Deep Creek Railway Bridge is also known as Chowey Bridge. It is a heritage-listed

railway bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), 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, whic ...

on the Mungar-Monto railway line in

Didcot Didcot ( ) is a railway town and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire and the historic county of Berkshire. Didcot is south of Oxford, east of Wantage and north west of Reading. The town is noted for its railway heritage, Di ...

North Burnett Region The North Burnett Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia in the northern catchment of the Burnett River. Established in 2008, it was preceded by several previous local government areas with histories extending back to the ear ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. It was built in 1905 by day labour. It was added to the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...

on 21 October 1992.

History

The Mungar-Monto railway line was built only as far as

Degilbo Degilbo is a rural town and locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Degilbo had a population of 174 people. History The name ''Degilbo'' was the name of a pastoral run owned by William Henry Walsh ( ...

before the financial depression of the early 1890s halted the rail construction program. Construction resumed on the Degilbo to Wetheron extension in February 1905 under the Railway Department's

day labour Day labor (or day labour in Commonwealth spelling) is work done where the worker is hired and paid one day at a time, with no promise that more work will be available in the future. It is a form of contingent work. Types Day laborers (also kn ...

program. The Deep Creek Railway Bridge was designed in the office of William Pagan who was Chief Engineer at the time. The Construction Department's Resident Engineer on site was Richard Ernest Sexton who later became Chief Engineer for Railways. William Pagan inspected the extent of the construction and preparatory work on the bridge in March 1905. The bridge was completed and the line opened by 21 December 1905. Pagan described the bridge in his annual report for that year as "a concrete bridge of somewhat novel design". The bridge represented a substantial development in concrete arch bridge design. It followed the spans used in

Swansons Rail Bridge Swansons Rail Bridge is a heritage-listed railway bridge at north of Toowoomba at Ballard, Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia on the Main Line railway. It was designed by William Pagan and built from 1899 to 1900 by day labour. It ...

on the

Main Line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

near

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

and the span at

Petrie Terrace Petrie Terrace is an inner suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Petrie Terrace had a population of 1,124 people. Geography The suburb is by road west of the Brisbane General Post Office. The precinct is bordered to ...

road overbridge. It was followed by two substantial concrete arch bridges on the Main Line near Lockyer.

Description

Deep Creek bridge is a concrete viaduct with an concrete arch flanked by two smaller arches, with the track run on sleepers and ballast in a trough. It has the date of construction, 1905, cast into the sides. It consists of: * Embankment * 1 x concrete arch, ballasted top, concrete abutment, common concrete abutment. * 1 x concrete arch with 4 x

spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fill ...

arches, ballasted top, common concrete abutments * 1 x concrete arch, ballasted top, concrete abutments, common concrete abutment.

Heritage listing

Deep Creek Railway Bridge was listed on the

on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history. This concrete arch bridge has the third longest span of its type in Queensland and was the third bridge of its type to be constructed in Australia. The bridge frames the rocky valley of the creek and its innovative design was associated with the Chief Engineer, William Pagan. The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage. This concrete arch bridge has the third longest span of its type in Queensland and was the third bridge of its type to be constructed in Australia. The place is important in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period. The bridge frames the rocky valley of the creek and its innovative design was associated with the Chief Engineer, William Pagan. The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history. The bridge frames the rocky valley of the creek and its innovative design was associated with the Chief Engineer, William Pagan. The Official Register of Engineering Heritage Markers listed * '' Degilbo-Mundubbera Railway Bridges'' in October 2016. A total of 12 bridges that are situated on the

Mungar Mungar is a rural locality in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mungar had a population of 309 people. Geography Mungar is north of the state capital Brisbane and south west of the regional centre of Maryborough. The ...

Mundubbera Mundubbera ( ) is a town and a locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mundubbera had a population of 1261 people. Mundubbera is the self-proclaimed "Citrus Capital of Queensland", although this is disputed by the n ...

rail line, including the Chowey Bridge, are recognized with one Engineering Heritage Marker representing the “best example of a collection of historic railway bridges in Australia”.

References

Attribution

External links

{{Australian railway bridges, state=autocollapse Queensland Heritage Register North Burnett Region Railway bridges in Queensland Arch bridges in Australia Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register 1905 establishments in Australia Bridges completed in 1905 Mungar Junction to Monto railway line