Note To Searchers:
There is road bridge contruction occuring on the M1 side of the rail-bridge. Obviously, please be discrete if there is construction crew in the area. The rail-bridge is still open for pedestrican access, and you can still access underneath the rail-bridge from the RSL side. Be aware that its not the nicest location under there at the moment - but it will improve. Please do not leave travel bugs or geocoins in the cache. The cache has been muggled twice this year. I am prepared to keep it going but would hate for trackables to stop moving because this cache has been muggled.
The original steam train era South Coast (aka Gold Coast) railway line was via the inland route from Ernest Junction (between Helensvale and Molendinar) and Tweed Heads. The line opened in 1903 and closed in 1961. This bridge was number 21 out of 25 bridges on the rail line from Nerang and the only structurally complete bridge still in existence on the line.
The bridge itself is made of iron and steel. It features screw piles. These hollow piles are screwed into place rather than being pounded into the subsurface, then filled with sand and concrete. Their advantage is that they hold firm in soft ground such as the sand and clay under the bridge.
This particular bridge has 21 spans each 27’ apart. As the bridge was prefabricated in the UK, each pier is labelled and if you look on the piers close to the decking you’ll see its number and position eg 15 U embossed in the metalwork. Pier 15U is the 15th pier on the upstream side of the bridge. The Currumbin Rail bridge is unique in that all spans are supported by three piers.
When the rail line was being planned there was much discussion between the Queensland and New South Wales as to whether the New South Wales 4’ 8½” track would be extended north from Murwillumbah to Tweed Heads and thus be connected to the South Coast line. Plans were made for major bridges on the line from Nerang to accommodate the wider and heavier NSW locomotives and eventually the tracks would have been re-laid to NSW Standard Gauge. History has shown that this did not occur.
After a century of exposure to sea air causing corrosion evident in some of the bearers, and with increased popularity as a walkway, the decision was made to renovate the bridge in 2016. All the above ground components were removed, the screw piles remained in place but were checked and renovated. The load bearing cross bearers replaced with concrete girders. This has meant that the bridge decking can now be wider than the original 2.1m. The original Earl of Dudley and Carnegie girders were refurbished and repositioned to reflect their original placement on the bridge, although they are no longer load bearing. Information signs have been placed at either end of the bridge and are mounted on former bearers from the structure.
Currumbin Railway Station and rail bridge as seen from north side of Currumbin Creek, Queensland, circa 1914. Photo courtesy of the Gold Coast City Council Local Studies Library
As with the Kirra Cutting, after the line closed, the Currumbin bridge became used for pedestrian traffic.
The cache is a 200ml sistema container. Watch your head when exploring under the bridge. The structure is safe but it’s easy to get carried away and forget about cross beams.