Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

21st century makeover for Montrose’s Victorian railway marvel

Usan junction sits south of the viaduct over Montrose basis
Usan junction sits south of the viaduct over Montrose basis

For more than 130 years a feature at the mouth of Montrose Basin, a grand old lady of the town is being given a multi-million pound makeover to maintain her Victorian beauty for decades to come.

The 440-metre, 16-span South Esk viaduct was completed in 1883 by the same engineer responsible for the Tay and Forth Bridges.

In a 16-month project costing in excess of £4 million will be completely refurbished to maintain the structure’s important place on the country’s east coast main line.

The work is being carried out as part of Network Rail’s UK-wide railway upgrade plan and in a rare opportunity, The Courier was given access to the structure as part of a group walking above the fast-flowing tidal waters of the Basin to see first-hand the work already under way.

SNP MSP Mairi Gougeon and Conservative MP Kirstene Hair were also granted the privilege.

Project manager Jeremy Spence with shows MSP Mairi Gougeon and MP Kistene Hair the ongoing viaduct work

A grade B listed structure, the viaduct stands on 15 pairs of wrought iron piers above the river and is to be grit blasted, cleaned, repaired and repainted, section by section, in a project scheduled for completion next summer.

It was finished in 1883 as one of UK’s last major bridges to be built in wrought iron using lattice girders – a Victorian design standard utilised by renowned railway engineer William Arrol.

A bespoke scaffold system and walkway is now in place for the Network Rail project team and specialist contractor Taziker Industrial to access the structure and deliver the work safely.

The structure is also being ‘encapsulated’ to provide the right working environment in the exposed location as well as to stop any contaminants from leaking into the air and river below – particularly during grit blasting and painting.

Network Rail project manager Jeremy Spence said: “It’s a stunning location and I am sure the experience of working here over the coming months will be both exciting and challenging.

“Getting the chance to see the viaduct up close gives you great respect for those who built this structure more than a century ago and we hope that our work does justice to the legacy that we have been left by the Victorian railway pioneers.

“We take seriously our responsibility to maintain and preserve these historic structures, not just for the safe and efficient operation of the railway, but also how they look in their setting for those travelling on the railway or visitors to the area enjoying the beautiful views.”

The steelwork on the bridge is being painted window grey to match the original colour of the listed viaduct in a process which will ensure that the bridge will not need any significant maintenance for the next quarter of a century.