Macquarie River Rail Bridge

The Macquarie River Rail Bridge, also known as the Dubbo Lattice Railway Bridge, is a heritage-listed railway bridge located over the Macquarie River in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia.

Designed by John Whitton and completed in 1884, the bridge was constructed by Benjamin Barnes with ironworks supplied by Cochrane & Co. It is owned by RailCorp and has been listed on the NSW State Heritage Register and the Register of the National Estate.

During the period of 1873-1893, there was a significant expansion of the road and rail network in New South Wales. Local materials were used to keep costs down, but long-span bridges were still needed to cross major rivers. The Dubbo Rail Bridge is part of a group of British-designed wrought iron lattice truss bridges that were constructed during this colonial period. Out of the twelve railway bridges built, eleven are still in use today.

The Dubbo Rail Bridge is a three-span continuous iron lattice bridge with a total length of 309 meters. It features four triangulations in its lattice work and piers consisting of pairs of cast iron cylinders supplied by Cochrane & Co. The bridge carries a single standard gauge railway and has wrought iron plate web girders at each end of the lattice bridge. The approach to the bridge includes thirty-nine timber girder spans.

The Macquarie River Rail Bridge at Dubbo has played an important role in the development and history of New South Wales. The iron lattice railway bridges built during the nineteenth century contributed significantly to the social and commercial development of the districts they reached. The Dubbo Rail Bridge is part of the most significant group of colonial bridges in the state and showcases a high degree of technical achievement.