30-671: The Glenfinnan Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan , Inverness-shire , Scotland, built from 1897 to 1901. Located at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Scottish Highlands , the viaduct overlooks the Glenfinnan Monument and the waters of Loch Shiel. The West Highland Railway was built to Fort William by Lucas and Aird , but there were delays with
60-543: A landscape, usually by bridging a river valley or other eroded opening in an otherwise flat area. Often such valleys had roads descending either side (with a small bridge over the river, where necessary) that become inadequate for the traffic load, necessitating a viaduct for "through" traffic. Such bridges also lend themselves for use by rail traffic, which requires straighter and flatter routes. Some viaducts have more than one deck, such that one deck has vehicular traffic and another deck carries rail traffic. One example of this
90-607: A repurposed rail viaduct provides a garden promenade on top and workspace for artisans below. The garden promenade is called the Coulée verte René-Dumont while the workspaces in the arches below are the Viaduc des Arts . The project was inaugurated in 1993. Manhattan's High Line , inaugurated in 2009, also uses an elevated train line as a linear urban park . In Indonesia viaducts are used for railways in Java and also for highways such as
120-539: A wooden (Teak) bodied vehicle was deemed unsafe to continue passenger operations, it was withdrawn from mainline service. It was followed in 1992 by Pullman car Raven , acquired at the same time as the others in the train. Dining Car 2 used to be 99131, an ex-LNER SC1999 coach named Victory . It was replaced by the Pullman car Swift , which was acquired in 2011 and converted by Assenta Rail in Scotland. On 9 August 2011,
150-545: Is 18 feet (5.5 m) wide between the parapets. The viaduct is built on a curve of 792 feet (241 m). The concrete used in the Glenfinnan Viaduct is mass concrete, which unlike reinforced concrete does not contain any metal reinforcement. It is formed by pouring concrete, typically using fine aggregate , into formwork , resulting in a material very strong in compression but weak in tension. The West Highland Line connects Fort William and Mallaig , and
180-627: Is a 19th-century derivation from an analogy with ancient Roman aqueducts . Like the Roman aqueducts , many early viaducts comprised a series of arches of roughly equal length. The longest viaduct in antiquity may have been the Pont Serme which crossed wide marshes in southern France. At its longest point, it measured 2,679 meters with a width of 22 meters. Viaducts are commonly used in many cities that are railroad hubs , such as Chicago, Birmingham, London and Manchester . These viaducts cross
210-472: Is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide valley, road, river, or other low-lying terrain features and obstacles. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via meaning "road", and ducere meaning "to lead". It
240-507: Is built across land rather than water, the space below the arches may be used for businesses such as car parking, vehicle repairs, light industry, bars and nightclubs. In the United Kingdom, many railway lines in urban areas have been constructed on viaducts, and so the infrastructure owner Network Rail has an extensive property portfolio in arches under viaducts. In Berlin the space under the arches of elevated subway lines ( S-Bahn )
270-908: Is the Prince Edward Viaduct in Toronto, Canada, that carries motor traffic on the top deck as Bloor Street , and metro as the Bloor-Danforth subway line on the lower deck, over the steep Don River valley . Others were built to span settled areas, crossing over roads beneath—the reason for many viaducts in London. Viaducts over water make use of islands or successive arches. They are often combined with other types of bridges or tunnels to cross navigable waters as viaduct sections, while less expensive to design and build than tunnels or bridges with larger spans, typically lack sufficient horizontal and vertical clearance for large ships. See
300-407: Is used for several different purposes, including small eateries or bars. Elevated expressways were built in major cities such as Boston ( Central Artery ), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seoul , Tokyo and Toronto ( Gardiner Expressway ). Some were demolished because they were unappealing and divided the city. In other cases, viaducts were demolished because they were structurally unsafe, such as
