Denby Dale Viaduct | |
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Coordinates | 53°34′12″N1°39′40″W / 53.570°N 1.661°W Coordinates: 53°34′12″N1°39′40″W / 53.570°N 1.661°W |
OS grid reference | SE225081 |
Carries | Penistone line |
Crosses | Dearne Valley |
Locale | Denby Dale, West Yorkshire, England |
Owner | Network Rail |
Characteristics | |
Total length | 15 chains (990 ft; 300 m) [note 1] |
Height | 112 feet (34 m) |
Rail characteristics | |
No. of tracks | 1 (built for 2) |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
History | |
Architect | John Hawkshaw |
Construction start | 20 September 1877 |
Construction end | 20 September 1879 |
Opened | 1880 |
Replaces | Denby Dale Viaduct (wooden) |
Statistics | |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Designated | 15 August 1985 |
Reference no. | 1313339 |
Location | |
Denby Dale Viaduct is a grade II listed railway viaduct in Denby Dale, West Yorkshire, England. The curving viaduct carries the Penistone line over the Dearne valley in Denby Dale. The viaduct is constructed of stone, but the first viaduct to carry the line in that location was made of wood, being replaced by the current structure in 1880. The abutments of the former viaduct are easily discernible against the western side of the present viaduct.
The Huddersfield and Sheffield Junction Railway, connecting Huddersfield with Penistone, was opened to traffic in 1850. Originally, all viaducts on the line were supposed to be constructed of stone, and whilst some were, such as Lockwood Viaduct further north, others such as Denby Dale were hastily designed and constructed from wood due to a stone-masons strike, which had inflated the price of building a viaduct in this material due to the shortage of skilled labour. [1] The timber viaduct was 1,070-foot (330 m) long, consisting of fifty-five spans each around 16-foot (4.9 m) in length. The greatest height from the rails to ground was 108 feet (33 m), with the viaduct reaching an average height of 76 feet (23 m). [2] However, this first viaduct collapsed during a gale in January 1847, [3] with a local newspaper reporting that "27 out of the 50 perpendicular supports were blown down [and] such was the distance that they had to fall, the strongest timbers were broken into splinters and matchwood." [4] A replacement timber viaduct was erected on the site between 1848 and 1849, with the railway opening to traffic in 1850. [5]
Robert Stephenson inspected the wooden bridges and viaducts on the line in 1851, and declared them safe (stating that had had an "entire conviction of their perfect safety.."), [6] however, Denby Dale Viaduct was reported as being unsafe by 1869, and a replacement viaduct was not constructed until 13 years later. [7] Improvements and repairs were undertaken after the 1869 report, and in 1874, an appointed inspector tested the viaduct by running four engines coupled together (each weighing 40 tonnes (44 tons)) across it, and checking for vibrations. [8] [note 2] The inspector's report detailed that
In a work of this description, there ought never to be any question of actual failure under passing trains, but there should be an ample margin of strength as between the loads which it is required to sustain, and its ultimate strength, and no portions of it ought to be allowed to remain in the advanced condition of decay which was observable in certain timbers. I am far from wishing to create any unnecessary alarm, but I should not be doing my duty if I did not state, as a result of my examination, that in the present condition of the viaduct, a reasonable and sufficient margin of safety has not in my opinion been preserved. [5]
The timber viaduct was taken down in 1884, four years after the stone replacement viaduct opened. [10] The architect and engineer for both viaducts was John Hawkshaw, who by the time of the 1880 viaduct, was acting as a consulting engineer. [11] The decision to switch from stone to timber in the 1840s was a last minute one, which, according to Hawkshaw's obituary paid off well, as it prevented a delay in the line's completion. The revenue earned from the outset, and the lack of compensatory tariffs paid out for a delayed line, meant that the new stone viaduct could be paid for from these receipts. [12] However, some criticism was levelled at the company (the L&YR) in that the new viaduct was built over an old coal mine, and a letter from the town clerk of Denby Dale stated that some of the old workings had been filled up, but not all. [13] The stone abutments of the original trestle viaduct can be seen from the present viaduct, just west of each end. [14]
Construction on the present day Denby Dale Viaduct started on 20 September 1877, with the contractors using over 100,000 tonnes (110,000 tons) of stone. [15] It was opened to traffic in 1880, and is 112 feet (34 m) high above the valley, [14] [16] 15 chains (990 ft; 300 m) long with 21 arches, each with a 40-foot (12 m) span. [17] [18] There are sixteen piers and six abutments, and each pier of the viaduct is 11 feet (3.4 m) wide at the bottom, tapering to 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) at the top. [19] The contractors for building the viaduct were a local firm, Naylors, who tendered a cost of £27,650, (equivalent to £2,769,000in 2021) and estimated a time of two and half years. The viaduct was finished early, but at a significant loss to the contractors. [16] The viaduct is 150 yards (140 m) south of Denby Dale railway station, and is a grade II listed structure. [5] [20] [21]
The Ribblehead Viaduct or Batty Moss Viaduct carries the Settle–Carlisle railway across Batty Moss in the Ribble Valley at Ribblehead, in North Yorkshire, England. The viaduct, built by the Midland Railway, is 28 miles (45 km) north-west of Skipton and 26 miles (42 km) south-east of Kendal. It is a Grade II* listed structure. Ribblehead Viaduct is the longest and the third tallest structure on the Settle–Carlisle line.
