Survey Data
Reg No
13004046
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Artistic, Social, Technical
Original Use
Foot bridge
In Use As
Foot bridge
Date
1875 - 1895
Coordinates
213494, 274939
Date Recorded
31/08/2005
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding single-arch wrought-iron railway footbridge associated with Longford Town Railway Station (13004044), erected c. 1885. Segmental-arch bridge with iron decking and wrought-iron parapets having sheet metal plates and decorative cast-iron panels with floral motif. Accessed via a flight of iron steps with from both platforms (north and south). Paired cast-iron piers/newel posts with fluted caps to flights of steps. Set of four cast-iron columns to junction of steps and bridge, sitting on a concrete base to both platforms. Sited spanning both platforms at Longford Town Railway Station. Located to the west of the main station building (13004040) and to the south of Longford Town centre.
Appraisal
An elegant wrought-iron railway footbridge that forms an important part of the Longford Town Railway Station complex. Despite the functional purpose of the footbridge, it has some fine cast-iron decorative detailing that enhances its aesthetic appeal. It was probably erected by The Midland and Great Western Railway Company during the 1880s, a period when many iron railway footbridges were erected at railway stations in Ireland. It forms the part group of structures associated with Longford Town Railway Station, along with the main station building (13004044), the signal box (13008008), the iron crane (13008005) and the goods shed (13004150). It remains an important component of the transport heritage of Longford Town and of the social and economic history of County Longford. It is similar in form and decoration to the footbridge at Edgeworthstown Railway Station (13309003).