Survey Data
Reg No
40907057
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1900 - 1910
Coordinates
224304, 402168
Date Recorded
14/10/2010
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Single-arch former railway bridge, built c. 1909, carrying the former Strabane to Letterkenny narrow gauge railway line over road. Railway line now out of use with tracks removed (c. 1960). Squared and mildly rock-faced construction to spandrels, parapets, piers, and abutments; chamfered cut stone coping over parapets. Segmental-headed arch with rock-faced cut stone voussoirs. Squared and coursed rock-faced stone retaining walls to either side of bridge. Deck now overgrown. Located in the rural countryside to the west of Raphoe.
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 its construction is a typical feature of Victorian and Edwardian 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 east County Donegal, and is an integral element of the built heritage and transport history of the county.