More Info →The Belmont Viaduct: Wellington - Manawatu Line train bridge

This photograph shows the Belmont Viaduct. From www.grenadavillage.org.nz: "The original gigantic wooden span played an important role in developing early Wellington, as not only did it open up the city's northern boundaries, it also provided access to the 'hinterlands' of Horowhenua and Manawatu. The viaduct was constructed for the privately owned Wellington & Manawatu Railway Company in 1885 and was the largest wooden structure of its kind in New Zealand. It was at the time reputed to also be the largest wooden viaduct in the world, however this was later disproved as some spans in Canada were bigger. Its construction was regarded as being a marvel of engineering in its day and was an extraordinary and outstanding accomplishment for the time. The viaduct was 125 feet above the gully floor (equivalent to a 13 story building) and 341 feet long. The main uprights of the trestles and cross-spars were 14 inches by 14 inches of solid kauri, each 40-foot long. A total of 212,000 superficial feet of well-seasoned kauri timber was used. Most of the timber was milled up country and brought by sea into the Porirua harbour. Bullock teams then dragged them to the site. A total of 35 tons of wrought iron bolts, nuts, washers and fastening braces was used. The uprights stood on 14 concrete foundations in the gully with some of the piers sunk 20 feet into the bed of the stream. The Belmont Viaduct was described at the time as looking like a gigantic web, or the puzzle of a dreaming geometrician. The structure was designed by Mr. Harry P Higginson using the experience he had gained in Russia and India. It was then built by Mr. Morton Danaker, a Scandinavian specifically appointed for the construction. The viaduct was built in sections on the ground and the contractor achieved his greatest triumph by raising each structure section by section, as they were ready, by using a block and tackle arrangement."