330-542: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel . The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed road-bridge that spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France. It opened in 2004 and is the tallest vehicular bridge in the world, with one pier's summit at 343 metres (1,125 ft). The viaduct Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge in China was the longest bridge in the world as of 2011 . Where a viaduct
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#1732772200426360-645: The Embarcadero Freeway in San Francisco, which was damaged by an earthquake in 1989. However, in developing nations such as Thailand ( Bang Na Expressway , the world's longest road bridge ), India ( Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway ), China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nicaragua, elevated expressways have been built and more are under construction to improve traffic flow, particularly as a workaround of land shortage when built atop surface roads. Other uses have been found for some viaducts. In Paris, France,
390-659: The Jakarta Inner Ring Road . In January 2019, the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle was closed and replaced with a tunnel after several decades of use because it was seismically unsafe. Royal Scotsman The Belmond Royal Scotsman is a Scottish overnight luxury train, started in 1985 by GS&WR (Great Scottish and Western Railway Co.), and run since 2005 by Belmond Ltd. Its itineraries include 2-, 3-, 4-, 5- or 7-night journeys around
420-531: The Scottish Highlands , visiting castles, distilleries and historic sites. Once each year, it also makes a 7-night journey around the whole of Great Britain . The first train was composed of Mark 1 sleeping cars and three vintage dining and lounge carriages. After the inauguration of the current train set in 1989, the vintage coaches have kept on running as the Queen of Scots charter train. For
450-726: The West Highland Railway Mallaig Extension (Guarantee) bill for the Mallaig Extension Railway in the House of Commons as the Tory and Liberal parties fought over the issue of subsidies for public transport. This Act did pass in 1896, by which time Lucas and Aird (and their workers) had moved south. New contractors were needed and Robert McAlpine & Sons were taken on with Simpson & Wilson as engineers. Robert McAlpine & Sons
480-619: The abandoning of the Single cabins is scheduled, for which one more replacement carriage, Pullman Kitchen First 315 Heron is foreseen. The train length is 675 feet (206 m) without locos. Until 2015, the Royal Scotsman motive power was provided by West Coast Railways , usually using Class 37, Class 47 or Class 57 diesel locomotives. For the 2016 season, the haulage contract was taken over by GB Railfreight . Two of their Class 66 locomotives, 66743 and 66746, being dedicated to
510-601: The coach was shipped to Mivan Marine in Antrim, where it was outfitted with two Bamford SPA rooms and 2 additional bedrooms (1 PRM Twin and 1 Double) with inter-connection. Upon completion the carriage was taken back to CRRES for final mechanical works and entry into the rolling stock library as 99337. The carriage entered service in September 2016. Following an announcement in March 2023, a new accommodation category, Grand Suite,
540-498: The large railroad yards that are needed for freight trains there, and also cross the multi-track railroad lines that are needed for heavy rail traffic. These viaducts provide grade separation and keep highway and city street traffic from having to be continually interrupted by the train traffic. Likewise, some viaducts carry railroads over large valleys, or they carry railroads over cities with many cross-streets and avenues. Many viaducts over land connect points of similar height in
570-680: The line. It is a popular tourist event in the area, and the viaduct is one of the major attractions of the line. The Royal Scotsman also operates on the line. Glenfinnan Viaduct has been used as a location in several films and television series, including Ring of Bright Water , Charlotte Gray , Monarch of the Glen , Stone of Destiny , The Crown , and four of the Harry Potter films . After its appearance in Harry Potter , British Transport Police had to warn fans not to walk on
600-451: The only two piers large enough to accommodate a horse. In 1997, on the basis of local hearsay, he investigated the Loch nan Uamh Viaduct by the same method but found the piers to be full of rubble. Using scanning technology in 2001, the remains of the horse and cart were found at Loch nan Uamh , within the large central pylon. In 2024, following more than six years of planning, repair work on
