Appleford Viaduct

The Reconstruction of Appleford Viaduct

    THE reconstruction of Appleford viaduct over the River Thames, between Didcot and Culham on the Didcot to Aynho line, has just been completed.
    The old structure was erected about 1860. It comprised two sepatate bridges side by side, having seven spans (two of 30-ft. 6-ins., and five of 41-ft. 3-ins.), of which four were over the river, and the remainder over the land at the river sides. The spans consisted of continuous wrought iron plate girders and timberv decking, strengthened by cross girders and rail bearers which were added in about 1878. The structure rested on cast-iron columns, 2-ft. 6-ins. diameter, filed with concrete. The foundations for the columns on theland consisted of brick piers: and those in the river were provided at the base with a screw flange, and the columns were screwed down into the river bed.
    In order to obviate single line working during the progress of the work, the new bridge was designed so that the down line portion should be built outside the existing bridge, and the up line portion on the site of the up line.
    A contract was let to Messrs. Jackman & Son, Ltd., of Slough, in December 1927, but owing to floods in the river, which covered the banks, it was not possible to make a start on the work until March 1928.
    The new bridge consists of four segmental brick arches of 18-ft. span each, on the Didcot side, a centre span of 167-ft. between bearings over the River Thames, and one segmental brick arch of 14-ft. span on the Oxford side. The centre span consists of steel lattice main girders supported on roller beraings, steel cross girders, and rail bearers, and has a steel plate floor.
    To facilitete the structural work, the contractors erected on the up river side of the bridge a lorge derrick crane, with a jib 100-ft. long, which enabled any part of the new structure to be reached with the crane.
    The brickwork in the new abutments, piers, and brick arches was built for the width of the new down line, the outside and centre main girders erected, and the superstructure completed for that side of the viaduct.
    The Company had previusly widened the embankments on both sides of the bridge, and the down line was slued to its new position on December 2 last. This enabled the contractors to dismantle and remove the old down line structure, to proceed with the construction of the remaining width of the brick arches, to erect the other outside main girders, and to complete the eraction of the remaining stelwork. The up line ws then slued over the new bridge (on March 24), and the old up line portion was dismantled and removed.
    The demolition of the old bridge was completed by the end of May. The whole of the work was supervised, on behalf of the Chief Engineer, by Mr. R.C.Kirkpatrick, the Company's divisional engineer at Paddington.

Views of the New Appleford Viaduct.