The Goteik viaduct ( my, ဂုတ်ထိပ်တံတား,

MLCTS The Myanmar Language Commission Transcription System (1980), also known as the MLC Transcription System (MLCTS), is a transliteration system for rendering Burmese in the Latin alphabet. It is loosely based on the common system for romanization of ...

: ''gu.hti.ta.aa.'') also known as Gohteik viaduct) is a railway trestle in

Nawnghkio Nawnghkio, variously spelt Naunghkio, Naungcho or Nawngcho, is a town in Kyaukme District, in northern Shan State, Burma. It is the principal town and administrative seat of Nawnghkio Township. It is connected to Mandalay, Pyin U Lwin, Kyaukme, ...

, western

Shan State Shan State ( my, ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်, ; shn, မိူင်းတႆး, italics=no) also known by the Endonym and exonym, endonyms Shanland, Muang Tai, and Tailong, is a administrative divisions of Myanmar, state of Myanmar. ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

(also known as Burma). The bridge is between the two towns of

Pyin Oo Lwin Pyin Oo Lwin or Pyin U Lwin (, ; Shan: ), formerly and colloquially referred to as Maymyo (), is a scenic hill town in the Mandalay Region, Myanmar, some east of Mandalay, and at an elevation of . The town was estimated to have a population of ...

, the summer capital of the former British colonial administrators of Burma, and

Lashio Lashio ( ; Shan: ) is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about north-east of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Yaw River. Loi Leng, the highest mountain of the Shan Hills, is located ...

, the principal town of northern Shan State. It is the highest bridge in Myanmar and when it was completed, the largest railway trestle in the world. It is located approximately 100 km northeast of Mandalay. The bridge was constructed in 1899 by the Pennsylvania and Maryland Bridge Construction Company, and opened in 1900. The components were made by the

Pennsylvania Steel Company The Pennsylvania Steel Company was the name of two Pennsylvania steel companies. The original company was established in late 1865 by: J. Edgar Thomson, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Samuel Morse Felton Sr., recently retired president ...

and were shipped from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The rail line was constructed to help expand the influence of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

in the region. The construction project was overseen by Sir Arthur Rendel, engineer for the

Burma Railway Company Rail transport in Myanmar (then Burma) began in 1877. Three private rail companies were nationalised nineteen years later. During the Japanese occupation of Burma, Allied prisoners of war were forced to build the Burma Railway. Myanmar Railways ...

Bridge data

The viaduct measures from end to end, and includes 15 towers which span , along with a double tower long. The 15 towers support 10 deck

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

spans of along with six

plate girder A plate girder bridge is a bridge supported by two or more plate girders. Overview In a plate girder bridge, the plate girders are typically I-beams made up from separate structural steel plates (rather than rolled as a single cross-section), ...

spans long, and an approach span of . Many sources have put the height of the bridge at . That is supposedly a measurement to the river level as it flows underground through a tunnel at the point where it passes underneath the trestle. The true height of the bridge, as measured from the rail deck to the ground on the downstream side of the tallest tower, is . The cost of construction was £111,200. horseshoe_curve A horseshoe curve is a class of climbing curve in a roadbed which reverses turn direction (inflection) twice on either side of a single tight curve that varies through an angle of about 180 degrees or more. Such curves are more commonly found ...

_Mention

Paul_Theroux Paul Edward Theroux (born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue, '' The Great Railway Bazaar'' (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films. He ...

The_Great_Railway_Bazaar

_See_also

* Rail_transport_in_Myanmar *_Wohlers,_David._''Potential_structural_deficiencies_within_the_Gokteik_Viaduct_Railway_Bridge_in_Upper_Burma''_(https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/full/10.1680/jenhh.21.00102?src=recsys) *_Wohlers,_David_C.,_and_Tony_Waters._2022._"The_Gokteik_Viaduct:_A_Tale_of_Gentlemanly_Capitalists,_Unseen_People,_and_a_Bridge_to_Nowhere"_Social_Sciences_11,_no._10:_440.__https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/11/10/440

_References

{{Commons_category, Gokteik_Viaduct Railway_bridges_in_Myanmar Bridges_completed_in_1901 Tourist_attractions_in_Myanmar Shan_Statehtml" ;"title="Nawnghkio township profile 2009 by Township Peace and Development Council] Due to its technical and natural condition it is considered a masterpiece of world standard.

Diversion

Because the line from Mandalay to Lashio is considered to be of strategic value, a diversionary route to the valley floor, featuring spectacular

horseshoe curve A horseshoe curve is a class of climbing curve in a roadbed which reverses turn direction (inflection) twice on either side of a single tight curve that varies through an angle of about 180 degrees or more. Such curves are more commonly found ...

s, was built in 1976–1978, to keep trains running even if the Goteik viaduct was sabotaged. Those tracks were still visible from the viaduct in 2013, but the diversionary line has been left to the tropical vegetation since 2002.

Mention

The bridge is mentioned in

Paul Theroux Paul Edward Theroux (born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue, '' The Great Railway Bazaar'' (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films. He ...

's acclaimed travelogue The Great Railway Bazaar. He described the viaduct as "a monster of silver geometry in all the ragged rock and jungle, its presence was bizarre".

References

{{Commons category, Gokteik Viaduct Railway bridges in Myanmar Bridges completed in 1901 Tourist attractions in Myanmar Shan State>Nawnghkio township profile 2009 by Township Peace and Development Council/ref> Due to its technical and natural condition it is considered a masterpiece of world standard.

Diversion

Because the line from Mandalay to Lashio is considered to be of strategic value, a diversionary route to the valley floor, featuring spectacular

Mention

The bridge is mentioned in

's acclaimed travelogue The Great Railway Bazaar. He described the viaduct as "a monster of silver geometry in all the ragged rock and jungle, its presence was bizarre".

References

{{Commons category, Gokteik Viaduct Railway bridges in Myanmar Bridges completed in 1901 Tourist attractions in Myanmar Shan State

Bridge data

_Mention

_See_also

_References

Diversion

Mention

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References

Diversion

Mention

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References