Survey Data
Reg No
15403146
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1850 - 1855
Coordinates
227775, 242383
Date Recorded
17/10/2004
Date Updated
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Description
Single-arched railway bridge, built c.1851, carrying former Midland Great Western Railway company Mullingar to Galway line over road. Original span removed and replaced by a reinforced concrete and steel deck, c.1930. No longer in active use. Base constructed of rusticated limestone with rusticated limestone piers flanking central arch to either side (north and south). Rusticated limestone retaining walls/embankment runs away to the east and west. Located to the west of Castletown Geoghegan.
Appraisal
A robust and elegantly-appointed railway bridge representing an integral element of the transport and civil engineering heritage of County Westmeath. This bridge was originally built by the Midland and Great Western Railway Company to serve the Mullingar to Galway line, which opened in 1851 and closed in 1987. This bridge was substantially altered in the early-to-mid twentieth century when the original double span was removed and replaced by a single reinforced concrete span and this has reduced the importance of this structure. The form of this bridge suggests that it may have been originally built to have a steel and cast-iron span as opposed to the usual masonry arch found on most railway bridges in the area. The heavily rusticated retaining walls and piers are a typical feature of mid-to-late nineteenth-century engineering projects of this nature.