Lyne Viaduct
| Lyne Viaduct | |
| Peeblesshire | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lyne skew viaduct | |
| Location | |
| Carrying: | Footpath |
| Crossing: | Lyne Water |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NT209400 |
| Location: | 55°38’50"N, 3°15’28"W |
| Structure | |
| Length: | 133 feet Main span: Three equal spans of 25 feet |
| Design: | Skew viaduct |
| Material: | Sandstone |
| History | |
| Built 1863 | |
| Information | |
Lyne Viaduct is a viaduct at Lyne in Peeblesshire. It consists of three stone skew arches crossing the Lyne Water and a plate girder approach span over a minor road.
The viaduct was built to carry the Symington to Peebles branch line of the Caledonian Railway over Lyne Water to the west of Peebles.[1] Now closed to rail traffic the bridge is used as a footpath.
History
The Symington, Biggar and Broughton Railway's extension to Peebles was authorised on 3 July 1860 but by the time construction was complete in 1863[2] the company had been absorbed by the much larger Caledonian Railway.[3] The bridge is smaller but of similar design to the nearby Neidpath Viaduct across the Tweed and it often confused with it.
Located just to the north of the River Tweed, the Lyne Viaduct was built to carry the Symington to Peebles branch line obliquely at a height of 24 feet over Lyne Water, close to its confluence with the Tweed and consists of three sandstone skew arches each of 25-foot span and laid with helicoid courses, and a plate girder approach span of 20 feet to the west. The total length of the structure is 133 feet. From the slender piers pilasters extend to parapet level and the parapet is capped by cast-iron railings.[1]
On 1 January 1923 ownership of the viaduct, along with the rest of the Caledonian Railway, passed to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and thence to British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. The line lost its regular passenger traffic on 5 June 1950 and closed completely on 7 June 1954 but the old rail line has been converted into a footpath, which uses the viaduct to cross the Lyne Water, and the Neidpath Viaduct to cross the River Tweed.[1]