Ideraway Creek Railway Bridge, Railway bridge in North Burnett Region, Australia
Ideraway Creek Railway Bridge carries the Mungar–Monto line over Ideraway Creek on a deck-type pin-jointed fishbelly truss main span of 150 feet (46 m), reusing part of the 250-foot erection truss from the Burdekin River Rail Bridge at Macrossan. Timber longitudinals on timber trestles and common concrete piers flank the steel truss, which has transom tops and six sets of two steel longitudinals.
Construction of the Wetheron to Gayndah section began in March 1906 using day labour, and two specially designed bridges over gorges delayed completion. William Pagan signed the drawings for the Ideraway Creek bridge on 10 December 1906, and the extension opened for traffic on 16 December 1907. The main span reuses 150 feet of the 250-foot erection truss from the Burdekin River Rail Bridge at Macrossan, opened in 1899, which had already been reused on two earlier bridges.
The bridge is one of twelve railway bridges on the Mungar Junction to Monto line recognised in October 2016 with a single Engineering Heritage Marker, described as the best example of a collection of historic railway bridges in Australia. Its main span is a deck-type pin-jointed fishbelly truss, the only one of its type in Queensland.
The bridge carries the Mungar–Monto line across Ideraway Creek near Gayndah in the North Burnett Region. It is a working railway structure, so it is seen from public vantage points rather than walked on; the deck-type pin-jointed fishbelly truss span is the part to look for. The line opened for traffic on 16 December 1907.
This is the longest bridge of its specific truss type in all of Queensland and remains the only known example of this design in Australia. The fishbelly truss design shows an engineering approach that was rarely used and survives mainly through this single structure.
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