Building the last Main Line Railway

Rugby to Barby: gcrcs99

This three arch brick overbridge was built to carry the Ashlawn Road across the London Extension near Rugby. The photograph illustrates perfectly that the contractor would build a structure by excavating a hole sufficiently big enough to build the bridge etc within its confines. Roads or rights of way could be diverted along side the new structure until its completion.

The main excavation of the line's cutting would then occur later and pass through the archway already built thereby minimising disruption to the local populace. Here, navvies look on as a steam shovel, located under the second arch, works to remove the rock face. A line of empty side tipping wagons stand by to remove the debris.

back