Two railway viaducts dominate the small village of Tomatin, one a lattice steel girder bridge over the river Findhorn and known as the Findhorn Viaduct (not to be confused with the other at Forres) and a smaller one of stone known as the Tomatin Viaduct. Both are listed Grade B.
IV13 7XX
The railway from Inverness to Aviemore and Perth was opened in 1898 as a short-cut avoiding the original route by way of Forres. As it heads southward towards Perth, it crosses the river Findhorn at the small village of Tomatin. The northern of the two, Tomatin Viaduct, is a masonry structure of nine arches 89 ft. high over the village and the original main road. It was completed in 1897 by Murdoch Paterson, Chief Engineer to the Highland Railway.
Just south of it, the Findhorn Viaduct takes the railway across the river. Also by Paterson, it has nine steel lattice girders each 37 m. (120 ft.) long and carried on masonry piers, such that the whole structure is 398 m. long. It is an impressive sight, in no way diminished by the arrival of a modern road bridge a short distance away.
Photos: Stanley Howe / View of Tomatin railway viaduct / ; © Copyright G Laird and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
By Road: Both viaducts can be seen from the A9 where it crosses the river Findhorn and they dominate the village of Tomatin which is now blissfully bypassed.
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Forgotten Relics - Listed Bridges and Viaducts
