Remains of Railway Bridge, Off Warrenpoint Road, Newry, Co Down

The remains of a triple skew-span through-girder railway bridge stand over the Newry River, off Warrenpoint Road in Newry. Constructed between 1860 and 1879, the bridge originally carried the Newry-Warrenpoint railway line, connecting Kilmorey Street (the line's terminus from 1849) to Dublin Road Station, where it linked with the Newry & Armagh railway (opened in 1854). The railway was operated by the Newry, Warrenpoint & Rostrevor Railway Company and later absorbed into the Great Northern network, before closing in 1965.

The structure's rarity lies in its design – only one other pivoting swing bridge is known in Northern Ireland, located at Macfin in County Antrim. Although only fragmentary remains survive, they hold some technical interest. Evidence from a McCutcheon archive photograph indicates the two eastern spans formerly comprised a Pratt truss swing bridge, with only the masonry abutments and piers now visible. These are constructed from coarsely-dressed granite blocks, single track in width. The pier nearest the east bank, on which the bridge pivoted, is also built from coarsely dressed granite with two courses of oversailing ashlar copings, and metal lugs suggest manual operation using a rack and pinion mechanism. The rectangular pier closer to the west bank is of similar construction, complete with rounded cutwaters. A modern steel girder now carries a pipe across the river, supported by the original masonry.

The bridge’s design included a need for an opening mechanism, although the precise reason for this is unclear, it is speculated that it was to allow passage along the river, given the nearby canal and narrow river channel and the presence of a historic quay upstream. The structure, whilst of industrial archaeological interest, does not meet the criteria for statutory or policy protection.