Remains of Railway Bridge

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

A triple skew-span through-girder railway bridge over the Newry River.

A McCutcheon archive photograph shows the two eastern spans to have comprised a Pratt truss swing bridge, of which only the masonry abutments and piers now survive. The abutments are of coarsely-dressed granite blocks and of single track width. The cylindrical pier, on which the bridge pivoted and which is nearest to the east bank, is of coarsely dressed granite blocks with two courses of oversailing ashlar copings. Metal lugs around the top suggest that it was manually operated by rack and pinion mechanism. The rectangular pier nearest the west bank is of similar construction, with rounded cutwaters. A pipe is now carried across the river on a steel girder, being supported on the masonry.

Historical information

Opened in 1861 to carry the Newry - Warrenpoint railway over the river from Kilmorey Street (the line's terminus from its opening in 1849) to Dublin Road Station, where it connected with an extension of the Newry & Armagh railway (opened 1854) from Edward Street. Operated by the Newry, Warrenpoint & Rostrevor Railway Co, absorbed into the Great Northern network 1886, and closed 1965.

Given the close proximity of the canal, and difficulty in navigating the narrow river channel, there is no obvious reason why the bridge should have been made to open. One can only surmise that because the old quay was immediately upstream of it, there was a right of passage along the river which had to be respected.

Secondary Sources:

1. WA McCutcheon (1980), The industrial archaeology of Northern Ireland, p.163 (Belfast: HMSO).
2. McCutcheon archive, DOE Environment & Heritage Service, Hill St, Belfast.
3. F.J. Small (1876), Historical sketches of Newry, p.234.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

Not listed

Criteria for listing: historic interest

Not listed

Evaluation

A triple skew-span through-girder railway bridge. This bridge is of some interest on account of its rarity – only one other pivoting swing is known in N. Ireland, at Macfin, Co Antrim, on the Macfin - Magherafelt line. What little remains here is therefore of some technical interest. However, it does not meet the statutory and policy tests as a building of special architectural or historic interest.