The “Six Arches” railway bridge across the Clyde near Boathaugh was once a familiar sight to those travelling towards Douglas along the A70, and added a little excitement to the journey of those who rattled across it by train. The Sandilands Viaduct (as it was officially known) was the most significant structure on the Caledonian Railway’s Douglas Branch; a seven mile railway linking the Caledonian’s line at Lanark with a point “near the 27th milestone from Glasgow on the turnpike road from Glasgow to Carlisle”; a remote spot a couple of miles from the village Douglas. The branch tapped the rich mineral wealth of the Rigside coalfield, but the intention was always to extend the line to Muirkirk and, through forcing a deal with the rival Glasgow & South Western Railway, extend the Caledonian’s reach into Ayrshire.
Contractors were appointed to build the Douglas branch in 1862, and construction work began on either end of the line, leaving the bridge across the Clyde as the final part to be completed. The route crossed the river on the skew, stretching a distance of over 400 yards across the flood plain between heavy masonry abutments. An elaborate iron structure was designed by George Graham, consisting of six bowstring girder spans supported on tall cast iron cylinders. In the event of any settlement, such a design might have been a little more forgiving than a masonry structure. Each pier of the bridge consisted of three iron cylinders linked by iron frames, wide enough to support a double line of railway track within two parallel bowstring girders. It seems however that railway’s ambitions for a busy main line into Ayrshire were never realised, and only a single line of bowstring girders, carrying a single line of rails, was ever installed.
The construction of the bridge was not without incident, and it seems that temporary timber-work was built to span the river while the ironwork was under construction. In November 1861 a group of companions returning home in a well-lubricated state following a Saturday night out, decided to cross by the temporary wooden bridge. A body was fished out of the Clyde the next day. On a wintery day in December 1862, Joseph Ross, living in New Lanark and employed in the construction work, was caught by a gust of wind and blown off the bridge. It was reported that his right leg was broken in two places, his arm being also broken, and lip nearly cut away”. Another worker was blown off the following month and fell 70ft to his death.
In August 1863, Alexander Watson from Lanark was painting the girder spans when a supporting platform gave way and he was thrown to the ground, falling on his head and sustaining severe injuries. A workmate was also thrown out but managed to grab hold of a girder during his fall, and continued to hang on until rescued. Later in the month, another painter, William Callum, fell 40 ft from the bridge, although escaped without broken bones but with “legs that were very much stunned”. Following three falls from the bridge in a fortnight, a local paper suggested that “there surely must be an amount of carelessness, or something worse” behind the spate of accidents.
The bridge was at last completed at the end of August 1863. On that day a number of contractor’s engines and their wagons were working at either end of the bridge, and there was some debate about which should have the honour of being the first to cross. It was ultimately resolved that Caledonian engine No. 111 under the charge of driver Somerville, should be the first to proceed across the bridge at a cautious twenty miles an hour, carrying John French, the sub-contractor,. The other works engines soon followed. It was recorded that “refreshments were at hand and the success of the line was enthusiastically toasted”.
When the railway was inspected by the authorities, a number of defects were noted that required to be remedied before train services were allowed to commence. No fault was found with the Sandilands viaduct however, and six engines coupled together passed “without the bridge yielding in the least.”
The bridge saw over a century of service, and trains continued to rattle across the high girders until closure of the Douglas colliery in 1968. The iron parts of the viaduct were demolished in 1970.
The surviving abutments, the ruins of Boathaugh, Prett’s Mill farm, and a friendly wagtail
Unless otherwise stated, all text, images, and other media content are protected under copyright. If you wish to share any content featured on Clydesdale's Heritage, please get in touch to request permission.