers (with tooled quoins) surmounted by pyramidal caps.

A 15ft height warning triangle is affixed to the east face of the bridge.

Historical information

This bridge was built in 1851 by William Dargan for the Dublin & Belfast Junction Railway Company (D&BJ) to a design by its chief engineer, Sir John Macneill. The line opened in 1852 with the completion of the Craigmore Viaduct. The D&BJ amalgamated with the Dublin & Drogheda Railway Co in 1875, and became part of the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) in 1876.

Secondary Source:
1. W.A. Mc Cutcheon, 'Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland' (Belfast 1980).

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
F. Structural System
H-. Alterations detracting from building

Criteria for listing: historic interest

V. Authorship
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Despite its relatively small scale, this bridge exhibits a high standard of design and execution, notably the splayed voussoirs. It is also of interest for its associations with Dargan ('father' of Irish railways) and Macneill. The additions over the platband are degrading.