The Boyne Viaduct, Drogheda: an architectural marvel скачать в хорошем качестве

The Boyne Viaduct, Drogheda: an architectural marvel

Construction began on the Boyne Viaduct in 1849, just after the Great Famine. It was the last link in the Dublin to Belfast railway line, and prior to its completion there were two stations on either side of the Boyne, one south of the river and one to the north. Passengers had to disembark the train on the south side and take a horse and carriage ride to through the town, leading to a longer journey. The viaduct was completed in 1855. It was designed by Sir John McNeill and when completed it was the seventh-largest bridge of its kind in the world. In 1932, the central iron span of the bridge was replaced with the current steel structure with its distinctive arched central section. The Boyne Viaduct is almost 100ft high (98ft, 30m) and is 1,750ft in length. There are 12 arches on the southern side of the Boyne and three to the north. Visitors to Drogheda cannot but be impressed by the bridge's dominance of the skyline on the eastern end of the town, overlooking the Boyne Estuary. The long-standing rumour that the viaduct was built on foundations of cotton wool is partly true. Workers created cofferdams for each pier, but pier 14 proved problematic. Water kept on seeping into the hole and eventually bales of sheep's wool were stuffed into the leaks in the cofferdam to shore it up. Workers eventually reached the bedrock and the cofferdam was left in place until the mortar was poured and the foundations built of stone. Today, the structure stands as a testament to Victorian-era engineering. It is a structure of great beauty, made from local limestone. Only the southern of the two stations survived. Sean McBride station is on a sharp bend in the line just to the southern end of the Boyne Viaduct and is a busy hub today for both Drogheda to Dublin suburban trains, freight trains from Tara Mines, and of course the intercity 'Enterprise' service which runs regularly throughout the day in both directions serving Dublin and Belfast. This video, shot from drones over the past two years, shows the bridge in all its glory, and includes some views of trains crossing the great bridge over the Boyne river valley.