Survey Data
Reg No
13004129
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Social, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1850 - 1860
Coordinates
213461, 274942
Date Recorded
01/09/2005
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding double-span railway bridge, built c. 1855, carrying road over railway line. Central coursed limestone pier and coursed limestone flanking walls to either end (north and south). Cut stone coping to flanking walls and rock-faced limestone quoins to central pier. Cast-iron bridge number plaque to north elevation of central pier. Riveted and welded painted steel parapets c. 1940. Concrete walkway, piers and steel railings c. 1970. Situated spanning the railway tracks of the Sligo to Dublin line and to the south of Longford Town centre. Longford Town Railway Station (13004044) located to the east.
Appraisal
This railway bridge retains its early form and character despite some alterations. The use of rock-faced limestone accentuates its imposing form and is typical of mid-to-late nineteenth-century railway engineering/architecture in Ireland. The steel deck may be a late-nineteenth/early-twentieth century replacement of an earlier span. It was originally constructed by the Midland and Great Western Railway Company to serve the Mullingar to Sligo line, which reached as far as Longford Town in 1855 and was completed in 1862. It forms part of an interesting group of structures related with Longford Town Railway Station (13004044) and it represents an integral component of the architectural and industrial heritage of Longford Town, and of the social and economic history of the County Longford.