CALEDONIAN RAILWAY BRIDGE.

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The first Caledonian Railway Bridge over the River Clyde was built between 1876 and 1878.
It was made for the Caledonian Railway company to bring its locomotives into Glasgow after it had been refused use of St Enoch Station by Glasgow and South Western Railway.
It was built by famous Glasgow engineering firm William Arrol and Company.
The granite piers are all that remain of the bridge today, the girders and tracks being removed in 1966.
Just down river from the first bridge, the second and current bridge was built between 1899 and 1905 to accommodate major expansion of Central Station. It was during this period that the Central Station viaduct was constructed over Argyle Street between the bridge and the station.
It is still warmly referred to by many as the Heilanman's Umbrella.
The new bridge was also built by William Arrol along with engineering firm Morrison and Mason.
Varying in width between 114 feet and 205 feet, supported by a minimum of eight main girders, the bridge carries up to ten tracks across its low-arched structure.
Today rail passengers using Glasgow's busiest railway station can still catch a glimpse of the tops of the old piers as they cross the new bridge.

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