March 2011 (-27.469 deg., 153.013 deg.) Merivale Railway Bridge
A closer view of the Merivale Railway Bridge. We are looking back downstream with the William Jolly Bridge in the background. From this view we can see two inclined cables from the arch come together at each anchorage on the bottom chord. Perhaps such a stout arrangement is necessary for a bridge carrying two sets of railroad tracks? I wonder if two trains are allowed on the bridge at the same time? We had to take a bus back to Sydney, because they said there was only one set of tracks for passenger rail between Casino and Brisbane. Perhaps the other track has a wider gauge for freight trains.
The ends of the tied arch rest on simple concrete abutments with steel bearings. Although this is an attractive bridge, it appears that there is less architectural details than the road and pedestrian bridges across the Brisbane River.
I wonder where the name Merivale originates? I see restaurants and towns in New Zealand, Canada, and Great Britain named Merivale, but I never found where it comes from. |
The State of Queensland predominately runs narrow gauge lines (3'6") and the state of New South Wales runs standard gauge (4'8.5").
ReplyDeleteSo a duel gauge line runs from Roma Street station (just north of this bridge) to Acacia Ridge to join the inter-state freight line (standard gauge) - solely for the XPT passenger trains. But not all the XPT trains make it to queensland so there is a connecting bus service.
Reddog