Railway footbridge on track for new lease of life

A RARE Victorian footbridge from Dunblane Railway Station is being given a new lease of life in Angus.

The installation at Bridge of Dun marks the culmination of four years of work to secure the future of the historic bridge.

Finishing touches are still being made to complete the bridge in time for Caledonian Railway’s Easter Eggspress service on Easter Sunday, with an official opening planned for later in the year.

The railway’s Blair Winton said: “It certainly is a good news story and we’re grateful to Network Rail for their work. It will be a great addition to our station which will be open on Easter Sunday.”

Dating back to 1895, the bridge was erected by the original Caledonian Railway at Dunblane station and was the second footbridge on the site.

The bridge survived in use at Dunblane, relatively unaltered, for more than a century until the current Caledonian Railway — which operates a four-mile preserved railway from Brechin to Bridge of Dun — was approached by Network Rail in 2012.

The company was upgrading access at the listed Dunblane station and was keen to explore the possibility of moving the bridge to improve access at the station.

A site close to the location of the original footbridge at Bridge of Dun station was identified as suitable and, with the agreement of the appropriate planning authorities, work started.

The bridge was carefully dismantled and refurbished by the expert team of Miller Callaghan Engineering Ltd in Irvine.