Victoria Bridge is a single track
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 ...
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 ...
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 somethi ...
located in
Karai,
Kuala Kangsar District
The Kuala Kangsar District is a district in Perak, Malaysia. Kuala Kangsar shares its borders with Larut, Matang and Selama at the west, Hulu Perak at the north, Gua Musang of Kelantan at the east, Kinta at the south, Perak Tengah and Manjung a ...
,
Perak
Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. It is one of the oldest railway bridges in the country, having been constructed between December 1897 and March 1900 by the
Perak Government Railway
Perak () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the e ...
as a crossing over the
Perak River to serve the local
tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
industry. The bridge was officially opened by the late Almarhum DYMM Sultan
Idris Murshidul Adzam Shah I the Sultan of Perak at that time.
Starting in 1992, Victoria Bridge was managed by Railway Assets Corporation. The Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) is a federal statutory body under the Ministry of Transport. It was established under the Railways Act 1991 (Act 463) through Government Gazette No.16 Volume 36 on July 30, 1992. https://www.rac.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/1
The Victoria Bridge remained in use until 2002, when a wider concrete
girder bridge
A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box.
The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge de ...
built parallel to the old bridge was completed to take over the role of handling rail traffic. The new bridge is significantly wider, with room to support a second track, but in its early life it was only required to handle a single track until
double tracking and electrification was conducted between the
Ipoh
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Ipoh in Perak
, pushpin_map = #Malaysia#Asia#Earth
, pushpin_mapsize = 275px
, pushpin_map_caption = Ipoh in Malaysia
, coordinates ...
-
Padang Besar line during the late-2000s and early-2010s.
While the old bridge is closed to rail traffic, its adjoining footbridge is still publicly open to motorcycles and pedestrians. Attempts have been made to retain the structure, with occasional maintenance having been conducted on it. The Victoria Bridge has become a minor tourist attraction, with signage set up to inform visitors about its history. It is a popular spot for photoshoots.
Gallery
vicbridge.jpg, View of bridge
vicbridgerail.jpg, Rails
vicbridgesign.jpg, Sign
External links
FORGOTTEN BRIDGE an illustrated explanation of the Victoria Bridge.
Kuala Kangsar District
Railway bridges in Malaysia
Bridges completed in 1900
Former railway bridges
{{Malaysia-bridge-struct-stub