Goteik Viaduct, Myanmar
Taking a train journey across Goteik Viaduct is a thrilling, breathtaking and nerve racking experience that makes one admire the ambition and talent of the engineers who constructed it in 1899.
The Mandalay – Hsipaw – Lashio Railway traverses 117 miles through the Shan Hills almost all the way to the border with China. The railroad includes the Gokteik Viaduct, a 2260 ft-long, 320 ft-high viaduct across the Gokteik gorge near Hsipaw. When built, it was the longest such viaduct in the world. The track rises a continuous 1:40 gradient throughout its length and the viaduct, designed by Alexander Rendel & Sons and constructed by the Pennsylvania Steel Company, was considered an engineering marvel at that time.
