Ballochmyle Viaduct

The Ballochmyle Viaduct is a railway viaduct in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It stands 52 metres high over the River Ayr near Mauchline and Catrine. The structure carries a double-track line built in the 1840s for the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway Company. John Miller designed the viaduct, and Ross & Mitchell built it under contract. William McCandlish served as the resident engineer during construction. The viaduct holds the record for the tallest extant railway viaduct in Britain. When completed on 2 March 1848, it featured the largest masonry arch in the world. The main arch spans 55 metres across the river at its highest point. The Institution of Civil Engineers named it a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 2014. Network Rail strengthened the structure in the 2010s to support heavy freight traffic. Visitors can view the viaduct’s seven spans from a riverside path beneath the central arch. The main arch is built with hard stone from Dundee and local red sandstone. Decorative panels and dressed stone arch rings add detail to the otherwise plain structure. Remnants of the former Pedens Cave, a Romantic-era landscape feature, lie near the northern abutments. The viaduct remains in continuous use, carrying trains between Glasgow and Carlisle.