Taptee (Surat) Bridge

The Taptee (Tapti) bridge was an iron viaduct built for the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway. Opened for trains in November 1860, within a year of sinking the first piles, despite the work being interrupted by 3 months of monsoon and by an outbreak of cholera.

This is not the same as the Taptee Viaduct, built by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway.

Designed by Lt. Col. John Pitt Kennedy. J. Burns was the District Engineer in charge of construction.

1,891 feet in length in 30 spans

The bridge was described and illustrated in detail by William Humber. See here for plates, and here for text. The wrought iron girders were supported by cast iron pipe-type piers. Long inclined 'pipes' were applied on each side to brace the viaduct against the strong current which flowed in both directions (the river was tidal). The flanged, bolted pipe sections terminated in screw piles.

The Warren truss girders had riveted top (compression) members, while the bottom (tension) members comprised individual pin-jointed bars 6 1/4" deep with thicknesses from 3/8" to 1/2", the thickness depending on the location. The plates were of constant depth, i.e. they were not enlarged at the ends in the manner of eye bars. The diagonal ties were flat bars, while the diagonal struts used flat bars reinforced by riveted T-irons on each side. All were connected by close-fitting pins. Vertical bars were connected to the pins in the bottom members, while the top end was connected to the upper member with a rigid bolted joint. The specification for the wrought iron bars required that the holes for the main pins be bored with extreme accuracy to gauge. No bar having an error in the length between the holes amounting to 1-64th of an inch, or in the diameter of the holes amounting to 1-100th of an inch, would be permitted to be used.

The cast iron work was executed by the Horseley Co, Tipton, and Swingler and Son of Victoria Foundry, Derby. The wrought iron work was by Westwood, Baillie, Campbell and Co of London and Kennard of the Crumlin Iron Works.

Taptee was the longest of 18 iron bridges constructed for the 43 mile length of the Taptee to Bulsar line. They were constructed within 15 months, from 1 November 1859 to 1st February 1861.

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