Meldon Viaduct
| Meldon Viaduct | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Coordinates | 50°42′47″N 4°02′03″W / 50.71297°N 4.03404°WCoordinates: 50°42′47″N 4°02′03″W / 50.71297°N 4.03404°W |
| Crosses | West Okement River |
| Heritage status | Scheduled Monument |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Wrought and cast iron |
| Total length | 165 m (541 ft) |
| Height | 46 m (151 ft) |
| History | |
| Engineering design by | WR Galbraith |
| Opened | 12 October 1874 |
| Closed | 1990 |
Meldon Viaduct carried the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) across the West Okement River at Meldon (near Okehampton) on Dartmoor in Devon, South West England. The truss bridge, which was constructed from wrought iron and cast iron not stone or brick arches, was built under the direction of the LSWR's chief engineer, WR Galbraith. After taking three years to build, the dual-tracked bridge opened to rail traffic in 1874. Usage was limited to certain classes of locomotive because the viaduct had an axle load limit. Although regular services were withdrawn in 1968, the bridge was used for shunting by a local quarry. In the 1990s the remaining single line was removed after the viaduct was deemed to be to weak to carry rail traffic.
The crossing is now used by The Granite Way, a long-distance cycle track across Dartmoor. The viaduct, which is a Scheduled Monument, is now one of only two such surviving railway bridges in the United Kingdom that uses wrought iron lattice piers to support the cast iron trusses (the other is Bennerley Viaduct between Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire).
In the 19th century, the LSWR was in competition with the Great Western Railway (GWR) to provide passenger trains from London to Devon and Cornwall. But as the South Devon Railway, an associate of the GWR, had already built a line from Exeter St David's to Plymouth along the south coast under the direction of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The LSWR, and its engineer, William Galbraith, were only left with a route that would have to cross the uplands of Dartmoor.
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