Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders
Date 2007
Event ID 588946
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/588946
This structure is fine example of a large masonry viaduct constructed on a curve with skewed spans. It crosses the Teviot at a height of about 70 ft and was built in 1849–50 by the North British Railway to connect the Edinburgh Waverley line at St Boswells with Kelso. The viaduct’s 14 segmental arches include six skewed
spans of about 46 ft 9 in. (measured on the square) built in coursed rusticated stonework with framed ashlar
pilasters. These skew arches are flanked by four 30 ft straight approach spans built of coursed rubble. The engineer was John Miller and the resident engineer, G. Glennie.
On the north side of the viaduct four piers are extended at a low level above the river to support an iron truss footbridge with three clear spans varying from 49 ft to 52 ft. Each span is simply supported by 4 ft deep bowstring trusses at each side of the deck. The upper chord of the truss is a 5 in. by 1 in. thick flat bar and the tension member is a 112 in. diameter wrought-iron rod. The rod was tensioned by tightening its end nut against the bulbous flat bar end through which it passes. This footbridge also dates from ca.1850 and was almost certainly made and erected by C. D. Young & Co. The railway began operation on 17 June 1850 and was closed in 1968. The viaduct has been recently refurbished and now forms part of The Borders Abbeys Pedestrian Way from Kelso to Jedburgh.
R Paxton and J Shipway 2007
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering Heritage: Scotland - Lowlands and Borders' with kind permission from Thomas Telford Publishers.
