A German Truss on a Copper Mine Railway
The Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Iron Bridge (Ashitanikawa Iron Bridge) is a steel truss railway bridge of 1893 in Tachikawacho, Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture, listed as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 7 August 2009. It carries a single track across the Ashitanikawa on a span 39 meters long, set at a slant to the water rather than square to it.
The bridge belongs to the lower line of the Besshi Mine Railway, which opened in 1893 to move copper ore down from the mountains to the smelting works on the coast at Niihama. Hadeba, the district at the mountain end of that line, later became the mine's final headquarters. Sumitomo had begun working the Besshi ore body in 1691, and the mine stayed in production until 1973.
Local usage has never settled on one name. The structure appears in Niihama records as the Ashitanigawa Bridge and as the Uchiyoke Bridge, after the small settlement on the far bank.
Why the Bridge Was Registered
Registration came under the criterion of contributing to the historic landscape of the country, and the bridge holds registry number 38-0089. The public notice followed on 25 August 2009. It is counted as one structure.
What sets the Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Iron Bridge apart is the truss itself: a bowstring Warren truss of 125 feet, with eyebars in the lower chord and pins at the joints. Eyebars are flat iron straps with a hole punched at each end; they take tension only, and they are threaded onto pins the way links of a chain are. A bridge built this way can be shipped as a bundle of separate members and assembled on site with little more than a hoist. Nothing is riveted into a rigid frame.
The ironwork came from Germany. Niihama City records the parts as products of the Harkort works, imported for the 1893 opening of the line, and notes that only a handful of bridges of this kind survive anywhere in Japan. Fewer still remain where they were first erected. This one has never moved.
What to Look For
Ride slowly and the geometry explains itself. The upper chord rises in a shallow arc from one end of the span to the other, which is where the term bowstring comes from: the curved member is the bow, the straight lower chord the string. Between them the diagonals run in alternating slopes, forming a row of W shapes. That alternation is the Warren pattern, and it lets each diagonal work as a strut or a tie in turn instead of doubling up members.
Look down at the lower chord as the train enters the span. Instead of the deep riveted plate girders familiar from later Japanese railway bridges, there are thin flat bars, several stacked side by side, pinned through their ends. The pins are visible as circular bosses at every panel point.
Then look at the abutments. The track crosses the river at an angle, so the masonry at each end is cut on a slant and the two ends of the truss do not sit opposite each other. Skew bridges of this date are uncommon in Japan, and building one in imported parts meant the geometry had to be worked out before the metal left Europe.
The tourist train that crosses the Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Iron Bridge runs at roughly 10 kilometers per hour and takes about five minutes to reach the far end, slow enough to watch the joints pass.
Visiting
The bridge is still in service. Minetopia Besshi, the mine heritage park at Hadeba, runs a small tourist train called Besshi No. 1 over the original alignment, and crossing the Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Iron Bridge (Ashitanikawa Iron Bridge) is part of the ride. There is no footpath along the track, so the only way to be on the bridge is to be on the train.
Two tickets include the crossing. The mine tour, which combines the round trip by train with a walk through the show tunnel, costs 1,500 yen for adults, 1,100 yen for junior and senior high school students and 900 yen for children aged three through elementary school. The Besshi No. 1 ride on its own costs 700 yen for adults, 600 yen for junior and senior high school students and 500 yen for children aged three through elementary school. Outbound departures leave at 00, 20 and 40 minutes past the hour; return trains leave at 05, 25 and 45 minutes past. Opening hours shift with the season and differ between facilities in the park, so check the operator's site before setting out. The park has no regular closing day.
Entry to the grounds and the car park cost nothing, so a look at the bridge from outside is free; only the crossing needs a ticket. No photography ban is posted, and pictures from inside the carriage are straightforward.
By public transport, take a Setouchi bus from JR Niihama Station bound for Minetopia Besshi and stay to the terminus. By car, the park is about 6 kilometers from the Niihama interchange on the Matsuyama Expressway, roughly 12 minutes.
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Q&A
- Can I visit the Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Iron Bridge (Ashitanikawa Iron Bridge), and what does it cost?
- Yes, by riding the Besshi No. 1 tourist train at Minetopia Besshi in Niihama. The train-only ticket is 700 yen for adults, 600 yen for junior and senior high school students and 500 yen for children aged three through elementary school. The combined mine tour ticket is 1,500 yen, 1,100 yen and 900 yen respectively. Entering the park grounds is free.
- When was the Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Iron Bridge built, and when was it registered?
- It was built in 1893 for the opening of the lower line of the Besshi Mine Railway, and it was entered on the register of Registered Tangible Cultural Properties on 7 August 2009 under registry number 38-0089.
- How long is the Hadeba Iron Bridge and what is it made of?
- The span is 39 meters, carrying a single track. The superstructure is a steel bowstring Warren truss of 125 feet with eyebars in the lower chord and pinned joints, and it sits on masonry abutments. The metal parts were made in Germany and imported.
- Is the Hadeba Iron Bridge the same thing as the Uchiyoke Bridge?
- Yes. Niihama City lists Ashitanigawa Bridge and Uchiyoke Bridge as alternative names for the same structure. The Agency for Cultural Affairs register uses the form Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Iron Bridge (Ashitanikawa Iron Bridge).
- How do I reach the Hadeba Iron Bridge from Niihama Station?
- Take a Setouchi bus from JR Niihama Station toward Minetopia Besshi and ride to the last stop. Drivers should allow about 12 minutes over roughly 6 kilometers from the Niihama interchange on the Matsuyama Expressway. Parking is free.
Basic Information
| Name | Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Iron Bridge (Ashitanikawa Iron Bridge) |
|---|---|
| Location | Tachikawacho, Niihama City, Ehime Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure), registry number 38-0089 |
| Year Designated | Registered 7 August 2009 (Heisei 21); public notice 25 August 2009 |
| Quantity | 1 structure |
| Dimensions | Span 39 meters; 125-foot bowstring Warren truss; single track, with abutments |
| Owner | Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Crossed by the Besshi No. 1 tourist train at Minetopia Besshi; walking on the track is not permitted |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database: Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Iron Bridge (Ashitanikawa Iron Bridge)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00007808
- Cultural Heritage Online: Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Iron Bridge (Ashitanikawa Iron Bridge)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/198799
- Niihama City, Besshi Copper Mine Cultural Heritage Division: New Registered Tangible Cultural Property (5), Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Iron Bridge (Ashitanigawa Bridge)
- https://www.city.niihama.lg.jp/soshiki/dozan/torokubesshikozantetudo.html
- Niihama City: Five Properties Added to the National Register of Tangible Cultural Properties (2009)
- https://www.city.niihama.lg.jp/soshiki/dozan/torokuyuukei.html
- Ehime Prefecture, Cultural Properties of Ehime: Former Besshi Mine Railway Hadeba Iron Bridge (Ashitanikawa Iron Bridge)
- https://www.pref.ehime.jp/ehimenotakara/669.html
- Minetopia Besshi: Mine Tour and Besshi No. 1 Train Ride
- https://besshi.com/hadeba/mine-train/
- Minetopia Besshi: Admission and Ticket Prices
- https://besshi.com/price/
- Minetopia Besshi: Access
- https://besshi.com/access/
Last verified: 2026.09.04