630-489: The second train batch the train's former owner acquired Pullman cars, which were built in 1960 by Metropolitan Cammell for the East Coast Main Line . This train consisted of four sleeping cars, two dining cars, and one observation car . The train's two dining cars have been replaced over the years. Dining Car 1, which used to be a Gresley kitchen car, was damaged in a shunting incident on depot and, as
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#1732772200426660-463: The structure began, with an expectation of the work completing in less than 12 months. The viaduct is built from mass concrete , and has 21 semicircular spans of 50 feet (15 m). It is the longest concrete railway bridge in Scotland at 416 yards (380 m), and crosses the River Finnan at a height of 100 feet (30 m). The West Highland Line it carries is single track , and the viaduct
690-512: The train hosted the very first wedding on an Orient Express train. Two former Mark 3 sleeping cars were added to the train in 1997 as service carriages, replacing two Mk1 coaches (99987 & 99966). One of them has also got double sleeping cabins. Belmond acquired another Pullman coach in 2015 from CRRES (West Coast Railway Co Ltd) and again employed Assenta Rail to undertake outfitting and project management in order to create "State car - SPA". After provisional mechanical and body works at CRRES
720-784: The train. These were repainted into Belmond Royal Scotsman maroon livery with appropriate decals in April/May 2016, the work being carried out by Arlington Fleet Services at Eastleigh Works in Hampshire. 66746 appeared first, being released on 11 April with 66743 following on 30 May. The train was a definite inspiration for Belmond's other luxury service Grand Hibernian which entered in service in August 2016 for trips in Ireland and Northern Ireland but ceased in February 2021. The train
750-550: The viaduct after a handful of near misses with trains had occurred. It is also featured in the 2018 video game Forza Horizon 4 . The Glenfinnan Viaduct features on some Scottish banknotes. The 2007 series of notes issued by the Bank of Scotland depicts different bridges in Scotland as examples of Scottish engineering, and the £10 note features the Glenfinnan Viaduct. Sources [REDACTED] Media related to Glenfinnan Viaduct at Wikimedia Commons Viaduct A viaduct
780-532: Was a crucial artery for the local fishing industry and the Highland economy in general, which suffered enormously after the Highland Clearances of the 1800s. The line is used by passenger trains operated by ScotRail between Glasgow Queen Street and Mallaig, with Class 153 and Class 156 diesel multiple units . In the summer, West Coast Railways operates The Jacobite steam train along
810-404: Was complete enough by October 1898 to be used to transport materials across the valley. It was built at a cost of £ 18,904. A long-established legend attached to the Glenfinnan Viaduct was that a horse had fallen into one of the piers during construction in 1898 or 1899. In 1987, Professor Roland Paxton failed to find evidence of a horse at Glenfinnan using a borescope inserted into boreholes in
840-512: Was headed by Robert McAlpine , nicknamed "Concrete Bob" for his innovative use of mass concrete . Concrete was used due to the difficulty of working the hard schist in the area. McAlpine's son Robert, then aged 28, took charge of construction, with his younger son Malcolm appointed as assistant. Construction of the extension from Fort William to Mallaig began in January 1897, and the line opened on 1 April 1901. The Glenfinnan Viaduct, however,
870-550: Was launched in May 2024. Similar to their namesakes on the Venice-Simplon Orient Express , the two compartments feature double beds and a drawing saloon with a sofa. For this a new State Car 1 was converted from another Pullman car, Kitchen First 316 Magpie . It replaced the previous State Car 1 (ex Pullman Parlour First 324 Amber ) in late April 2024. For 2025, the introduction of two more Grand Suites and
900-570: Was made of Irish Mark 3 carriages, including five sleeping cars , two restaurant cars and an observation car , featuring a very similar composition and carriage layouts like the Royal Scotsman. The carriages have left Ireland in 2022, and Belmond planned to relocate the train to a new place inside Europe. It has been realized in shape of the new service Britannic Explorer , which will have its first ride in July 2025, featuring round trips from London to Cornwall , Wales and The Lake District . Like
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