Ruhrviadukt Herdecke

It was perhaps a sensation even when the first passengers went full steam 30m in the air, if you will, travelling with Rheinische Eisenbahn on Ruhrtalbrücke near Herdecke. When it was built, the bridge was deemed a very special technical masterpiece.
313m long and with 12 semi-circular arches of a span of 20m each it crossed the valley as part of the very difficult and expensive Rheinische Eisenbahn line from Düsseldorf to Dortmund. Eight tunnels, underpasses and overpasses and three viaducts had to be built to make this line possible in the first place. Construction of the Herdecke viaduct was started in winter 1877/78. The rubblestone material was found in abundance nearby. It has no less than 24,400m³ of brickwork.
In the 1940s, the bridge was destroyed twice. On May 17, 1943, one pylon was washed out and away when the Möhne dam was busted. Two years later, the viaduct was again damaged by a blast. However, no traces are left, and the structure is still impressive and admirable in terms of the engineering work behind it.
Today, the viaduct is used by one of the new private railway companies, "Volmetalbahn", from Dortmund to Lüdenscheid.

Author: Route Industriekultur/Editorial baukunst-nrw
Last changed on 31.01.2024

Categories:
Engineering » Transportation