Avon Viaduct, Linlithgow
The Avon Viaduct is a railway viaduct near Linlithgow, in West Lothian, Scotland. Completed in 1841, it spans the River Avon just to the west of town.
Design
The Avon Viaduct consists of 20 segmental arches, each with a span of, along with three smaller, round-headed, approach arches on eastern side, all in dressed cream sandstone. It crosses the River Avon and a minor road It reaches a height of above the river and is long. It has prominent impost bands, resembling cornices, from which the arches spring, string courses above the arch crowns, and terminates in a low brick parapet. The engineer, John Miller, built many of his viaducts with hollow spandrels which later required reinforcement. On the Avon Viaduct, the reinforcement was done with radial bracing made from former rails. In the 1960s, the spandrels were filled with concrete.History
Miller built the viaduct for the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway. Work took place from 1839 to 1841. It remains in use, carrying the Glasgow–Edinburgh via Falkirk line.The viaduct is a Category A listed building, first listed in 1971, and a scheduled monument. Both statuses provide legal protection. It straddles the border between the West Lothian and Falkirk Council areas, so has two Historic Environment Scotland listings.
There is another Avon Viaduct located south-west of Linlithgow; this Category B listed structure was built for the Monkland Railways and is now disused. To distinguish it from the older viaduct it is usually referred to by the alternative name of Westfield Viaduct.