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From Europe to Turkmenistan: the world's most impressive railway bridges These remarkable feats of engineering enable trains to conquer the steepest mountain ascents and traverse the deepest valleys. They have become landmarks, attracting a growing number of tourists. In today's era of mass tourism, railway bridges are not merely triumphs of engineering; they are attractions that put places on the map, vividly reminding us of the evolution of civil construction.

Ewronews has presented a list of the world's most unique railway bridges:

While the newest skyscrapers often claim the title of the tallest structures, the same cannot be said for railway bridges. The Montenegrin Mala Rijeka Viaduct held the distinction of being the world's tallest railway bridge when it opened in 1973. Today, that title belongs to a more recently constructed bridge in Guizhou, China. Nevertheless, the statistics of the Mala Rijeka Viaduct remain impressive: at its highest point, the 499-meter bridge soars 200 meters above the river.

Unsurprisingly, a structure of this magnitude requires substantial support, and its largest pier rests on a foundation the size of a tennis court.

Masonry Marvels in France and England

Some consider the Chamborigaud Viaduct to be unparalleled in beauty: a 384-meter-long, 29-arched bridge built in the late 1800s by architect Charles Dombre for the Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean Railway Company. This stone bridge, which significantly improved accessibility to the Cévennes region with its deep valleys and high hills, was designated a historical monument by the French government in 1984.

Another marvel of masonry is the Whalley Viaduct in northern England, built for the Blackburn-Clitheroe railway line across the Calder Valley.

Opened in 1850, it was constructed from six million bricks and features 48 arches.

The Ouse Valley Viaduct in Sussex, England, is another majestic example of masonry. Built in the 1840s, it was far ahead of its time.

The 37-arched railway bridge incorporated architectural features known as jack arches to reduce the amount of brick required.

Famous Bridges Become Landmarks

Some of Europe's most beautiful bridges have themselves become tourist attractions. One of the most compelling examples is the Glenfinnan Viaduct in Scotland, which played a prominent role in the Harry Potter films.

"The Glenfinnan Viaduct was built over 100 years ago and remains one of the largest bridges in Scotland," explains Professor Sarhosis. "It was constructed using mass concrete, meaning it lacks the steel reinforcement found in most modern railway bridges".

In Scotland, another landmark is the Forth Bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located near Edinburgh.

Another magnet for railway bridge enthusiasts is the Landwasser Viaduct in Switzerland, the most famous feature of the Albula Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

When the bridge was built in the early 1900s, construction was carried out without scaffolding. Engineers benefited from easy access to materials, as it was built from limestone quarried in the Dolomite Mountains, through which the railway passes.

The Legendary Amu Darya Bridge

The aforementioned bridges, as presented in the Euronews article, are each unique in their own right. However, the Orient editorial team cannot help but add to this list of unique railway bridges one of the most legendary in Turkmenistan: the railway bridge across the Amu Darya River, which is over 100 years old. This historic engineering structure is worthy of a monument and its memory.

In recent years, five bridges have been built across the Amu Darya, which stretches 830 kilometers within the Lebap region: three road bridges and two railway bridges. Previously, trains crossed the Amu Darya via a single railway bridge, which served for 116 years until the new one was commissioned.

The bridge continues to amaze people with its appearance. It seems to embody and preserve the resilience, confidence, and determination of all those who were once involved in its construction: engineers, workers, and soldiers. When passing beneath it by boat, it resembles a colossal giant. From a distance, it appears as a silver arrow, striving into the distance.

At the beginning of the 20th century, this bridge was the longest river bridge in the world. Although preparations for the construction of this bridge had been underway since 1895, the actual commencement of its erection is considered to be October 17, 1898. It was on this day that the builders began their struggle with the raging river. The complexity of the construction lay in the fact that the river's current was very rapid, and the sandy bottom contributed to the periodic shifting of the riverbed and the river itself in different directions. The bridge's design and construction were carried out under the leadership of the railway engineer Stanislav Ippolitovich Olszewski. His assistant was engineer G.S. Kikodze, and the works were executed by engineer I.M. Haritonov.

Construction materials were delivered from various cities. Factories in Bryansk, Mariupol, and Warsaw supplied metal structures, high-quality cement came from Volsk, rubble stone and marble limestone were procured near Samarkand, and bank reinforcement materials were obtained in Tejen. Millions of rivets were required to join the bridge's structures together.

On May 27th, the official opening of the bridge took place. The construction of the Amu Darya permanent bridge had immense economic and political significance. The bridge connected the two banks of the Amu Darya, establishing uninterrupted communication between Krasnovodsk (now Turkmenbashy) and Ashgabat on one side, and Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkent on the other. The road passed through Chardzhou (modern Turkmenabat), a major trading city on the banks of the Amu Darya. The new bridge reliably linked the West and East of the country, creating the possibility of direct communication from the Caucasus to Turkestan. It became a strategic object and played a particularly important role during wartime for the delivery of weapons and military cargo, raw materials, and food.

The bridge was equipped with electric lighting and telephone communication. The piers consist of two columns with a diameter of 1.24 fathoms at the top and 1.72 fathoms at the bottom, with a distance between the centers of 2.60 fathoms; the top of the columns rises above the horizon of the highest waters by 2.74 fathoms, and below this horizon (104.25 fathoms above sea level) the columns are lowered to a depth of about 11 fathoms. Below, above the surface of the river bed, the columns are connected in pairs by an iron ring and a common casing. The weight of the spans of the bridge is 356,000 pods. The length of the Amu Darya Bridge is about 1,600 m, and the length of the spans is more than 60 m.

The spans were constructed from triangular American system trusses with beveled ends and an iron roadway deck. In the event of a train derailment, additional guard rails were provided to keep the train within certain limits. The position of the rails was automatically regulated, which prevented damage due to seasonal metal expansion and contraction from temperature fluctuations. A pedestrian sidewalk was provided on one side of the bridge. The height of the structure's spans was calculated so that at the highest water level in the river, the spans would rise three fathoms above the water, which was determined by the height of the steamships of that time. Telephones were installed in three locations on the bridge for emergency communication with nearby cities, stations, or barracks. Electric lighting was installed along the entire length of the bridge.

However, nothing is immune to the passage of time. The hour came when this 'beauty' became a part of history. It remained the first bridge to unite the two banks of the Amu Darya with its capricious current. The calculations of the designers proved so accurate, and the work of the builders so robust, that it withstood both floods and ice drifts in subsequent years. Naturally, its technical condition was carefully monitored all this time, it was maintained, and various repairs were carried out. In 1957, a major overhaul was conducted, reinforcing the bridge supports with cement grouting.

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Photo: euronews.com