Bridge in New South Wales, Australia
Leycester Creek railway bridge
is a heritage-listed
railway bridge
that carries the closed
Murwillumbah railway line
across
Leycester Creek
in
Lismore
, in the
City of Lismore
local government area of
New South Wales
, Australia. The bridge is owned by
Transport Asset Holding Entity
, an
agency
of the
Government of New South Wales
and was added to the
New South Wales State Heritage Register
on 2 April 1999.
[2]
History
[
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]
The bridge was built by contractors Crosbie, Marquand and Co.
[3]
The contract included both the Leycester Creek and Wilson's Creek bridges, the contractors accepting
A£
20,708 to build the two bridges, later increased to A£22,110.
[1]
[4]
Construction suffered various delays, such as damaged and broken iron cylinders, but was finally completed in October 1892.
[5]
[6]
[7]
It was claimed at the bridge's completion that it was the first steel bridge in the country.
[8]
The railway over the bridge opened in May 1894.
[4]
The bridge has been disused since the closure of the Murwillumbah railway line in 2004.
[9]
Description
[
edit
]
The bridge consists of a steel three-span
truss
, with one 3.7-metre (12 ft), one 4.9-metre (16 ft) and one 5.2-metre (17 ft)
spans
.
[2]
According to the Narrabri to North Star Phase 2 Moree to Camurra North
Statement of Heritage Impact, "The Leycester Creek Underbridge at Lismore is a good, intact and representative example of a steel
Pratt truss
underbridge, one of five
built at the inception of the Lismore to Murwillumbah railway line in 1894, and an early example of the introduction of American bridge technology by the NSW Government."
[10]
In 2018, the "Daily Telegraph" reported that according to an assessment it had seen, it would cost in the order of a million (Australian) dollars to bring the bridge up to a satisfactory condition for any possible re-opening.
[11]
Heritage listing
[
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]
This bridge is part of a group named "
Lismore railway underbridges
" that is included on the NSW State Heritage Register, as item 01044. That listing states: "The Lismore bridges and viaducts are a fine set of bridges all in one location demonstrating the problems of building railways in this flood prone area dating from 1892."
[2]
Lismore railway underbridges was listed on the
New South Wales State Heritage Register
on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.
[2]
The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.
This item is assessed as historically rare. This item is assessed as scientifically rare. This item is assessed as arch. rare. This item is assessed as socially rare.
[2]
See also
[
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]
Notes
[
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]
- ^
Included the cost of construction of the railway bridge over the Wilson River, Lismore.
[1]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"The Banquet"
.
The Richmond River Herald And Northern Districts Advertiser
. Vol. 5, no. 246. New South Wales, Australia. 27 March 1891. p. 8
. Retrieved
20 July
2018
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Lismore railway underbridges"
.
New South Wales State Heritage Register
.
Department of Planning & Environment
. H01044
. Retrieved
2 June
2018
.
Text is licensed by State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) under
CC-BY 4.0
licence
.
- ^
"GOVERNMENT GAZETTE"
.
The Sydney Morning Herald
. No. 16, 531. New South Wales, Australia. 18 March 1891. p. 5
. Retrieved
20 July
2018
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
a
b
"THE LISMORE-TWEED RAILWAY"
.
The Sydney Morning Herald
. No. 17, 521. New South Wales, Australia. 16 May 1894. p. 5
. Retrieved
20 July
2018
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
"Lismore"
.
The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser
. Vol. LII, no. 1626. New South Wales, Australia. 5 September 1891. p. 552
. Retrieved
20 July
2018
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
"The Northern Star"
.
The Northern Star
. Vol. 17. New South Wales, Australia. 6 July 1892. p. 2
. Retrieved
20 July
2018
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
"LATEST TELEGRAPHIC"
.
Clarence And Richmond Examiner
. New South Wales, Australia. 1 October 1892. p. 5
. Retrieved
20 July
2018
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
"Lismore"
.
Australian Town and Country Journal
. Vol. XLV, no. 1189. New South Wales, Australia. 29 October 1892. p. 14
. Retrieved
20 July
2018
– via National Library of Australia.
- ^
"Last train: The day our rail service fell silent"
.
Northern Star
. 16 March 2017
. Retrieved
20 July
2018
.
- ^
Narrabri to North Star Phase 2 Moree to Camurra North Statement of Heritage Impact
, Report by Artefact Heritage, March 2022
- ^
"The 'invisible' bridge that will cost $1 million to fix"
.
www.dailytelegraph.com.au
. Retrieved
8 September
2023
.
(subscription required)
Attribution
[
edit
]
This Wikipedia article was originally based on
Lismore railway underbridges
, entry number 01044 in the
New South Wales State Heritage Register
published by the State of New South Wales (Department of Planning and Environment) 2018 under
CC-BY 4.0
licence
, accessed on 2 June 2018.
External links
[
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]
Media related to
Leycester Creek railway bridge, Lismore
at Wikimedia Commons