Survey Data
Reg No
40905394
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1905 - 1915
Coordinates
220036, 410491
Date Recorded
20/11/2013
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Single-arch former railway bridge, built c. 1909, carrying road over the former Strabane to Letterkenny narrow gauge railway line. Railway line now out of use with tracks removed (c. 1960). Squared and mildly rock-faced construction to spandrels, parapets, and piers; chamfered cut stone coping over parapets. Cut stone block-and-start quoins to piers below arch springing point. Segmental-headed arch with cut stone voussoirs or ruled-and-lined render detailing to arch ring, and with cement rendered finish to arch barrel. Tarmacadam deck with grass verges. Located in the rural countryside to the east\south-east of Letterkenny.
Appraisal
This small-scale former railway bridge retains its original form and character despite the closure of the line in 1960. The good-quality mildly rock-faced masonry used in the construction of the arch and as the coping to the parapets is a typical feature of Victorian railway engineering and architecture in Ireland. It survives in relatively good condition, which is testament to the quality of its original construction, and of the ambitions of the railway company involved in its initial construction. It was originally built by the Strabane to Letterkenny Railway Company (worked by the Donegal Railway Company Joint Committee) as part of the Strabane to Letterkenny narrow gauge (3-foot) railway line, which opened in January 1909 and closed on the 1st of January 1960. This former railway bridge forms part of a group of related structures associated with this former railway line in south-east County Donegal, and is an integral element of the built heritage and transport history of the county.