The Borrodale Viaduct is a railway viaduct that carries the
West Highland Line
The West Highland Line ( gd, Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean - "Iron Road to the Isles") is a railway line linking the ports of Mallaig and Oban in the Scottish Highlands to Glasgow in Central Scotland. The line was voted the top rail journey in the ...
over the Borrodale Burn.
History
In the decade after Borrodale was constructed, a large number of other concrete bridges were put up, whereas in the five years prior there were only three.
Design
The viaduct has a main span of , which at the time of its construction was the longest
mass concrete Mass concrete is defined by American Concrete Institute Committee 207 as "any volume of concrete with dimensions large enough to require that measures be taken to cope with the generation of heat from hydration of cement and attendant volume change ...
span in the world.
The original proposal was to have a conventional viaduct with piers in the gully, but the owner of Arisaig House insisted that the piers be clad in granite, so the design with the large span was settled on instead.
The side spans are clad in dressed stone and are both of span .
[ There is also a dressed stone parapet.][
The rise of the main arch is , and the viaduct is above the Borrodale Burn.][ To the south-east, towards Fort William, is a tunnel almost adjacent to the viaduct.]
References
Sources
* {{cite book, last1=Thomas, first1=John, title=The West Highland Railway, year=1971, publisher=Pan Books, isbn=0-330-02479-5
Railway bridges in Scotland
Listed bridges in Scotland
Lochaber
Category A listed buildings in Highland (council area)
Bridges in Highland (council area)
Bridges completed in 1901
1901 establishments in Scotland