Loch nan Uamh Viaduct

Loch nan Uamh Viaduct

The viaduct carrying The Jacobite
Coordinates 56°53′32″N 5°43′50″W / 56.8923382°N 5.7306558°W / 56.8923382; -5.7306558Coordinates: 56°53′32″N 5°43′50″W / 56.8923382°N 5.7306558°W / 56.8923382; -5.7306558
Carries West Highland Line
Crosses Allt a' Mhama
Characteristics
Material Concrete
Longest span 50 feet (15 m)
Number of spans 8
History
Engineering design by Simpson & Wilson
Construction begin 1897
Opened 1901

The Loch nan Uamh Viaduct is a railway viaduct that carries the West Highland Line.

History

The West Highland Railway was built to Fort William by Lucas and Aird, but there were delays with the West Highland Railway Mallaig Extension (Guarantee) bill for the Mallaig Extension Railway in the House of Commons as the Tory and Liberal parties fought over the issue of subsidies for public transport. This Act did pass in 1896, by which time Lucas & Aird (and their workers) had moved south.[1] New contractors were needed and Robert McAlpine & Sons were taken on with Simpson & Wilson as engineers. Robert McAlpine & Sons was headed by Robert McAlpine, nicknamed "Concrete Bob" for his innovative use of mass concrete.[2] Concrete was used due to the difficulty of working the hard schist in the area.[3] McAlpine's son Robert, then aged 28, and his nephew William Waddell, took charge of construction, with his younger son Malcolm appointed as assistant.[4]

Construction of the extension from Fort William to Mallaig began in January 1897, and the line opened on 1 April 1901.[5][6]

Design

The viaduct has eight concrete arches of 50 feet (15 m) span, four each side of a large central concrete pylon.[7] The reason for this design is not known.[7]

The viaduct crosses the Allt a' Mhama, or Mama Burn, just before it flows into Loch nan Uamh, a sea loch to the north of the Ardnish peninsula.[8][9]

Immediately to the north of the viaduct is a short tunnel.[9][10]

Horse inside viaduct

A long-established legend attached to the Glenfinnan Viaduct was that a horse had fallen into one of the piers during construction in 1898 or 1899.[11][12] In 1987, Professor Roland Paxton failed to find evidence of a horse at Glenfinnan using a fisheye camera inserted into boreholes in the only two piers large enough to accommodate a horse.[12] In 1997, on the basis of local hearsay, he investigated the Loch nan Uamh Viaduct by the same method but found the piers to be full of rubble.[11][12] Using scanning technology in 2001, the remains of the horse and cart were found at Loch nan Uamh, within the large central pylon.[7][12]

References

  1. ↑ Thomas 1971, pp. 92-95
  2. ↑ Miers, Mary (2008). The Western Seaboard: An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Rutland Press. ISBN 978-1-873190-29-6.
  3. ↑ Paxton, Roland; Shipway, J. (2007). Civil Engineering Heritage Scotland: Highlands and islands. Thomas Telford. pp. 186–187. ISBN 978-0-7277-3488-4.
  4. ↑ Thomas 1971, pp. 95-96
  5. ↑ Thomas 1971, pp. 177-178
  6. ↑ Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 169. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063.
  7. 1 2 3 "Loch Nan Uamh Viaduct". rcahms.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  8. ↑ "Mama Burn, Bridge". rcahms.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  9. 1 2 Google (30 December 2014). "Loch nan Uamh Viaduct" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Loch Nan Uamh Viaduct". scotlandsplaces.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  11. 1 2 "Jim Shipway". The Herald. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2015 – via Highbeam.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "The Horse in the Viaduct - a tale of Victorian engineering". moidart.org.uk. Retrieved 1 January 2015.

Sources

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