Survey Data
Reg No
40905202
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1900 - 1905
Coordinates
209516, 416013
Date Recorded
01/12/2016
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Group of three railway bridges, built c.1903, carrying former Letterkenny to Burtonport line over road, Leannan River and right-of-way. Bridge over mill race has rusticated stone voussoirs with drafted margins to segmental arch with gunnelled soffit, and rusticated parapets with rendered copings. Bridge over river has rusticated voussoirs to two segmental arches, rusticated abutments and overgrown parapets. Bridge over road has rusticated and drafted voussoirs to segmental arch, with rusticated squared and snecked abutments with rendered copings to overgrown parapets. Barrack Bridge to southeast.
Appraisal
A series of railway bridges that forms part of the civil engineering legacy of Donegal and of the expansion of communication and transport networks in Ireland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The bridges carried the Letterkenny to Burtonport Extension Railway, which opened in 1903 and closed in 1947, and remain attractive features in the rural landscape. Their architectural merit is characterized by the rusticated stonework that contrasts with the elegant sweep of the arches.