Loop Line bridge

The "Loop Line bridge" is a heavy railroad bridge that crosses the Liffey on the east side of central Dublin, continuing over city streets on the north side to the Amiens Street station and on the south side to the Westland Row station. It was built in 1891 to connect train lines on the two sides of the city, "looping" between the two stations in a large arc. Its elevated structure, occasioned by the need for ships and city traffic to pass beneath it, spoiled views of the large, handsome neoclassical building just to the northeast: the Custom House.

John Hunt 2014

Photograph showing the old swiveling Butt Bridge in the foreground, the Custom House in the background, and the Loop Line bridge between them. Source: southdublinlibraries.ie.

1950s photo by William York Tindall of the bridge from the corner of Great Brunswick Street and Westland Row, with a train heading to the nearby station. Source: The Joyce Country.

Photograph by YvonneM of the Loop Line Bridge in 2011 as seen from the new Butt Bridge. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Detail from period map showing the Loop Line loop between the Westland Row and Amiens Street stations in dark black. Souce: www.gutenberg.org.