Fish-belly girder bridge Fehl-Ritzhausen

Extract from a message from the "Interest Group Westerwald-Querbahn (IWQ) e.V.":
"The steel lattice bridge near Fehl-Ritzhausen is a particularly interesting example of a so-called fish-belly girder bridge, the technical name of a" parabolic steel lattice girder bridge ".
It consists of two differently sized abutments made of domestic blue basalt with a steel lattice girder suspended between them.
The arch girder hangs down, which is why it is commonly referred to as a "fish belly girder bridge". Usually bridges were built with their latticework upwards. Only in rare cases, i.e. where there was enough height, was the girder work on the railways moved downwards. Another decisive factor was whether or not a profile restriction had to be accepted on a route. The bridge at Fehl-Ritzhausen is today the only bridge in the Westerwald area that was built in 1906 as a so-called "fish belly girder bridge".
Technical specifications:
The south abutment is approx. 5 m long, the north abutment approx. 15 m. Round iron railings are attached to both abutments. The bridge girder is approx. 30 m long. The height above the streambed is approx. 18 m. The railing is made of angle steel. "

There were only a few bridges of this construction along the Westerwald-Querbahn.
This one and one in Herborn-Burg are left over.

This steel lattice bridge of the former Westerwald-Querbahn is a particularly interesting example of an impressive bridge construction that no longer exists in the Westerwald.