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Latrobe Floodplain Rail Bridge

Location

half way between Rosedale & Kilmany South, ROSEDALE VIC 3847 - Property No B7127

File Number

B7127

Level

State

Statement of Significance

Built early in 1877, this single-track all-timber railway bridge is historically significant at State level. It is the oldest surviving all-timber rail bridge in Victoria, and the last substantial all-timber railway bridge still in regular use on the Victorian railway network. It has been maintained in good working order. The section of the main Gippsland Railway on which this bridge is situated was the first section of railway to carry train traffic in Gippsland, and the old bridge later also served trains bound for Bairnsdale and Orbost. Until the construction of the Oakleigh-Sale Railway, overland travel to Gippsland had been extremely hazardous for much of the year, and the only reliable all-seasons transport had been by coastal shipping.

Originally constructed to the first standard design for a transverse decked bridge, with a combination of 15 and 30 feet (4.5 and 9 metres) spans, it reflected a design philosophy in which economy of construction was the priority. Over the years the bridge was progressively modified as economy in bridge maintenance became the priority and in response to changing traffic and load conditions. Today the bridge demonstrates the final stage in the long evolution of the standard design for an all-timber bridge with 15 feet spans on Victoria's railway system.

With eighteen spans each 4.5 metres (15 feet) in length, a total deck length of 81 metres, and a maximum clear height of 6 metres, this all-timber structure remains an attractive medium-sized timber-pile bridge. It is the sole surviving all-timber bridge on the Gippsland railway.

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