The Solis Viaduct (german: Soliser Viadukt) is a single track eleven-arched

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

viaduct. It spans the Albula east of the hamlet of Solis, in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. Designed by the engineer Hans Studer, it was built in 1902 by Munari, Cayre und Marasi for the

Rhaetian Railway The Rhaetian Railway (german: Rhätische Bahn; it, Ferrovia retica; rm, Viafier retica), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the Rh ...

, which still owns and uses it today. One of the most important structures on the

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

-listed

Albula Railway The Albula Railway (german: Albulalinie; it, Linea dell'Albula; rm, Lingia da l'Alvra) is a single track metre gauge railway line forming part of the so-called core network of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB), in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerl ...

, it is high, long, and has a main span of .

Location

The Solis Viaduct forms part of the

section between

Thusis Thusis ( it, Tosana, '' Romansh: Tusàn'') is a municipality in the Viamala Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Mutten merged into the municipality of Thusis. History Thusis is first mentioned ...

and

Tiefencastel Tiefencastel ( rm, Casti) is a village and a former municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/ ...

, and is at the mark from Thusis. East of the viaduct is the Stausee Solis.

Description

The limestone-built viaduct was conceived by Hans Studer as the first stone

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

in Switzerland to be designed in accordance with the

elasticity theory In physics and materials science, elasticity is the ability of a body to resist a distorting influence and to return to its original size and shape when that influence or force is removed. Solid objects will deform when adequate loads are ...

. That choice of design allowed the use of a

parabolic arch A parabolic arch is an arch in the shape of a parabola.Article about parabolic arch by The Free DictionaryParabolic arch , Article about parabolic arch by The Free Dictionary accessdate: March 2, 2017 In structures, their curve represents an effi ...

, and thus a very slim form of construction. Building costs could thereby be limited to 125,000

Swiss francs The Swiss franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the f ...

at 1902 prices. With its height of , the Solis Viaduct is the highest on the

. It consists of a main span of flanked by 10 other spans ranging from to .

Renovation

In 1997, the viaduct was renovated at great expense. The previous isolation between the gravel bed and walls was filled in by a new sealing system, incorporating liquid plastic film and shotcrete. In addition, the rails and ballast were renewed.

Gallery

File:Schinschlucht2.jpg, Schin gorge with the viaduct. File:Solisbruecke.jpg, A closer view of the viaduct File:Soliser Viadukt neues Wappen 01 09.jpg, The new Graubünden coat of arms sculpture on the main span. File:Solis Viaduct, Schinschlucht and Solis dam, aerial video.webm, thumbtime=1:02, Aerial video of Solis Viaduct.

References

*See the references in Soliser Viadukt (de Wikipedia)

External links