Findhorn Viaduct (Tomatin)

The Findhorn Viaduct is a railway bridge approximately 500 metres east of the village of Tomatin in the Scottish Highlands, which carries the Perth to Inverness railway line over the valley of the River Findhorn.[1]

Not to be confused with Findhorn Viaduct (Forres).

Findhorn Viaduct
The Findhorn Viaduct
Coordinates 57°20′03″N 3°58′59″W
CarriesRailway
CrossesRiver Findhorn
Heritage statusCategory B listed building
Characteristics
MaterialRubble piers and latticed steel girders
History
ArchitectMurdoch Paterson and John Folwer
Construction end1897

The bridge was designed and built for the Highland Railway between 1894 and 1897 by Murdoch Paterson,[2] their chief engineer, and John Folwer,[3][1] who also worked on the design of the Forth Rail Bridge.[4] It was opened to traffic on 19 July 1897.[2]

The bridge consists of nine lattice girder spans, constructed with double warren steel trusses, similar to those used by Fowler on the Forth Rail Bridge,[3] held up by slender, tapering[5] piers of tooled rubble.[3] Curving gently across the valley,[6] with an overall length of roughly 405 metres and standing 43 metres above the level of the river,[5] it is described as 'spectacular' by Benedict Le Vay.[7]

The bridge, which is still in active use,[2] was designated a Category B listed building in 1971.[3] It shares its name with another Findhorn Viaduct which crosses the same river near the town of Forres in Moray.[1]

References
  1. "Findhorn Viaduct". Gazetteer for Scotland. Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  2. "MHG2801 - Findhorn Viaduct, Tomatin". Highland Historic Environment Record. The Highland Council. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  3. Historic Environment Scotland. "Tomatin, Railway Viaduct over River Findhorn (LB14893)". Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  4. "History of the Forth Bridge". forth-bridges.co.uk. Forth Bridges Forum. 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2017. the momentum for a crossing had grown and a new design, by John Fowler and Benjamin Baker, was submitted to the Forth Bridge Company in May 1881, with construction authorised by Parliament in July 1882.
  5. "Tomatin, Railway Viaduct". CANMORE. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  6. Banerjee, Jacqueline. "Findhorn Viaduct, Tomatin, Scottish Highlands". The Victorian Web. The Victorian Web. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  7. Le Vay, Benedict (2014). Britain from the Rails: A Window Gazer's Guide (2nd ed.). Chalfont St Peter: Bradt Travel Guides Ltd. p. 44. ISBN 9781784771089. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
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