Albion Viaduct : Notes Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Albion Viaduct

Bridge

37°44′53.0″S 144°50′43.8″E / 37.748056°S 144.845500°E / -37.748056; 144.845500CharacteristicsTotal length383 m (1,257 ft)Height55 m (180 ft)HistoryConstructed byVictorian Railways Construction BranchConstruction start1927^[1]Construction endJune 1929 (1929-06)Location Map

The Maribyrnong River Viaduct (also known locally as the Quarter Mile Bridge) carries the Albion–Jacana railway line across the Maribyrnong River in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. It is located near the E J Whitten Bridge, and is almost 400 metres long (hence the Quarter Mile name).

It was built in 1927–29 by the Victorian Railways Construction Branch, being the largest trestle bridge in Australia when completed in June, 1929.^[2] Until the completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the viaduct was also the highest railway bridge in Australia. It employed 200 people during its construction, with one fatality, and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.^[3]

With a length of 383 m (1,257 ft), and a height of 55 m (180 ft) above the water level,^[2] it is the second-highest bridge in Victoria after the West Gate Bridge, which is 58 metres high.

The main traffic over the bridge is freight services, but it also carries two passenger services, the Melbourne to Sydney NSW TrainLink XPT, and the Melbourne-Albury V/Line service which now runs on standard gauge.

An internal and external walkway spans the length of the bridge on both sides.

References

^ "Albion Viaduct: Beams Arriving for Big Railway Works". The Age. No. 22, 563. Victoria, Australia. 30 July 1927. p. 16. Retrieved 23 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^b Payne, Bruce, "Albion Viaduct on the Broadmeadows to Albion Line" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, May, 2003 p 186.
^ "Rail Bridge (Albion Viaduct), Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) Number H1197, Heritage Overlay HO107". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria.

Notes

City of Moonee Valley Gap Heritage Study
"The Railway Top 20!" (PDF). History Victoria. www.historyvictoria.org.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2008.
"Maribyrnong River Viaduct (listing VICH1197)". Australia Heritage Places Inventory. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Retrieved 8 August 2008.