Athlone railway bridge

'The White Bridge' in Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland, was built in the mid 19th century and spans a total of 542ft - with an opening span of 120ft to accommodate large sailing vessels - was designed by G.W. Hemans and built in 1850. It was the single greatest engineering task during the construction of the Dublin to Galway railway line and took less than 18 months to construct.

Built with twelve cylindrical pillars - each 10ft in diameter - they were placed in position by compressed air which made engineering history at the time.

Messrs. Fox & Henderson were the contractors who shipped the massive ironworks via barge from Limerick to Athlone. It is listed in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.

The first commercial train crossed 'The White Bridge' Athlone on Monday 21st July, 1851.

The swinging span was permanently fixed in 1972.