BOMBED VIADUCT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 64, Issue 147, 1 April 1944, Page 5

BOMBED VIADUCT.

QUICK WORK OF REPAIR. fe TRAINS RUNNING IN FIVE WEEKS LONDON. Expeditious work in repairing a bomb-damaged viaduct made possible a rapid resumption of an important train service. Two railway tracks suspended 70ft from the ground across a 70ft gap where before had stood a pier and two arches was the state of affairs after a bomb was dropped by an enemy raider on the Southern Railway viaduct at Brighton a few months ago. In five weeks the trains were running again; in four months the viaduct was completely restored. This speedy work was effected by the Southern Railway staff under their chief engineer, Mr George Ellson. The London Road viaduct at Brighton consists of 27 spans and at a height of about 70ft above ground level carries the double track 01. the Southern Railway line between Brighton and Lewes.

During the raid a few months ago, a heavy bomb struck one of the piers, causing it and the two arches resting upon it to collapse. Although the downward drag of the arches as they fell in caused cracks in the adjacent main arches, the latter remained in position.

In order to restore the line as quickly as possible, steel trestles of the military type were erected as supports for a temporary bridge across the gap. The building of the trestles and the erection of the strutting, supports, and temporary bridge, together with the testing of the structure, were accomplished within rive weeks from the date of the bombing. Passenger train services were then restarted under a speed restriction. Examination of the remains of the foundations of the broken pier showed that complete reconstruction would he necessary. The original pier had been built entirely of brick, but it was decided to make the new one of concrete with a facing of brickwork as nearly as possible to match the other piers.