Inverness, Tomnahurich Swing Bridge over Caledonian Canal General view from east along the deck of the bridge, taken from its east end Digital image of D 64112

Description Inverness, Tomnahurich Swing Bridge over Caledonian Canal General view from east along the deck of the bridge, taken from its east end Digital image of D 64112

Date 30/3/1999

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

Catalogue Number SC 804870

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 64112

Scope and Content Tomnahurich Swing Bridge, Caledonian Canal, Inverness, Highland, from east This shows the deck of the swing bridge, designed by Crouch & Hogg and T Shirley Hawkins, which was built in 1938 by Sir William Arrol & Company. On either side of the roadway there are movable barriers with octagonal-shaped 'STOP' signs, which warn road users when the bridge is open. The top of the bridge's control cabin is just visible in the background. Increases in vehicle usage from the 1930s onwards meant that stronger and wider swing bridges replaced almost all the original drawbridges over the canal. The only 19th-century drawbridge remaining is Moy Swing Bridge, near Loch Lochy. The close proximity of this crossing to Inverness necessitated the replacement of the original drawbridge spanning the canal. 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.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/804870

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap