Jangan Jadi Tourist - Jadilah Traveler: Gokteik Viaduct (Bag. 3)

Dari jendela kereta tempat saya duduk arah kanan, terlihat sebuah jembatan panjang dengan pendukung baja berdiri tegak dari sebuah ngarai yang dalam ..... Gokteik Viaduct. Bangunan yang dibangun pada abad ke 18 ini menunjukkan betapa pentingnya saat itu jalan kereta api antara Lasio dan Mandalay ini. Meskipun saat ini hanya ada satu pasang rangkaian kereta api dengan gerbong lama yang secara perlahan-lahan tetap melayani trayek ini.

Belum baca cerita yang pertama, Klik disini
Belum baca cerita yang kedua, Klik disini

Artikel dari Wikipedia ini yang membuat saya tertarik mengunjungi kota ini:

The Goteik viaduct  also known as Gohteik viaduct) is a railway trestle in Nawnghkio, western Shan State, Myanmar (also known as Burma). The bridge is between the two towns of Pyin Oo Lwin, the summer capital of the former British colonial administrators of Burma, and Lashio, the principal town of northern Shan State. It is the highest bridge in Myanmar and when it was completed, the largest railway trestle in the world. It is located approximately 100 km northeast of Mandalay. 

 The bridge was constructed in 1899 by the Pennsylvania and Maryland Bridge Construction Company, and opened in 1900. The components were made by the Pennsylvania Steel Company and were shipped from the United States. The rail line was constructed to help expand the influence of the British Empire in the region. The construction project was overseen by Sir Arthur Rendel, engineer for the Burma Railway Company.

The viaduct measures 689 metres (2,260 ft) from end to end, and includes 15 towers which span 12 metres (39 ft), along with a double tower 24 metres (79 ft) long. The 15 towers support 10 deck truss spans of 37 metres (121 ft) along with six plate girder spans 18 metres (59 ft) long, and an approach span of 12 metres (39 ft). Many sources have put the height of the bridge at 250 metres (820 ft). That is supposedly a measurement to the river level as it flows underground through a tunnel at the point where it passes underneath the trestle. The true 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). The cost of construction was £111,200

 

Because the line from Mandalay to Lashio is considered to be of strategic value, a diversionary route to the valley floor, featuring spectacular horseshoe curves, was built in 1976-1978, to keep trains running even if the Goteik viaduct was sabotaged. Those tracks were still visible from the viaduct in 2013, but the diversionary line has been left to the tropical vegetation since 2002

Kelihatannya sengaja atau memang takut rangkaian kereta api masuk jurang, kecepatan kereta ap[i nyaris seperti orang jalan kaki. Pelan .... sehingga memberi kesempatan pada mereka yang berminat dengan sejarah ini untuk puas melihat dan mengabadikan. Saya sendiri berkali-kali pindah tempat sehingga dapat melihat sisi kiri dan sisi kanan jembatan.

 

Menjelang sore, namun matahari masih bersinar terang, kereta api masuk kota yang agak besar .. Pyin Oo Lwin. Aneh dan susah untuk didengar dan diucapkan oleh lidah kita.

Sebuah kota peninggalan kolonial yang masih banyak sisa-sisa bangunannya.