Bann Bridge, Railway bascule bridge in Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
Bann Bridge is a railway bascule bridge that spans the River Bann with ten structural sections and a central mechanical lifting portion. The structure employs a sophisticated raising mechanism that opens to allow boats and river traffic to pass underneath while trains wait on either side.
The bridge was built in 1924 to replace an earlier structure that existed upstream along the river. Its construction represented an engineering solution that allowed both rail and river traffic to share the same crossing point through mechanical innovation.
The bridge carries daily trains that connect communities across the region, serving as a vital rail link for locals and visitors traveling between major towns on the northern coast.
The best views of the lifting mechanism in action are from the riverbanks or nearby walkways where you can watch the operation clearly. Train traffic passes regularly throughout the day, and the bridge raises periodically to allow river vessels through, so timing your visit around active hours offers the most interest.
This is the only railway bascule bridge in all of Northern Ireland and remains a rare example of this specific bridge type in the region. The daily operation combining train schedules with river boat passage makes it a working example of how transportation infrastructure resolved competing demands from the early 20th century.
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