Inverness, Clachnaharry Railway Swing Bridge View looking west-south-west looking down the track over the railway swing bridge, which has been swung into the closed position over the sealock basin. V ...

Description Inverness, Clachnaharry Railway Swing Bridge View looking west-south-west looking down the track over the railway swing bridge, which has been swung into the closed position over the sealock basin. Visible beyond the bridge is Clachnaharry signal box and Dunolly to the left

Date 30/3/1999

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number D 64047

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 804821

Scope and Content Clachnaharry Railway Swing Bridge, Caledonian Canal, Inverness, Highland, from east-north-east This shows the swing bridge, built in 1909 for the Highland Railway, which replaced an 1862 movable bridge. Triangular base-plates reinforce the bridge's bowed and plated sides which are 38.4m long. The timber-faced signal box (background) warns trains when the swing bridge is open. The lock-keeper who was responsible for the adjacent lock probably occupied the two-storeyed building with the hipped roof to the left of the bridge. The Duke of Sutherland, a director of the Highland Railway, was a keen railway enthusiast who drove his own small tank engine along the line. This bridge was almost the cause of an accident involving the duke when he just managed to stop his locomotive by the railway signal which indicated that the bridge was open. He was then remonstrated for dangerous driving by the stationmaster of the nearby station who was one of his own employees. The Caledonian Canal was designed by Thomas Telford (1757-1834) and built between 1803 and 1822 at a cost of £840,000. It was the first example of a transport network funded by the government in Great Britain. The 96.5km-long canal provides a route for boats travelling between the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean as it runs from the Beauly Firth at Clachnaharry, Inverness, to Loch Linnhe at Corpach. Only 35.4km of this length is man-made while the other 61km runs through four lochs: Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy. Unfortunately, at 4.2m deep, the canal was too small for most sea-going ships which led to it being altered and deepened between 1844 and 1847. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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