bridge

Single-arch limestone railway bridge, built 1886, carrying Carrickmacross branch of Great Northern Railway over River Fane. Now disused. Splayed abutment walls, pilaster buttresses flanking arch to each elevation, having rusticated quoins. Tooled coping to parapets and abutments and tooled string course and impost course. Rock-faced rusticated snecked limestone to bridge walls and to external elevations of abutment walls, rubble limestone to interior elevations of abutment walls. Segmental-headed arch with archivolt formed of red brick laid in header courses, and red brick soffit.

The stonework in this piece of railway architecture is indicative of the quality and craftsmanship in stone-cutting and stone masonry which was prevalent in the closing decades of the nineteenth century. The large buttresses and heavy rustication provide an impression of strength and power, while the elegantly splayed abutment walls are a statement of aesthetic interest in the landscape. The Inishkeen–Carrickmacross branch of the Great Northern Railway was opened in 1886, the continued growth of the railway network reflecting its importance to the economy of the area. Although the embankment adjacent to this structure is no longer extant, it makes a strong impression on the surrounding landscape and is an important reminder of the industrial heritage of the area.