It once carried heavy freight traffic to landmark Lanarkshire steelworks, but the Merry Street Bridge has been transported from Motherwell to its new home in the Highlands.
The historic structure has been donated to the Strathspey Railway and it will now be used to extend the rail track over the River Dulnain towards Grantown.
Two 15-tonne beams will be placed over the river, on the castellated abutments, before a deck is fixed between them.
Last night Strathspey Railway chairman Douglas Scott welcomed the development. He said: “We are now showing to anyone who may have doubted our commitment to extend the railway to Grantown that we have the will, manpower and skills to achieve it but, of course, we also need the goodwill and support of quite a number of others to help make it happen.”
At one time the Merry Street Bridge in Motherwell carried heavy freight traffic in and out of the Ravenscraig steel works but it has now been donated to the steam railway by Network Rail.
Last week a special English, Welsh and Scottish Railways (EWS) train left Mossend terminal in Lanarkshire with the bridge beam load and decking parts.
On Friday, it left Inverness for Aviemore where it was switched over the main line to the Strathspey line where a Class 31 heritage diesel engine hauled the beam load and other parts to Boat of Garten for unloading.
A crane lifted off the two huge steel beams, each of which is 85ft long and 6ft 6in high. They will need some modification before they can be placed over the river.
Dismantling, storing, transporting and offloading the bridge cost Strathspey Railway about £60,000 but they are hoping to get some funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
They will need a similar level of funding to reassemble, refurbish and instal the bridge over the river.
Railway historian Ann Glen said: “It was great to actually be at Boat of Garten on Friday to see these massive beams being unloaded. Seeing Scottish railway infrastructure being restored by the dedicated people at Strathspey is a great sight compared to the dark days of service withdrawals during the 1960s.”
Grantown Community Council chairman Jim Beveridge said: “The community council is fully behind the Strathspey Railway in its efforts to get to Grantown. The bridge for the River Dulnain is another encouraging step towards returning railway services to Grantown.”