Belmont Viaduct

Belmont Viaduct is a railway viaduct built in 1856 for the Auckland branch of the North Eastern Railway, constructed by Cail of Newcastle. The engineer for the branch was Mr. Hodgson, as noted in a speech by Cail. The viaduct is made of rock-faced sandstone, with some stone sourced from Rudchester, and brick, featuring ashlar dressings and cast-iron tie-rods. It stands 130 feet high and consists of eight segmental arches supported by tapered piers with impost bands. The arches have stepped voussoirs and brick soffits. The three tallest arches, two spanning the river and one on the eastern shore, feature apsidal cutwaters. There is a low wall constructed from the same materials in the southernmost arch, while the corresponding arch on the north side has not been inspected. The four tallest arches have elliptical cast iron tie-ends above the voussoirs, adorned with star-shaped ribs. A bull-nosed parapet runs along the top cornice, which continues around paired wide pilasters at each end, topped with low pyramidal coping. The viaduct is an important landscape feature.