Survey Data
Reg No
40907928
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Technical
Original Use
Bridge
In Use As
Bridge
Date
1840 - 1880
Coordinates
224134, 394815
Date Recorded
03/06/2008
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Single-arch former railway accommodation bridge, built c. 1863, carrying farm access road over the former Strabane to Stranorlar section of the Derry (Victoria Road) to Killybegs railway line. Rock-faced squared and coursed rubble stone battered piers to either side of bridge, flanking arch. Railway lines now out of use with tracks removed (c. 1960). Segmental-headed arch having rock-faced voussoirs with drafted margins; squared rubble stone construction to arch barrel. Squared and coursed rubble stone construction to spandrels and parapets; rock-faced quoins to base of arch having drafted margins. Roughly squared and coursed rubble limestone masonry to parapets with rock-faced coping over. Parapets now overgrown. Mud deck with vegetation to centre and margins. Located to the west of Castlefinn, and a short distance to the north of the River Finn.
Appraisal
This former railway accommodation bridge retains its original form and character despite the closure of the railway line in 1960. The good-quality 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. The contrast between the grey limestone dimension stone to the parapets and the red sandstone to the rock-faced voussoirs creates an interesting textural and tonal contrast. 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. This bridge was originally built to serve the Strabane to Stranorlar section of the Derry (Victoria Road) to Killybegs railway line, which was opened in September 1863 by the Finn Valley Railway Company. It was originally a narrow gauge railway line but it was later converted to the standard Irish gauge (5 foot 3-inches) in 1894. The railway line was completed as far as Killybegs in 1893. This section between Strabane and Stranorlar was finally closed to passengers on the first of January 1960, and to goods a few weeks later. This particular bridge was originally built as an accommodation bridge to facilitate access to a farm house that formerly stood to the south side of the bridge (no longer extant) that was cut off from the main road to the north following the completion of the railway line. This former railway forms part of a group of structures associated with this railway line in the area, and is an integral element of the built heritage and transport history of the east of the county.