Neidpath Viaduct
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name = Neidpath Viaduct
|other_name = Queen's Bridge
|image = Neidpath viaduct (1).jpg
|image_size = 250px
|alt = A handsome bridge, built from multiple semi-circular arches of buff sandstone spans the river in picturesque surroundings. Four of the piers are in the water and the helical courses of stone attest to its oblique construction. Atop the parapet is a cast iron railing.
|caption = Neidpath skew viaduct, built to carry the Symington–Peebles branch line of the Caledonian Railway over the River Tweed
|official_name =
|carries = Footpath
|crosses = River Tweed
|locale = Neidpath, Borders
|maint =
|id =
|designer = Robert Murray & George Cunningham
|design = Skew viaduct
|material = Sandstone
|spans = 8
|pierswater = 4
|mainspan = Eight equal spans of {{convert|32|ft|6|in|m}}
|length =
|width =
|height = {{convert|32|ft|m}}
|load =
|clearance =
|below =
|traffic =
|begin =
|complete = 1863
|open = 1864
|preceded =
|followed =
|heritage =
|collapsed =
|closed =
|toll =
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|coordinates = {{coord|55|38.92|N|3|13.22|W|region:GB_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|lat =
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}}
Neidpath Viaduct, occasionally known as the Queen's Bridge,{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst18746.html |title=Neidpath Viaduct (Queen's Bridge)|publisher=Gazetteer for Scotland|accessdate=17 August 2009}} consists of eight stone skew arches and was built to carry the Symington to Peebles branch line of the Caledonian Railway over the River Tweed to the south-west of Neidpath Castle. Now closed to rail traffic the bridge is used as a footpath.
History
The Symington, Biggar and Broughton Railway's extension to Peebles was authorised on 3 July 1860 but by the time construction was complete the company had been absorbed by the much larger Caledonian Railway.{{cite web|url=http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/131260/details/peebles+to+symington+junction+railway+neidpath+viaduct/|title=Peebles To Symington Junction Railway, Neidpath Viaduct|publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland|accessdate=17 August 2009}} The bridge was designed by Robert Murray, a local engineer living in Peebles, and George Cunningham, Consultant Engineer to the Caledonian Railway, and built of sandstone ashlar blocks. All eight arches are semicircular, skewed and constructed with helical courses, crossing the Tweed obliquely with four of the piers in the water, and the whole structure is built on a graceful curve of radius {{convert|440|yd|m}} so as to align the route with nearby Neidpath Tunnel, at the eastern end of the viaduct and to the south of Neidpath Castle. In addition to the curve, the level of the trackbed falls approximately 6 feet (1.8 m) from west to east. The similar but smaller Lyne Viaduct is located a little to the west and is often confused with this bridge.{{cite web|url=http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/145553/details/lyne+viaduct/|title=Lyne Viaduct|publisher=Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland|accessdate=23 August 2009}} On 1 January 1923 ownership of the viaduct, along with the rest of the Caledonian Railway, passed to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and thence to the Scottish region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. The line lost its regular passenger traffic on 5 June 1950 and closed completely on 7 June 1954.
Since 1971, the viaduct has been protected by Historic Environment Scotland as a Category A listed building, noted as one of the finest examples of skew arch construction in Scotland.{{cite web |title=NEIDPATH RAILWAY VIADUCT (NEAR NEIDPATH CASTLE) (LB15206) |url=http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB15206 |website=Historic Environment Scotland |access-date=17 December 2023}} In 2011, HES placed the viaduct on its Buildings at Risk Register, with a risk category of "moderate". Its report noted that the structure was beginning to decay badly in places, mentioning localised stone failures, extensive plant growth and water seepage. It also said that the iron balustrades were beginning to warp and twist on their base stones.{{cite web |title=Neidpath Railway Viaduct, Over River Tweed, Neidpath { |url=https://www.buildingsatrisk.org.uk/search/keyword/neidpath%20viaduct/event_id/916794/building_name/neidpath-railway-viaduct-over-river-tweed-neidpath |website=Buildings at Risk Register |publisher=Historic Environment Scotland |access-date=17 December 2023}}
Today, the viaduct is open as part of a footpath, the picturesque setting being popular with ramblers.{{cite web|url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/93720|title=NT2340 : Neidpath Viaduct|first=David|last=Forrest|publisher=Geograph|accessdate=19 August 2009}}
Gallery
{{Gallery
|File:Neidpath viaduct (2).jpg|alt1=Close-up of a pier in the river, from which spring two skew arches|The northern face of the viaduct showing the obliquity of the arches
|File:Neidpath viaduct (3).jpg|alt2=Close-up of a land-based pier with the soffit of one of the arches in the foreground. In the background other arches span the river as the viaduct curves gently to the right|The southern face of the viaduct showing the helical courses of stone
|File:Neidpath viaduct (4).jpg|alt3=Between the parapet wall on the left and the cast iron railings on the right, a footpath where once there were rails extends across the viaduct, curving gently towards the right and the tunnel mouth|The footpath across the viaduct from the western end with Neidpath Tunnel in the distance
|File:Neidpath viaduct (5).jpg|alt4=A snow-covered scene, lit by low sunlight, shows the footpath curving to the left before disappearing behind bare trees|The footpath across the viaduct from the eastern end on a winter's day
}}