Barrow rail bridge, (or the Barrow viaduct), is a

pratt truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

type of

railway bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

that spans the

river Barrow The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...

between County Kilkenny and County Wexford in the south east of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. This rural landmark with a length of is the longest bridge on the river. It was second longest bridge in

and the third longest rail bridge on the islands of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. Designed by Sir Benjamin Baker and built by the firm of Sir

William Arrol Sir William Arrol (13 February 1839 – 20 February 1913) was a Scottish civil engineer, bridge builder, and Liberal Unionist Party politician. Career The son of a spinner, Arrol was born in Houston, Renfrewshire, and started work in a cotton ...

. It is known locally as ''Barrow Bridge''. Part of a development to improve cross-channel passenger services. The steel truss

single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

bridge was built between 1902 and 1906 by English and Irish railway companies, it operated passenger services between

Rosslare Harbour The village of Rosslare Harbour (), also known as Ballygeary, grew up to serve the needs of the harbour of the same name (now called Rosslare Europort), first developed in 1906 by the Great Western Railway and the Great Southern and Western Rai ...

and

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

until 2010. It is maintained by Iarnród Éireann, the Irish rail operator. This bridge is one of six rail bridges of 45 bridges on the Barrow. It spans the river just upstream from its confluence with another of the three sisters the

River Suir The River Suir ( ; ga, an tSiúr or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of . The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2.

. Close to Great Island Power Station near Cheekpoint. It is the last bridge on the

and opens approximately twice daily to permit shipping and yachts to pass upstream to New Ross. In 2021, reports in local media suggested the bridge would be permanently opened to shipping. This proposal was later reversed. After a collision with a ship in February 2022, Irish Rail announced plans to pin the bridge open in December 2022 to perform repair works.

History

It is an important element of the early twentieth-century transport heritage of Kilkenny and Wexford. Built as a joint venture between the "''Fishguard and Rosslare Railways & Harbors Company (FRR + H Co)''" and the Great Southern and Western and Great Western Railways. The bridge forms part of the Limerick-Rosslare railway line, which was extended in 1906 to improve cross-channel passenger services from Rosslare Strand to Waterford. After the

Tay Bridge The Tay Bridge ( gd, Drochaid-rèile na Tatha) carries the railway across the Firth of Tay in Scotland between Dundee and the suburb of Wormit in Fife. Its span is . It is the second bridge to occupy the site. Plans for a bridge over the Tay ...

and

Forth Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

it was the third longest rail bridge in Britain and Ireland.

Design

This elegant and pragmatic bridge represents a striking rural landmark on the

River Barrow The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...

. Designed by the consulting engineer to the Rosslare & Waterford Railway, Sir Benjamin Baker. Baker had been responsible, with Sir John Fowler, for the design of the Forth Rail Bridge, and had designed the

Keady viaduct The Keady Viaduct is a railway viaduct near Keady, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. History The viaduct was completed in 1910, and crosses the Glen Road. It was originally part of the Castleblayney, Keady and Armagh Railway, though services ...

and Tassagh viaduct. The steel bridge was supplied and built by the building contractor Sir

''Sir William Arrol and Co.''. The Glaswegian firm were engineers and bridge builders, of Dalmarnock, Scotland. Arrol had also worked on the

Forth Rail Bridge The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, west of central Edinburgh. Completed in 1890, it is considered a symbol of Scotland (having been voted Scotland's greatest man-made wonder in ...

. The track used 87lb bullhead rail. The timber sleepers were "laid in 45-foot lengths". The signalling system was Electric Train Staff (ETS) with lower quadrant semaphore signals. This

was the longest

in Ireland at a length of .

Description

This bridge is one of six rail bridges crossing the Barrow and is one of 45 bridges on the river. On the rail line there is a short tunnel on the Kilkenny side. It stands above the high water mark, Each of its 13 main spans of are supported on twin cast iron piers. The third span from the Kilkenny side can be electrically pivoted open from a cabin atop the span to allow ships to pass through. The end spans are . In 2014 it was listed by

An Taisce An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (; meaning "the store" or "the treasury"), established in June 1948, is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) active in the areas of the environment and built heritage in Ireland. It considers itself t ...

in its "''Buildings at Risk Register''". An Taisce records "''The structure does not appear to be maintained and there are obvious signs of deterioration.''" and that "''a conservation management plan should be applied to it, to help preserve our rail heritage''".

References

Footnotes

Sources

* *. * . * .

External links

* * {{cite web, title=1906 – Barrow Railway Bridge, Co. Wexford, url=http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=KK®no=12403708, website=buildingsofireland.ie Railway bridges in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in County Wexford Bridges in County Kilkenny