Archaeology Notes

Event ID 660469

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/660469

NH55NW 32 53996 55726

Location formerly cited as NH 53995 55724, and as from NH 53972 55809 to NH 54015 55667

For corresponding road bridge and footbridge (downstream, to the E), see NH55NW 39 and NH55NW 188 respectively.

(Location cited as NH 540 557). Railway viaduct, Conon Bridge, opened 1862 by the Inverness and Ross-shire Rly, engineer Joseph Mitchell. A 4-arch viaduct built on the skew. Most unusually, skewing is achieved by having each span built as four seperate, staggered narrow arches.

J R Hume 1977.

The foundation stone of this bridge was laid, by Miss MacKenzie of Seaforth, as early as November 1860 but it was the last of the major works of the Inverness and Ross-shire Rly to be completed; the section of the line between Inverness and Dingwall was opened on 11 June 1862. At the time of its completion, Mitchell believed it to have the largest arches of any skew bridge so far constructed.

H A Vallance 1985.

This stone viaduct was built (at a cost of £11,391) by Joseph Mitchell (designer) and Deakin & Co (contractors) to carry the Inverness and Ross-shire Rly across the River Conon on the skew, at an angle of 45 degrees. It measures 540 ft (164.6m) in total length and comprises five spans of 73 ft (22.3m) at a greatest height of 45 ft (13.7m). Stone construction was used in preference to the originally-intended iron on account of its local availability. The line opened on 11 June 1862 and is still in use.

M Smith 1994.

This viaduct carries the Inverness - Wick and Thurso ('Far North') line of the former Highland Rly over the River Conon, to the S of Maryburgh (NH55NW 41) and N of Conon Bridge (NH55NW 185). Although the entire span of the structure over the river falls within Fodderty parish, the S end of the structure falls within that of Urquhart and Logie Wester.

This viaduct is depicted, but not noted, on the 1992 edition of the OS 1:10.000 map. The location assigned to this record defines the centre of the structure, but the available map evidence indicates that it extends from NH c. 53972 55809 to NH c. 54015 55667.

Information from RCAHMS (RJCM), 5 April 2006.