Connel Bridge On Visit To Loch Etive In The Highlands Of Scotland

Tour Scotland travel video, with Scottish music, of Connel Bridge, a cantilever bridge, that spans Loch Etive on visit to the Highlands. The bridge was built by Arrol's Bridge and Roof Company to carry the Ballachulish branch of the Callander and Oban Railway, which opened on 20 August 1903. It had a longer span than any other railway bridge in Britain except the Forth Bridge, also built by Arrol. It was engineered by John Wolfe Barry and others. In 1914, a roadway was added to the bridge, alongside the railway line. The road occupied the western side of the bridge, with the railway running parallel immediately to the east. Due to the close proximity of road and railway, road traffic and trains were not permitted on the bridge at the same time and the bridge was effectively operated as an extended level crossing with gates. The road crossed to the opposite side of the railway at the north end of the bridge. A toll was payable by road users. After the branch railway line closed in 1966, the bridge was converted for the exclusive use of road vehicles and pedestrians, and the toll was removed. Connel Bridge appears in the 1981 film Eye of the Needle, starring Donald Sutherland. In the film, Sutherland's character is seen riding a stolen motorcycle across the bridge, which he then disposes of by pushing it down the embankment at the north end of the bridge after it runs out of fuel. All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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