Souleuvre Viaduct
Coordinates: 48 ° 57 ′ 5 ″ N , 0 ° 51 ′ 52 ″ W.
| Souleuvre Viaduct | ||
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| Official name | Viaduc de la Souleuvre | |
| use | railroad | |
| Crossing of | Valley of the Souleuvre | |
| place | La Ferrière-Harang , Carville | |
| construction | Truss bridge | |
| overall length | 364.2 m | |
| height | 62.5 m | |
| start of building | 1887 | |
| completion | 1893 | |
| opening | November 12, 1893 | |
| planner | Gustave Eiffel | |
| closure | 1960 | |
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The Souleuvre Viaduct ( French Viaduc de la Souleuvre ) was a single-lane steel railway bridge that spanned the Souleuvre valley north of Vire in France . The viaduct was designed by Gustave Eiffel . It was part of the Vire – Saint-Lô railway line . One of the pillars has been used as a permanently installed bungee jumping facility since 1990 .
location
The remains of the Souleuvre Viaduct are located in the area of the former municipality of La Ferrière-Harang , now Souleuvre en Bocage , in the Calvados department in Normandy .
history
The viaduct was built between 1887 and 1893 and connected Caen with Vire and Granville via Saint-Lô .
Before the Second World War , up to 15 trains passed the bridge every day. During the war it was also used by the Germans and was therefore the target of several Allied bombings from 1944 onwards. A total of around 500 bombs were dropped on the target, but most of them failed. There was only slight damage to the steel girders. The Americans repaired the viaduct in August 1944.
In October 1960, rail traffic on this route was stopped. On June 13, 1970, the steel superstructures, which were in a poor state of construction, were blown up for safety reasons. At that time, repairs were considered too expensive. Only the five stone pillars remained.
Technical specifications
The superstructure of the bridge was a riveted steel structure made of simple truss girders with an underlying carriageway, which lay on brick pillars. The total length of the structure was 364.2 m, with a height of 62.5 m. The six trusses rested on a total of five pillars with heights between 26 m and 60 m. A total of 14,000 m 3 of granite blocks from quarries in the Vire region were built into the pillars . The sand for the mortar comes from the Chausey Islands .
Meaning today
In 1990 a platform was built on the second pillar from the north, from which bungee jumping is carried out. The concept comes from one of the pioneers of bungee jumping , AJ Hackett . This platform can be reached via a 140 m long hanging walkway . The platform is 61 m above the Souleuvre.
In 1999 "Scable", a 400 m long zip line , was opened (also known as the zipline or " Flying Fox "). This leads across the Souleuvre valley.
In 2007 the "Swing" opened, a shuttle flight system that moves like a swing. Suspended on the third pillar from the north, it is possible to fly towards the ground from the second pillar in a pendulum motion.
photos
The remaining pillars
View from the spectator area
View from the bottom of the 2nd pillar
The hanging walkway to pillar 2 is still missing here
Leap into the void
