"NEWMARKET RADIAL RAILWAY ARCH" ~ Newmarket
Posted by: Jake39
N 44° 03.463 W 079° 27.406
17T E 623607 N 4879441
Located along the Tom Taylor trail just off Queen St. across from Concession St.
Waymark Code: WM46V6
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 07/16/2008
Views: 78
One of the first railway arches in Canada to be made of reinforced concrete, this graceful parabolic structure was built in 1909 to support part of a trestle bridge over the Holland River. The bridge was demolished after the Toronto and York Radial Railway Company ceased operation in 1930.
The remainder looks just like a lump of concrete until you look at the open ends. Fenced in, waterlogged and area full of weeds. Hard to picture how the arch would have been of any use as the terrain is now.
One of the earliest reinforced concrete arches in Canada the Newmarket radial railway arch was built in 1909 by the
Toronto and York Radial Railway Company. It was designed by Barber and Young, an innovative civil engineering firm, and supported part of a trestle bridge spanning the Holland River and
Grand Trunk Railway tracks. An outstanding example of modern functional bridge design, this graceful parabolic arch had a clear span of 15 metres and a rise of 7 metres. Earth fill was used to build up the grade. After the railway discontinued operations in 1930, the trestle bridge was demolished. One of few of its kind, the railway arch was preserved in 1979 by the
Town of Newmarket and the South Lake Simcoe Conservation Authority.