Gambles Railway Bridge Newry Canal towpath Killybodagh Road Newry BT35 6TG

A skew single-span metal girder bridge carrying the main Belfast-Dublin railway over the Newry canal and towpath, erected by the Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway Co in 1850-1 (IHR 00062:064). The span (N-S) was upgraded in the 1990s and comprises two pairs of cross-braced welded-steel beams; metal decking over carries the ballast and double-track line. The abutments are of squared and rock-faced granite blocks laid in regular courses, with tooled edges to quoins. Wing walls are of squared granite blocks laid randomly and coped with sandstone copings. They run off and down at an angle from the actual span to terminate in low piers. The towpath is carried underneath the span on W side of canal, here faced with random rubble. There is also a beam along the E abutment, but access thereto is blocked by stonework at both ends (that at S is a single rusticated block of granite). Materials: Metal / stone Setting: Located approximately 2 miles S of Poyntzpass near Newry, Gambles railway bridge crosses the Newry canal and parallel towpath, and is accessible via the latter.