Meudon Viaduct

File:Paris-Versailles RG.jpg

After extensive studies, a design by the Polonceau-Seguin group was selected, with {{Interlanguage link|Antoine-Rémy Polonceau|fr|Antoine Rémy Polonceau}} as the engineer, Marc Seguin and his brothers as architects, and Payen as the inspector.{{Cite book |last=Perdonnet |first=Auguste |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z0bWAAAAMAAJ |title=Traité élémentaire des chemins de fer |trans-title=Elementary Treatise on Railways |publisher=Paris |year=1855 |volume=1 |language=fr |access-date=March 27, 2025}}

The ambitious project aimed to overcome the natural barrier of the valley with a grand viaduct. The foundation stone was laid on October 1, 1838, by the Duke of Orléans. On September 9, 1840, the railway structure was inaugurated by Louis Philippe I, King of the French—though he reportedly did not enjoy train travel. The viaduct was later named Hélène Bridge in honor of Hélène de Mecklembourg-Schwerin, Duchess of Orléans and wife of the heir, Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orléans. Despite local opposition in Meudon, construction was completed by September 1840, and commercial operations began on November 10, 1840.

File:Viaduc de Meudon lors de sa construction.jpg

File:Tr1pvrg.jpg

In Voyage pittoresque sur le chemin de fer de Paris à Versailles, the viaduct is described as follows:{{Cite book |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6441885f.texteImage |title=En chemin de fer de Paris à Versailles par la rive gauche, de 1840 à nos jours |publisher=Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Meudon |year=1990 |location=Meudon |language=fr |trans-title=By Railway from Paris to Versailles via the Left Bank, from 1840 to the Present |type=Exhibition catalog}}

{{Quote|This viaduct, as remarkable for the elegance of its architecture as for the striking scale of its proportions, consists of two tiers of superimposed arches, each tier comprising seven arches. The lower arches have an opening of {{convert|7|m|ft}} between the abutments and a height of {{convert|7|m|ft}} to the keystone. The upper arches feature a {{convert|10|m|ft}} opening and a keystone height of {{convert|20|m|ft}}. The piers separating the arches are {{convert|3|m|ft}} thick. The viaduct, flanked by abutments, has a total length of {{convert|142.7|m|ft}}. Its height above ground reaches {{convert|36|m|ft}}, though this is reduced to an apparent {{convert|31|m|ft}} due to an embankment leveling the valley transversely. The foundation stone of this magnificent monument—reminiscent of the great Roman aqueducts and named Hélène Bridge in honor of the Duchess of Orléans—was laid on October 1, 1838, in the presence of notable figures including Auguste Léo (administrator-general and banker), Payen and Perdonnet (chief engineers), Lieutenant-General Jacqueminot, the Marquis de Dreux Brézé (peer of France), deputies Teste and Benoît Fould, Achille Fould, the Baron de Mecklembourg, Baron Philippe-François-Didier Usquin (Versailles municipal councilor), Count Perthuis (staff captain), and Talabot, all members of the board of the Paris-to-Versailles Left Bank Railway Company.}}Special attention was paid to the viaduct's foundations, which xtend between {{convert|20|and|25|m|ft}} underground to reach the chalk layer, significantly increasing the project's cost.{{Cite book |last=Perdonnet |first=Auguste |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7SVzT3f5fo0C |title=Nouveau portefeuille de l'ingénieur des chemins de fer |trans-title=New Railroad Engineer's Portfolio |date=1857 |publisher=Eugène Lacroix |pages=254 |language=fr}}

The arrival of the railway transformed Meudon. Bellevue, a residential area developed around 1824, expanded rapidly. The railway's route was partly designed to serve this emerging district, making it easier for Parisians—who already appreciated the village's charm—to visit on Sundays or settle there. Just a few hundred meters from the viaduct, the Meudon rail disaster occurred on May 8, 1842.

Nearly a century later, in 1936, the viaduct underwent significant modernization during the doubling oef the railway tracks. Its silhouette was subtly altered with reinforcements to the abutments and piers, and a cantilever deck was added to accommodate the expansion.{{Cite web |date=March 2006 – September 2007 |title=Par terre, par eau et par rail, les transports à Meudon |trans-title=By Land, Water, and Rail: Transport in Meudon |url=http://www.meudon.fr/documents/Images/Decouvrir_Meudon/archives_municipales/catalogue-Transports.pdf |access-date=March 27, 2025 |website=meudon.fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724051549/http://www.meudon.fr/documents/Images/Decouvrir_Meudon/archives_municipales/catalogue-Transports.pdf |archive-date=24 July 2013 |language=fr |type=Exhibition catalog }}

At the request of Meudon’s municipality, which sought to highlight its heritage, the Communauté d'agglomération Arc de Seine illuminated the Hélène Bridge to enhance its visibility and prominence.{{Cite web |last=Collet |first=Émeline |date=February 19, 2017 |title=Patrimoine en Ile-de-France : Meudon, l'autre musée Rodin |trans-title=Heritage in Ile-de-France: Meudon, the other Rodin museum |url=https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/sortir-region-parisienne/patrimoine-en-ile-de-france-meudon-l-autre-musee-rodin-17-02-2017-6688590.php |access-date=March 27, 2025 |website=leparisien.fr |language=fr-FR}}

File:Pt1meu.jpg|{{Center|Meudon Viaduct
(19th-century engraving)}}

File:Viaduc-de-Meudon.jpg|{{Center|Meudon Viaduct in the early 20th century
(the Invalides line is visible to the right)}}

File:Viaduc-de-Meudon-début XX.jpg|{{Center|Meudon Viaduct at the end of the 19th or early 20th century}}

File:Viaduc de Meudon-1935.jpg|Modifications under the Marquet Plan in 1935.

File:CLC 1 - VAL-FLEURY - Panorama du Val.jpg|View of the viaduct from the Invalides–Versailles-Rive-Gauche line in the early 20th century.

• Meudon
• Hauts-de-Seine

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book |title=En chemin de fer de Paris à Versailles par la rive gauche, de 1840 à nos jours |trans-title=By Railway from Paris to Versailles via the Left Bank, from 1840 to the Present |publisher=Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Meudon |year=1990 |location=Meudon |language=fr |type=Exhibition catalog|url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6441885f.texteImage}}

• {{Cite web |title=Meudon Viaduct |url=http://fr.structurae.de/structures/data/index.cfm?ID=s0002858 |website=structurae.de}}
• {{Cite web |title=Par terre, par eau et par rail, les transports à Meudon |trans-title=By Land, Water, and Rail: Transport in Meudon |url=http://www.meudon.fr/documents/Images/Decouvrir_Meudon/archives_municipales/catalogue-Transports.pdf |access-date=March 27, 2025 |website=meudon.fr |type=Exhibition catalog |date=March 2006 – September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724051549/http://www.meudon.fr/documents/Images/Decouvrir_Meudon/archives_municipales/catalogue-Transports.pdf |archive-date=24 July 2013 }}

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Category:Buildings and structures in Hauts-de-Seine

Category:19th-century architecture in France

Category:Bridges completed in 1840

Category:History of Île-de-France