Stunning Gokteik Viaduct, crossing north in the rain - Myanmar railways (Burma)

Gokteik Viaduct, an amazing feat of engineering, views of a loco going north, from the southern side of the viaduct. The viaduct is part of the facinating journey from Mandalay to Lashio. The train is hauled by a Chinese CNR locomotive, No. DF 2080, manufactured by Dalian Locomotive & Rolling Stock Co. Ltd., which had a 2000 hp CAT engine.

The Gokteik viaduct is a huge railway trestle, approximately 100 km northeast of Mandalay, in, western Shan State, Myanmar, between the two towns of Pyin Oo Lwin and Lashio. When completed, it was the highest bridge in Burma (Myanmar) and the largest railway trestle in the world. It was constructed in 1899 by the Pennsylvania and Maryland Bridge Construction Company, and opened in 1900. The construction project was overseen by Sir Arthur Rendel, engineer for the Burma Railway Company.

The viaduct is 689 m (2,260 ft) long, with 15 towers, one of which is a double tower. The height of the bridge, as measured from the rail deck to the ground, on the downstream side of the tallest tower, is 102 metres (335 ft), whereas the height from the river, as it flows underground through a tunnel at the point where it passes underneath the trestle, is said to be 250 m (820 ft).

Filmed on the 5 October 2018

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