The history of Scotland's longest concrete railway bridge

The Glenfinnan Viaduct, part of the West Highland Line, was constructed from 1897 to 1901; an oddity being that the initial contractors, Lucas and Aird, had already bid adieu when the West Highland Railway Mallaig Extension (Guarantee) bill was ratified in 1896. Robert McAlpine & Sons, with Simpson & Wilson as engineers, took over the project. Robert McAlpine, nicknamed "Concrete Bob" for his innovative use of mass concrete, headed the firm.

Robert McAlpine's son Robert, then aged 28, took charge of construction, with his younger son Malcolm appointed as assistant. From January 1897, the extension from Fort William to Mallaig was set in motion, culminating in an opening ceremony on 1 April 1901. The Glenfinnan Viaduct, however, was complete enough by October 1898 to be used to transport materials across the valley.

This grand viaduct features 21 semi-circular spans of 50 feet (15 m) length, making it Scotland's longest concrete railway bridge, spanning an impressive 416 yards (380 m). A long-established legend attached to the Glenfinnan Viaduct was that a horse had fallen into one of the piers during construction in 1898 or 1899. While no evidence was found at Glenfinnan, the remains of a horse and cart were later discovered in the Loch nan Uamh Viaduct using scanning technology.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons