Irlam viaduct photographed from Irlam Locks on 11 June 2015.
This bridge carries the main Liverpool-Manchester Railway line over the Manchester Ship Canal, the bridge was built by the Cheshire Lines Committee Railway (CLC) and opened to freight traffic in January 1893 and to passenger traffic in March 1893.
The centre span is 37m long and 23m above the water and the original steelwork for the viaduct was manufactured in Glasgow by Sir William Arrol and Co, the centre of the bridge having 550 tons of steel in its main span.
The approach to the main span of the bridge on each side was originally by brick arches but by June 1893 the main structural piers had started to move and cracks had started to appear. In October 1893 the piers were propped and the decision was made to replace the arches with the horizontal steelwork you can see either side of the main span today, the work was undertaken whilst keeping the bridge open and completed in May 1895.
This bridge carries the main Liverpool-Manchester Railway line over the Manchester Ship Canal, the bridge was built by the Cheshire Lines Committee Railway (CLC) and opened to freight traffic in January 1893 and to passenger traffic in March 1893.
The centre span is 37m long and 23m above the water and the original steelwork for the viaduct was manufactured in Glasgow by Sir William Arrol and Co, the centre of the bridge having 550 tons of steel in its main span.
The approach to the main span of the bridge on each side was originally by brick arches but by June 1893 the main structural piers had started to move and cracks had started to appear. In October 1893 the piers were propped and the decision was made to replace the arches with the horizontal steelwork you can see either side of the main span today, the work was undertaken whilst keeping the bridge open and completed in May 1895.
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