Throughout NSW 

Location: Iron Lattice Girder Railway Bridges

Threat:     Deterioration and destruction

Significance of Place

This group of 11 similar iron lattice girder under-bridges comprise a significant set of structures built between 1871 and1886, to similar designs with spans 48.6m in length. A twelfth similar bridge was built north of Aberdeen station in 1871 and demolished in 1982.

The bridges are a unique set of structures in Australian railway operation and most are in regular use, except those noted *. They are typical of the style of structure in use for long-span bridges in the 1870s, and similar designs could be seen in many road bridges, some parallelling the adjacent railway structure. In most cases, the approach spans to the main girder bridges have more recently been replaced with steel to reduce maintenance and carry heavier train-loads, but this has not detracted from the overall appearance of the river spans.

They are a significant reminder of a type of construction overtaken by the use of steel, as stronger bridges were needed for heavier and faster trains. Most are located in attractive positions close to the towns whose name they carry and so since construction, they have become part of the community’s built landscape.

Description of Threat

All of these lattice girder bridges must be considered to be under threat as their maintenance is much higher than modern welded girder bridges. In the case of Wagga Wagga and Albury, the rail lines need to carry faster and heavier traffic than they were designed for, although the floor structures have been upgraded. Depending upon funding, it is anticipated that the Rail Infrastructure Authority (or SRA) would have them all on a short list for replacement.

A further threat to their existence once rail traffic is moved to a new bridge, would be from debris during a flood. It is known that the RTA does not favour retention of historic structures where their presence would prevent the free flow of floodwaters and debris, which may compromise a modern structure.

Any new rail bridge would be parallel to the existing structure and in the case of Wagga Wagga, this has already been presented to the Trust. A new bridge would be so close as to compromise the view and indeed the existence of the old bridge. The double track structures at Albury and Meadowbank are quite significant, heralding the move to two railway lines in busy areas and expanding the use of the technology to the point where its continued use may have been inappropriate. In the case of Albury, however, the speed of trains is constrained by the approaches from both directions, which require the trains to significantly slow down, thus providing some reduction in stresses to the bridge structure.

Action Required

Preservation of the bridges (in use or preserved), continued maintenance and restoration, as well as publicity about their existence accompanied by public awareness and listing by the Trust, the NSW Heritage Council and the Australian Heritage Commission.

Railway iron lattice truss girder under-bridges as follows:

Name River # of tracks Opened # of Spans Rail distance to Sydney Distance to named station

Albury Murray Double line 1883 2 648.6 2.2km S

Bathurst Macquarie Single line 1876 3 239.1 800m E

Como * Georges Single line 1885 6 21.0 (app) 1.6km N

Cowra Lachlan Single line 1886 32km S (app)

Dubbo Macquarie Single line 1882 3 462.8 500m N

Meadowbank * Parramatta Double line 1886 6 18.2 (app) 1.0km S

Narrandera * Murrumbidgee Single line 1884 S

Tamworth Peel Single line 1882 1 454.1 2.0 S

Wagga Wagga Murrumbidgee Single line 1879 4 519.5 1.6km N

Wellington Macquarie Single line 1881 3 142.8 1km N

Woolbrook Macdonald Single line 1882 1 510.2 700m N

* No longer in railway use: Como used for water pipes and footpath

Meadowbank proposed for footpath

Narrandera is closed to railway traffic