Meldon Viaduct

Meldon Viaduct
Meldon Viaduct in 2010
Coordinates50°42′47″N 4°02′03″W / 50.71297°N 4.03404°W / 50.71297; -4.03404
CarriesThe Granite Way cycle & walkway
CrossesWest Okement River
LocaleDartmoor
OwnerMeldon Viaduct Company Ltd
Heritage statusScheduled monument
Characteristics
DesignWarren trusses on lattice trestles
MaterialWrought iron
Total length535 ft (163 m)
WidthDouble-track standard gauge rail
Height151 ft (46 m)
No. of spans6
History
Engineering design byW. R. Galbraith
Opened12 October 1874
Closed1990
Location
Map

Meldon Viaduct is a disused railway viaduct crossing the West Okement River at Meldon, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-west of Okehampton, on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon, South West England. This truss bridge was constructed from wrought iron, instead of stone or brick arches. It opened in 1874 for a single track; in 1879 its width was doubled for a second track. Although regular services were withdrawn in 1968, the bridge was used for shunting by a local quarry. In the 1990s the remaining single track was removed.

The crossing is now used by the Granite Way, a cycle track skirting Dartmoor. It is a scheduled monument, and is one of only two surviving railway bridges in the United Kingdom that use wrought iron lattice piers to support wrought iron trusses.