Neidpath Viaduct

Neidpath Viaduct
A handsome bridge, built from multiple semi-circular arches of buff sandstone spans the river in picturesque surroundings. Four of the piers are in the water and the helical courses of stone attest to its oblique construction. Atop the parapet is a cast iron railing. Neidpath skew viaduct, built to carry the Symington–Peebles branch line of the Caledonian Railway over the River Tweed
Coordinates
Carries	Footpath
Crosses	River Tweed
Locale	Neidpath, Borders
Other name(s)	Queen's Bridge
Characteristics
Design	Skew viaduct
Material	Sandstone
Height	32 feet (9.8 m)
Longest span	Eight equal spans of 32 feet 6 inches (9.91 m)
Number of spans	8
Piers in water	4
History
Designer	Robert Murray & George Cunningham
Construction end	1863
Opened	1864

Neidpath Viaduct, occasionally known as the Queen's Bridge, consists of eight stone skew arches and was built to carry the Symington to Peebles branch line of the Caledonian Railway over the River Tweed to the south-west of Neidpath Castle. Now closed to rail traffic the bridge is used as a footpath.

History

The Symington, Biggar and Broughton Railway's extension to Peebles was authorised on 3 July 1860 but by the time construction was complete the company had been absorbed by the much larger Caledonian Railway. The bridge was designed by Robert Murray, a local architect living in Peebles, and George Cunningham, Consultant Engineer to the Caledonian Railway, and built of sandstone ashlar blocks. All eight arches are semicircular, skewed and constructed with helical courses, crossing the Tweed obliquely with four of the piers in the water, and the whole structure is built on a graceful curve of radius 440 yards (400 m) so as to align the route with nearby Neidpath Tunnel, at the eastern end of the viaduct and to the south of Neidpath Castle. The similar but smaller Lyne Viaduct is located a little to the west and is often confused with this bridge. On 1 January 1923 ownership of the viaduct, along with the rest of the Caledonian Railway, passed to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and thence to the Scottish region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. The line lost its regular passenger traffic on 5 June 1950 and closed completely on 7 June 1954 but the Category A listed structure, one of the finest examples of skew arch construction in Scotland, remains as part of a footpath, the picturesque setting being popular with ramblers.

Gallery

The northern face of the viaduct showing the obliquity of the arches The northern face of the viaduct showing the obliquity of the arches  The southern face of the viaduct showing the helical courses of stone The southern face of the viaduct showing the helical courses of stone  The footpath across the viaduct from the western end with Neidpath Tunnel in the distance The footpath across the viaduct from the western end with Neidpath Tunnel in the distance  The footpath across the viaduct from the eastern end on a winter's day The footpath across the viaduct from the eastern end on a winter's day

See also

• List of places in the Scottish Borders
• List of places in Scotland