The Coleford, Monmouth, Usk & Pontypool Railway was opened in 1857, running from Pontypool to Monmouth Troy. The single-track line was extended in 1861 to Wyesham Halt on the east side of the viaduct. The bridge which was originally planned to carry the line onwards to Coleford. However, the line terminated at Wyesham and was not extended to Coleford as the Great Western Railway and West Midland Railway did not pursue the extension. The bridge was not heavily used until 1876 when the Wye Valley Railway completed its line from Chepstow and south Wales. In 1883 the Coleford Railway was constructed from Wyesham Junction to Coleford but was closed as being uneconomical in 1916.[1]
The viaduct was originally planned to be constructed of wood, but the 1852 floods influenced the engineers to change to stone. The building of the viaduct took exactly ten months. It contains 9,000 cubic yards of masonry and 3,000 cubic yards of concrete. Two arches form the 20m long eastern element of the structure. The bridge was designed by Christopher Firbank and built by Kennards of Crumlin. It was about 50 feet above the water and lay on two 150-foot girders resting on the stone arches. Large crowds assembled to watch the bridge being put into place in 1861.[2] Only the stone parts of the viaduct are extant today.
The Ross and Monmouth Railway line opened in 1873 terminating at Monmouth Mayhill railway station. A further single line and three-span bridge of almost 300 feet was constructed to join the two Monmouth railway stations, opening on 1 May 1874. It consists of 3 spans of steel-lattice girders on paired steel tubular piers with squared rubble abutments.[3] The main span is 46 metres long and the shorter spans are 18 metres each. It was built by Edward Finch of Chepstow.[1]
The line between Monmouth Troy and Mayhill was closed on 6 January 1964. The R&MR Duke of Beaufort Bridge remains in use as a footpath. A Sustrans project aims to restore and redeck the bridge as part of improving local cycle connectivity.[4]
^"Wye Bridge, Hereford Ross And Gloucester Railway, Monmouth;Duke Of Beaufort Bridge | Site Details". Coflein. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
^. Sustrans. Archived from the original on 1 January 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
December 07, 2023
monmouth, viaduct, chippenham, meadow, viaduct, arch, 183m, sandstone, viaduct, with, steel, lattice, girder, spans, over, river, carried, coleford, monmouth, pontypool, railway, line, across, river, monmouth, wales, further, river, crossing, ross, monmouth, r. The Monmouth Viaduct or Chippenham Meadow Viaduct is a 20 arch 183m red sandstone viaduct with two 23m steel lattice girder spans over the river It carried the Coleford Monmouth Usk amp Pontypool Railway line across the River Wye at Monmouth Wales A further river crossing by the Ross and Monmouth Railway was later built nearby Monmouth ViaductCoordinates51 48 16 N 2 42 28 W 51 804475 N 2 707872 W 51 804475 2 707872CarriesColeford Monmouth Usk amp Pontypool RailwayCrossesRiver WyeLocaleMonmouth WalesOther name s Chippenham Meadow ViaductCharacteristicsMaterialRed Sandstone SteelTotal length183mHeight50mLongest span23mNo of spans20HistoryConstructed byKennards of CrumlinInaugurated1861 1861 Closed1964LocationThe Coleford Monmouth Usk amp Pontypool Railway was opened in 1857 running from Pontypool to Monmouth Troy The single track line was extended in 1861 to Wyesham Halt on the east side of the viaduct The bridge which was originally planned to carry the line onwards to Coleford However the line terminated at Wyesham and was not extended to Coleford as the Great Western Railway and West Midland Railway did not pursue the extension The bridge was not heavily used until 1876 when the Wye Valley Railway completed its line from Chepstow and south Wales In 1883 the Coleford Railway was constructed from Wyesham Junction to Coleford but was closed as being uneconomical in 1916 1 The viaduct was originally planned to be constructed of wood but the 1852 floods influenced the engineers to change to stone The building of the viaduct took exactly ten months It contains 9 000 cubic yards of masonry and 3 000 cubic yards of concrete Two arches form the 20m long eastern element of the structure The bridge was designed by Christopher Firbank and built by Kennards of Crumlin It was about 50 feet above the water and lay on two 150 foot girders resting on the stone arches Large crowds assembled to watch the bridge being put into place in 1861 2 Only the stone parts of the viaduct are extant today vteRailways in MonmouthLegendRoss amp Monmouth RailwayMonmouth MayhillDuke of Beaufort BridgeMonmouth TroyGoods YardRiver WyeMonmouth TroyMonmouth ViaductWyesham HaltColeford RailwayWye Valley RailwayMonmouth Troy tunnelRiver TrothyDingestowColeford Monmouth Uskand Pontypool RailwayContents 1 Duke of Beaufort Bridge 2 See also 3 Gallery 4 External links 5 ReferencesDuke of Beaufort Bridge editThe Ross and Monmouth Railway line opened in 1873 terminating at Monmouth Mayhill railway station A further single line and three span bridge of almost 300 feet was constructed to join the two Monmouth railway stations opening on 1 May 1874 It consists of 3 spans of steel lattice girders on paired steel tubular piers with squared rubble abutments 3 The main span is 46 metres long and the shorter spans are 18 metres each It was built by Edward Finch of Chepstow 1 The line between Monmouth Troy and Mayhill was closed on 6 January 1964 The R amp MR Duke of Beaufort Bridge remains in use as a footpath A Sustrans project aims to restore and redeck the bridge as part of improving local cycle connectivity 4 See also editList of crossings of the River WyeGallery edit nbsp Monmouth Viaduct structure today showing the missing river span nbsp View from the viaduct across the river nbsp The Duke of Beaufort Bridge now used as a footbridge nbsp Monmouth Viaduct left and Duke of Beaufort Bridge right nbsp View of Monmouth from South at Penallt with railway bridges and viaduct in the foreground External links editMonmouth Viaduct at forgottenrelics co uk Monmouth Viaduct at Coflein website Duke of Beaufort Bridge at Coflein websiteReferences edit a b Alan Crow Bridges on the River Wye Lapridge Publications 1995 ISBN 0 9518 5899 8 Page 138 140 Keith Kissack Victorian Monmouth The Monmouth Historical and Educational trust ISBN 0 9503386 2 1 page 169 Wye Bridge Hereford Ross And Gloucester Railway Monmouth Duke Of Beaufort Bridge Site Details Coflein Retrieved 17 January 2012 Monmouth local connections Sustrans Archived from the original on 1 January 2011 Retrieved 17 January 2012 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Monmouth Viaduct amp oldid 997393286 Duke of Beaufort Bridge, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
