156 REPORT — 1867. 



thick secured to piles. As it is situated close to Blair Castle, it has been 

 made somewhat more ornate than was otherwise necessary. The cost of 

 this bridge is ^6500, being for a single line. Length 256 feet; cost 

 .£25 7s. 9d. per lineal foot ; height above the bed of the river 40 feet, 



No. 6 is a bridge across the River Garry at Calvine of 3 spans, one of 

 80 and two of 40 feet, and is 55 feet from the bed of the river to the top of 

 the parapet. There was considerable difficulty in fixing the crossing of the 

 river at this place. The Garry is here a large and rapid mountain-stream, 

 on a rocky bed, with several falls immediately adjoining, running through an 

 ornamental plantation, and as this was a spot of interest in the grounds of 

 Blair Castle, we were precluded from crossing the river at any other point 

 within the demesne. It occurred to the writer, however, as the road-bridge 

 passed over about the narrowest part of the river, the object aimed at could be 

 effected both economically and unobjectionably by spanning both road and river, 

 thus forming an object of additional interest in this peculiar locality. The cost 

 of this bridge was =£5100. Length 274 feet ; cost per lineal foot ,£18 12s. 3d. 



No. 7 is a bridge of no particular interest, 80 feet span, crossing the 

 Eiver Dahudn, a mountain-stream near Grantown, but is given as a specimen 

 of a substantial bridge of this size. The cost was :— Masonry £2238 ; iron 

 work £1060. Total £3298. Length 148 feet ; height 27 feet ; cost per 

 lineal foot £22 5s. M. 



No. 8 is a viaduct crossing a picturesque ravine and stream called the 

 Divie, 10 miles south of Forres. Its length is 477 feet, constructed for a 

 single line, and the cost amounted to £10,231. It is 106 feet in height from 

 the river-bed to the top of the parapet, and 16 feet in width; all the piers 

 within the limits of the stream are founded on rock. It consists of seven 

 arches of 45 feet span each. Cost per lineal foot £21 9s. 



These viaducts constitute the principal works on the through line between 

 Perth and Forres. Tlie writer wiU now proceed to allude briefly to the 

 principal works on the coast-line between Keith and Bonar Bridge. 



The portion from Keith to Inverness being one-half the distance of the 

 railway from Aberdeen to Inverness, the capital of the Highlands, extends 

 to 55 miles in length. It may be stated that this portion from Inverness to 

 Keith originally formed part of the Great North of Scotland Railway, the act 

 for which was obtained in 1846, but pecimiary difficulties prevented the 

 promoters from constructing this part of their scheme, involving, as it was then 

 supposed, the construction of very heavy work in the neighbourhood of the 

 River Spey, and it was eventually left to theHighland Companies to carry it out. 

 There is a deep and precipitous ravine on the south side of the Spey, 

 with flat meadows on the north side, and the original plan of the Great 

 North of Scotland Company was to cross the river at a gradient of 1 in 

 90 with a high viaduct, with expensive works in the ravine, at a cost 

 of about £100,000, the bridge being estimated at £60,000. After much 

 careful survey and consideration, and consultation with Messrs. Locke 

 and Errington regarding this work, it was fixed to pass through the ravine 

 by a gradient of 1 in 60 for 2| miles, which is the steepest gradient on 

 the Highland system, and span the river by a box girder of 230 feet, with 

 six side arches of masonry, each of 30 feet span, to meet the contingency 

 of flood waters, which are on this river very sudden and very rapid, and the 

 work has been carried out successfully. It may be mentioned that this was 

 about the greatest single span of an open girder at the time built (1856). 

 The propriety of a stone bridge at this place, with a gradient of 1 in 70, was 

 considered by the Directors, but it was found to be too expensive. The 

 present Hne, however, answers quite sufficiently for the traffic of the country. 



