Bleach Green
The three bridges of Bleach Green each carry active railway lines. The lower and oldest bridge, constructed around 1847, is stone built with additional strengthening girders. The two upper bridges date from the early 1930s and are made out of concrete.
They are a world apart from the dull reinforced concrete planks we know so well which cross our motorways. These light elegant arches, complete with art deco flourishes, seem to belong to the world of Metropolis, not industrial Belfast. Surprisingly, these were built on a tight budget, largely by unskilled manual labour, to help solve the recurring problem of getting trains up and out of Belfast.
Construction
In 1931 work started on the construction of a loop line from Bleach Green to Monkstown, in order to create a shorter, direct, line from Belfast to Ballymena and Londonderry and take away the need for reversing at Greenisland.
Expenditure on the project was almost £250,000 (approximately £18 million in 2021). Funding for the viaducts included an £80,000 Unemployment Relief Grant on the understanding that labour recruitment would be made through the ranks of the unemployed – in a bid to tackle unemployment which was at high level at the time.
The Main Line Viaduct is the largest reinforced concrete railway viaduct in the British Isles at 630ft. long and has a maximum height of 70ft. above the level of the stream.
The Main Arches in the Main Line and Down Shore Line Viaducts have a span of 89ft. Over 32,000tons of concrete, reinforced with 700tons of steel, were required for the construction of the two viaducts.
A special train, on 17 January 1934, marked the formal opening of the loop line (of just under 1½ miles) and viaduct.
Sir Charles Lanyon was an engineer of the Belfast, Holywood and Bangor Railway; and the Carrickfergus and Larne line. He was the principal architect of some of Belfast's best-known buildings, including the Queen's College, now University.
In 1876, he served as High Sheriff of County Antrim and died, after a protracted illness, at his residence, The Abbey, in 1889.
WT class No 53 at Greenisland Viaduct / Bleach Green, 1969
Bleach Green Construction
Greenisland Viaducts Poster
Bleach Green Triple Viaduct Junction
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