Laigh Milton Viaduct
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Laigh Milton Viaduct by John M as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Laigh Milton Viaduct
Image: © John M Taken: 19 Jun 2012
Built around 1811 as part of a horse-drawn tramway carrying coal from mines at Kilmarnock to Troon Harbour:the tramway also provided a passenger service. The Duke of Portland invited George Stephenson to trial a steam engine on the line and his engine 'Duke' operated from 1816 to 1846. The rails were in short three foot lengths pinned onto stone blocks. The engine was too heavy for the track and the metal wheels were replaced with wood. In 1846 the track was re-aligned leaving the viaduct redundant. Badly in need of repair and in a state of almost collapse a preservation trust raised the funds and restored the structure in 1995-6 at a cost of £1.065 million. The repairs won a prestigious Saltire Award from the Institution of Civil Engineers. The viaduct is Grade A listed.
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
55.598707
Longitude
-4.567317