Railway heritage: Eiffel's bridges

There are two very similar constructions to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the great work of the French engineer, in Granada, since they were both designed in the same French studio: they are known as Puente de Lata, in Durcal (formerly Puente de Gor), and Puente Hacho, the longest iron bridge in Spain.

When the bridge in Dúrcal was built, it was over the Gor riverbed, with the original location being part of the railway line from Guadix toAlmendricos. But the train had to cross the bridge without passengers, with only the driver and a fireman on board, since a year earlier, in 1905, it had been rendered almost useless when one of the foundations shifted. Passengers were obliged to walk behind the train, until in 1912 another bridge was built, the Puente Chico, one kilometre upstream. In 1923 the bridge was moved to the Barranco de Dúrcal ravine, to be used on the tram line to Granada. 

On the Almería-Linares line, between Guadahortuna and Alamedilla, the Puente Hacho bridge was built between 1893 and 1895. The structure is very similar to that of other works designed in Eiffel's studio, including the Puente de San Juan bridge in Oporto. It consists of 12 metal sections, with a total length of 624 metres long and a maximum height of 50 metres. When it was built it was already an engineering benchmark, as it was the longest iron bridge in Spain. When it fell into disuse in 1978, RENFE wanted to sell the bridge to a scrap metal dealer in Madrid for one and a half million pesetas, but under pressure from local residents this fantastic civil engineering work was declared a historical-artistic monument, here we have a town in the north of Granada that is totally committed to its heritage!