Built Infrastructure
Landmark Australian Railway Infrastructure
Lines and Tracks
Railway Tunnels
Railway Spirals
Level Crossings
Turntables
Grain Silos
Australian Towns and Their Railway Stations
Railway Towns
Bridges and Viaducts
The bridges and viaducts featured here are all in current use. For abandoned bridges and viaducts, click here.
The Bridges of Lithgow, NSW
When the Engineer-in-Charge for the New South Wales Government Railways, John Whitton, built the first railway across the Blue Mountains, budget restraints demanded he use local sandstone instead of iron and steel for the line's bridges. As a result, the Lithgow area is home to the finest collection of sandstone viaducts, bridges and culverts in the country.
Lattice wrought iron railway bridges of New South Wales
There were twelve lattice wrought iron railway bridges on the NSW railway network built between 1871 and 1887. The earlier ones, which include Albury (Murray River), Dubbo (Macquarie River), Wellington (Macquarie River), Cowra (Lachlan River), Narrandra (Murrumbidgee River) and Wagga Wagga (Murrumbidgee River) - the second oldest bridge out of the twelve - had closer spaced lattice and the cross girders were still framed into the side of the bottom of the main member. These iconic bridges are all heritage listed.
Flinders Street Railway Viaduct, Vic
The Flinders Street Railway Viaduct, which carries of six tracks of varying ages along the Yarra River foreshore, links Flinders Street Station to Southern Cross Station and forms the main link between the eastern and western parts of the Victorian rail network. The viaduct takes a twisted path alongside the Yarra River in the heart of Melbourne's Central Business District.
Malmsbury Viaduct, Vic
The nearby Malmsbury viaduct was a significant technical accomplishment for its time. This bridge has five 18.3 metre spans, is about 25 metres high, and carries two railway tracks over the Coliban River at Malmsbury. It is still one of Australia’s finest early bridges. When completed it was the largest masonry bridge built in Australia, exceeding the bridge at Perth, Tasmania (1839, 88m), which no longer exists.
Goongoonup Bridge, East Perth, WA
Goongoonup Bridge replaced thhe original Bunbury Bridge, a single line timber railway bridge which took the railway line across the Swan River at East Perth near where Claise Brook enters the river. It carried the Armadale line, and was opened to traffic on 2nd May 1889. The original stations were Perth, Kelmscott and Armadale. Cannington and Welshpool opened later in 1897 and 1898 repectively.
Deloraine Railway Bridge, Deloraine, Tas
The single track Deloraine railway bridge was completed in February 1885, and is at the western extremity of the original line from Launceston to Deloraine (opened 1871) built by Tasmanian Main Line Railway Company. If you are in town early morning or late afternoon, you can still see a goods train on its way to Devonport or Burnie passing over the bridge.
Fortescue River Rail Bridge, Pilbara, WA
In Western Australia's Pilbara region, the Mining company Rio Tinto owns and operates one of the largest privately-owned railways in the world. One of several of their lines crosses the Fortescue River Rail Bridge, one of the biggest Railway Bridges in Australia. The bridge on the Robe River Deepdale line has a 360 metre span across the Fortescue river. The Fortescue Catchment area drains from the southern side of the Chichester Plateau and the northern side of the Hamersley Range making use of the trough between the two. The valley plains are composed of earthy clays with some cracking clays, loams and hard red soils.
Stonequarry Creek railway viaduct, NSW
The Stonequarry Creek railway viaduct was built for the Picton to Goulburn railway extension, 1862-1869. John Whitton had been denied funds to continue with the expensive wrought iron girder bridges, so he then chose the stone arch viaduct for his major bridge works. The former at Menangle cost £94,562 whereas the Stonequarry Creek viaduct cost £10,437. It has proved to be a most cost-effective structure.
Murray River Bridge, Murray Bridge, SA
The construction of the first Railway Bridge across the Murray River was a crucial influence in the growth of the town of Murray Bridge, one of South Australia's important rural centres. The railway working party reached Murray Bridge in 1884 with the first train arriving on 26th December, 1885. The railway line across the river was placed in the middle of the road bridge.
Stoney Creek Trestle Bridge, Kuranda, Qld
The disused Wonthaggi railway line was developed as a branch off the main South Gippsland line in Victoria, branching off at Nyora in 1910. It's main purpose was to serve the coal mining areas around Wonthaggi. The line actually extended a short distance beyond Wonthaggi to the mining area. The line included a number of bridges, the most spectacular of which was at Kilcunda. The trestle bridge, built in 1910 over the beach on the down side of the former station, is used as part of the rail trail.
Albert Railway Bridge, Indooroopilly
Completed in 1895, the second Albert Railway Bridge, Qld, is a steel truss bridge, and is the ninth crossing of the Brisbane River. It was built next to the Indooroopilly Bridge (1998) and the Walter Taylor Bridge (1936) and replaced the original Albert Railway Bridge. The first train line from Ipswich to Sherwood ran on 5th October 1874 and was extended to Oxley Point with the building of the first cross-river railway bridge at the narrow section of the Brisbane River between Chelmer and Indooroopilly. It was washed away in the 1893 flood, and replaced by the current bridge.
Bremer River Bridge, Ipswich
Ipswich's first railway bridge was constructed in 1863 and it quickly positioned the City as the hub of transport and communication in the region. The railway bridge was a key factor in the City's early prosperity, so it's fitting that it provides the design inspiration for a public artwork that celebrates Ipswich's exciting future. The construction of a new railway bridge upstream and parallel to the original bridge was commenced in 1896. The second bridge was duplicated in 1913-1915 with stronger spans to allow for 15 ton axle loads. Additional supporting piers were built for this bridge. The trusses used were also more substantial than the earlier bridge to carry the additional loading. This bridge is the only remaining railway connection to the Ipswich Railway Workshops.
Merivale Bridge, Brisbane, Qld
The Merivale Bridge, a steel tied-arch with a cable suspended deck, is the seventh crossing of the Brisbane River. Crossing the Milton Reach to the west of the William Jolly Bridge, it is exclusively a railway crossing that occurs between the stations of South Brisbane and Roma Street. The location of the bridge just upstream of another bridge and a 90 degree bend in the Brisbane River dictated a long span bridge to cater for the coral and coal barges of up to 5,000 tonnes weight using the river. The arch ribs and the horizontal ties joining the arch springings were fabricated by welding in segmental boxes using high ductility medium high strength steel and were field-jointed by high tensile steel bolts. The main span is 133 metres long and the deck is suspended from the arches by thirty-two 94.5 mm diameter steel rope bridge cables.
Big Hill Cutting, Hill Top, NSW
Big Hill Cutting which runs through Saddleback Ridge between Balmoral and Hill Top was once the deepest cutting in Australia at 24m, (Bethungra, NSW and Windmill Hill, WA are deeper). Originally planned as a tunnel on a gradient of 1 in 33, it instead had to be a cutting, because in a tunnel the smoke belching from the steam engines on the upward climb would have suffocated train crews and passengers.