Larpool Viaduct | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 54°28′28″N0°37′06″W / 54.474500°N 0.618450°W |
Carries | Foot and cycle path, formerly single track railway line |
Characteristics | |
Total length | 305 yd (279 m) |
Height | 120 ft (37 m) |
No. of spans | 13 |
History | |
Opened | c. 1885 |
Statistics | |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Designated | 4 December 1972 |
Reference no. | 1366577 [1] |
Location | |
Larpool Viaduct, also known as the Esk Valley Viaduct is a 13 arch brick viaduct built to carry the Scarborough & Whitby Railway over the River Esk, North Yorkshire, England.
The viaduct was constructed for the Scarborough and Whitby Railway to carry a single track line over the River Esk and valley near Whitby, as well as crossing the Esk Valley Railway, and Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway. Due to its situation close to the sea the design avoided the use of iron, using brick and cement construction; the design was based on the Saltburn Viaduct. [2] Construction began in October 1882 and was complete by October 1884; two men fell from the piers during construction, but recovered. [3] The resident engineer was Charles Arthur Rowlandson, the contractors were John Waddell and Sons. [4]
The viaduct is a 13-arch structure, 305 yd (279 m) long, with the rail level reaching 120 ft (37 m) high. The foundations on land were excavated to the level of rock, and formed from slag based cement. The river foundations were excavated in brick lined wells. The river foundation excavations were complicated by large oak trees found embedded in the river, which required divers for manual removal. [5] Piers 5,7,8 and 9 had triple foundations, connected above the water level by two semicircular arches. [6] Three of the piers in the river are skewed so as not to deflect the tidal flow (the River Esk is tidal as far as Ruswarp upstream). [7] [8]
The main arches are 55 to 65 ft (17 to 20 m) wide, and 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) high, made of bricks seven deep, 2 ft 9 in (0.84 m). The width between the parapets is 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) on straight sections. [9]
Services on the line ended in March 1965 as a result of the Beeching Report. [10]
The viaduct became grade II listed in 1972. [1] In 2000 much of the former line and the viaduct were opened to the public. By 2006 parts of the brickwork had become unsafe due to spalling, and the parts of the outer layer were replaced. [10] As of 2012 the viaduct is part of the 'Scarborough to Whitby Rail Trail', also promoted as the "Scarborough to Whitby Cinder Track", [11] a cycle route. [12]
The viaduct is mentioned in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula :
The little river, the Esk, runs through a deep valley, which broadens out as it comes near the harbour. A great viaduct runs across, with high piers, through which the view seems somehow further away than it really is.
North Yorkshire is a ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber and North East regions of England. It borders County Durham to the north, the North Sea to the east, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the south-east, South Yorkshire to the south, West Yorkshire to the south-west, and Cumbria and Lancashire to the west. Northallerton is the county town.
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk. It has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. The fishing port emerged during the Middle Ages, supporting important herring and whaling fleets, and was where Captain Cook learned seamanship and, coincidentally, where his first vessel to explore the southern ocean, HMS Endeavour, was built. Jet and alum were mined locally, and Whitby jet, which was mined by the Romans and Victorians, became fashionable during the 19th century.
The River Esk is a river in North Yorkshire, England that empties into the North Sea at Whitby after a course of around 28 miles (45 km) through its valley of Eskdale. The river's name is derived from the Brythonic word "isca" meaning "water". The Esk is the only major river in Yorkshire that flows directly into the North Sea; all other watercourses defined as being major rivers by the Environment Agency, either flow to the North Sea via the River Tees or the Humber Estuary.
The Esk Valley Line is a railway line located in the north of England, covering a total distance of approximately 35 miles (56 km), running from Middlesbrough to Whitby. The line follows the course of the River Esk for much of its eastern half.
Grosmont is a village and civil parish situated in Eskdale in the North York Moors National Park, within the boundaries of the Scarborough district of the county of North Yorkshire, England.
Sleights is a railway station on the Esk Valley Line, which runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby via Nunthorpe. The station, situated 2 miles 78 chains (4.8 km) south-west of Whitby, serves the villages of Briggswath and Sleights, Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Ruswarp is a railway station on the Esk Valley Line, which runs between Middlesbrough and Whitby via Nunthorpe. The station, situated 1 mile 30 chains (2.2 km) south-west of Whitby, serves the village of Ruswarp, Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Whitby is a railway station serving the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. It is the southern terminus of the Esk Valley Line from Middlesbrough. The station is owned by Network Rail; its mainline services are operated by Northern Trains and its heritage services by the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
The Landore viaduct is a railway viaduct over the Swansea valley and the River Tawe at Landore in south Wales. It provides a link between Swansea city center and the West Wales Line to the South Wales Main Line. The valley crossing provides a panoramic view of Landore, Kilvey Hill, the Liberty Stadium and the Swansea Enterprise Park.
The Scarborough & Whitby Railway was a railway line from Scarborough to Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. The line followed a difficult but scenic route along the North Yorkshire coast.
The Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway (WRMU), a.k.a. the Whitby–Loftus Line, was a railway line in North Yorkshire, England, built between 1871 and 1886, running from Loftus on the Yorkshire coast to the Esk at Whitby, and connecting Middlesbrough to Whitby along the coast.
Ruswarp is a village in the civil parish of Whitby, in North Yorkshire, England. It is around 1.8 miles (2.9 km) from Whitby, at the junction of the B1410 and B1416 roads, on the River Esk and the Esk Valley Line, with trains stopping at Ruswarp railway station. Originally it was called Risewarp meaning 'silted land overgrown with brushwood'.
Whitby West Cliff railway station was a railway station on the Whitby Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway. It was opened on 3 December 1883, to serve the West Cliff area of the town of Whitby, North Yorkshire, England. It was one of two stations serving Whitby; the other was Whitby Town railway station, which served the lines to Malton and Battersby.
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.
Prospect Hill Junction was a railway junction in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England. The junction had access to the line into Whitby Town railway station, Whitby West Cliff railway station, and also to the Scarborough line, which went south across Larpool Viaduct. It first saw traffic in December 1883, but did not open as a junction until 1885. It was closed to passenger and freight traffic in March 1965, though the lines were not lifted until 1973.
The piers of Whitby are four structures along the River Esk estuary in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England. Whilst all the piers can be accessed by the general public, the piers were not built as seaside attractions – so-called pleasure piers like Redcar, Saltburn or Withernsea – but rather serving a civil purpose, such as ship loading and protecting the harbour. The main West and East piers in the town were built to provide shelter from the currents and storms of the North Sea, and in the 18th and 19th centuries, any ships seeking refuge in the harbour were charged a levy for use of Whitby's safe haven. These levies were used to pay for the maintenance and improvement of the piers.
Conisbrough Viaduct is a former railway viaduct, near to Cadeby and Conisbrough in South Yorkshire, England. The viaduct consists of two sections of brick and stone on each bank, connected by a lattice girder section, some 113–116 feet (34–35 m) over the River Don. The height and space were required should shipping need to navigate along the river. The viaduct carried the Dearne Valley Railway over the River Don between 1909 and 1966, after closure it was converted into a foot and cycle path. The structure is grade II listed, and is notable for being one of the first bridges in Britain to be built using a rope system above the viaduct known as a "Blondin".
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.
Saltburn Viaduct is a railway bridge in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. The line was built as an extension of the Redcar and Saltburn Railway, and the viaduct is mostly built out of brick. The line opened to passengers in 1872, but became freight only in 1957, a purpose for which it still is in use for today as part of the Boulby line.