The Penistone Line is operated by Northern Trains in the West Yorkshire Metro and Travel South Yorkshire areas of northern England. It connects Huddersfield and Sheffield via Penistone and Barnsley, serving many rural communities. Metrocards can be used for travel between Huddersfield and Denby Dale and intermediate stations.
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Lockwood railway station is a railway station in Huddersfield, England. It is situated 1.5 miles (2 km) south of Huddersfield station on the Penistone Line between Huddersfield and Sheffield. It serves the Lockwood district of Huddersfield, and services are provided by Northern.
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Bowling Tunnel is a railway Tunnel on the Calder Valley line, south of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. The Tunnel was completed in 1850 after some difficulty in construction, and allowed trains from the south to access the second railway terminus in the town of Bradford. The Tunnel remains open to railway traffic with trains between Halifax and Bradford Interchange using it.
Knaresborough Viaduct is a viaduct in the North Yorkshire town of Knaresborough, England. The viaduct carries the Harrogate line over the River Nidd in the town. The viaduct was supposed to have opened in 1848, but the first construction collapsed into the river very near to completion, which necessitated a new viaduct and delayed the opening of the line through Knaresborough by three years.
Dandry Mire Viaduct,, is a railway viaduct on the Settle & Carlisle line in Cumbria, England. It is just north of Garsdale station, 21 miles (34 km) from Settle, and 51 miles (82 km) south of Carlisle. When the Settle & Carlisle line was being built, the traversing of Dandry Mire was to have been by use of an embankment, but the bog swallowed all of the material poured into it, so a trench was dug instead, and a viaduct constructed. The viaduct, which is 227 yards (208 m) long and 50 feet (15 m) high, is still open to traffic on the railway, and is a prominent landmark at the head of Garsdale.
Staithes Viaduct was a railway bridge that straddled Staithes Beck at Staithes, Yorkshire, England. It was north of the closed Staithes railway station. It was known for an anemometer, a fitting to tell the signaller if winds across the viaduct were too strong for crossing trains.
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The Chirk Viaduct is a Grade II* listed railway viaduct over the River Ceiriog between England and Wales. The viaduct carries the Shrewsbury–Chester line from the Welsh town of Chirk in historic Denbighshire from the north to the English village of Chirk Bank in Weston Rhyn, Shropshire to the south. Chirk Aqueduct lies parallel to the viaduct's east.
Kilton Viaduct was a railway viaduct that straddled Kilton Beck, near to Loftus, in North Yorkshire, England. The viaduct was opened to traffic in 1867, however in 1911, with the viaduct suffering subsidence from the nearby ironstone mining, the whole structure was encased in waste material from the mines creating an embankment which re-opened fully to traffic in 1913. The railway closed in 1963, but then in 1974, it re-opened as part of the freight line to Boulby Mine carrying potash traffic.
The Clayton West branch line was a standard gauge passenger and freight railway near Huddersfield, in West Yorkshire, England. The line was built by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, opening to traffic in September 1879. Many proposals were considered to extending the line eastwards towards Darton, and then connecting to Barnsley, but these never came to fruition. In 1963, both stations on the line,, were listed for closure under the Beeching cuts, but the branch survived as a passenger carrying railway until 1983. The branch also forwarded coal from two collieries adjacent to the line, which maintained a freight service on the branch up until closure.
Lockwood Viaduct is a stone railway bridge that carries the Huddersfield to Penistone Line across the River Holme, in West Yorkshire, England. The viaduct is noted for its height,, leading one journalist to describe it as "One of the most stupendous structures of ancient or modern times." One local challenge has been to "lob" a cricket ball over the viaduct, with some claiming that they have. The viaduct was completed in 1848 and is now a grade II listed structure.