BARMOUTH BRIDGE AND HARBOUR - WALES

The Barmouth railway and pedestrian bridge was built in 1867. The original structure had a drawbridge, where a section of the bridge was winched back onto the northern side of the bridge. This was before the swing bridge was inserted in 1901.The bridge has a section that swings 90 degrees to allow ships with tall masts passage from up river to the open sea and vice versa. There is no such sailboat traffic today and the new harbour is on the seaward side of the bridge so the swinging section is only opened once a year for maintenance purposes. The bridge is generally supposed to be a half mile long. It is a great walk with one of the best views of the estuary around and good fishing. 

The viaduct is almost 900 metres in length. It consists of 113 wooden spans and four metal spans at the Barmouth end. The metal section, originally of iron, was opened whenever a ship needed to pass. Steel spans were installed here in 1899.

The structure was closed to trains from 1980 to 1986 for repairs. A species of marine worm had bored holes in many of the piles, which are now protected by concrete and glass fibre.