Goldach Viaduct

The Goldach Viaduct is one of the oldest railway bridges in Switzerland.

The Goldach Viaduct is a railway bridge of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), which connects the Rorschach–St. Gallen near Goldach SG via the Goldach.
The viaduct was built by the entrepreneur Georg Schöttle from Stuttgart according to the plans of the Stuttgart architect Karl Etzel.[1] In contrast to the single-track iron bridges over the Sitter, Glatt, Uze and Thur, the United Swiss Railways (VSB) opted for a double-track stone arch bridge with five semicircular vaults when building the Goldach Viaduct. In 1855, several natural events affected the construction of the bridge. On July 25, a violent earthquake shook the construction site, and on August 21, flooding ripped away part of the scaffolding. On November 11, 1855, the keystone of the bridge over the Goldach was laid. The colludation took place on October 9, 1856. On October 25, 1856, the St. Gallen–Rorschach railway was opened with the Goldach Viaduct.

Even after electrification in 1927, the building was able to cope with the heavy railway traffic. In 1990, the bridge was renovated with the installation of a concrete support slab for double-track operation. In 1993 the second track was put into operation.

The Goldach Bridge, along with the railway bridges near Turgi over the Reuss and the Limmat, is one of the oldest[2] railway bridges still in use in Switzerland.

One of the oldest railway viaducts in Switzerland. The Goldach Bridge, along with the railway bridges near Turgi over the Reuss and the Limmat, is one of the oldest railway bridges still in use in Switzerland.