The Glenfinnan Viaduct: Overlooked but Now Witnessing History

The Glenfinnan Viaduct, a part of the West Highland Line, was constructed between 1897 and 1901. However, it was not built by the original contractors Lucas and Aird, who had already moved south by the time the West Highland Railway Mallaig Extension (Guarantee) bill passed in 1896. The new contractors were Robert McAlpine & Sons, who were taken on with Simpson & Wilson as engineers.

Robert McAlpine & Sons was headed by Robert McAlpine, nicknamed 'Concrete Bob' for his innovative use of mass concrete. His son Robert, then aged 28, took charge of construction, with his younger son Malcolm appointed as assistant. Construction of the extension from Fort William to Mallaig began in January 1897, and the line opened on 1 April 1901. The Glenfinnan Viaduct, however, was complete enough by October 1898 to be used to transport materials across the valley.

The Glenfinnan Viaduct has 21 semicircular spans of 50 feet (15 m) and is the longest concrete railway bridge in Scotland at 416 yards (380 m). Although 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, it was in fact the Loch nan Uamh Viaduct where the remains were found.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons