The Nidd Viaduct, also known as the Bilton Viaduct, is a former railway viaduct in Bilton, a village in North Yorkshire, in England.
In 1845, the Leeds and Thirsk Railway received permission to construct a line north from Leeds Wellington railway station to Thirsk railway station. [1] At Bilton, the line had to cross the Nidd Gorge, and work on a viaduct started in 1846, [2] designed by John Cass Birkinshaw. [3] It was constructed of gritstone slabs quarried from the side of the gorge. The viaduct was completed in 1847, [2] and the first train crossed it in 1848. [4] The line closed in 1969, [5] but the viaduct was retained, and was grade II listed in 1987. [6] It is now crossed by the Nidderdale Greenway cycle route. [7]
The viaduct is built of gritstone, and consists of seven round arches, three of them over the river. The piers have plinths and rusticated quoins. The arches have massive voussoirs, and there are moulded bands at impost and track levels. The parapet has flat moulding, and the end piers have projecting coping. [6] [3] The viaduct is 104 feet (32 m) high, and 448 feet (137 m) long. [8]
The Harrogate line is a passenger rail line through parts of North Yorkshire and the West Yorkshire area of northern England connecting Leeds to York by way of Harrogate and Knaresborough. Service on the line is operated by Northern, with a few additional workings by London North Eastern Railway starting and terminating at Harrogate. West Yorkshire Metro's bus and rail MetroCard ticket is available for journeys between Leeds and Harrogate.
Pateley Bridge is a market town in the civil parish of High and Low Bishopside, in Nidderdale, in the county and district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it lies on the River Nidd. It is in the Yorkshire Dales and just outside the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Bilton is a suburb of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, situated to the north-east of the town centre.
Nidderdale, historically also known as Netherdale, is one of the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, England. It is the upper valley of the River Nidd, which flows east from its source, then south underground for 2 miles (3 km) and then south-east along the dale, forming several reservoirs including the Gouthwaite Reservoir, before turning east and eventually joining the River Ouse.
Starbeck is a railway station on the Harrogate Line, which runs between Leeds and York via Harrogate. The station, situated 18+1⁄4 miles (29 km) west of York, serves the village of Starbeck, in North Yorkshire, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Killinghall is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. The civil parish population taken at the 2011 census was 4,132.
Starbeck is a village and suburb of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. The population of Starbeck Ward taken at the 2011 census was 6,226. It has many facilities, including Starbeck railway station, which serves the Harrogate Line.
Nidd Gorge makes up a section of the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England, in which the river enters a deep ravine with sheer tree-covered valley sides. The river as a whole flows from its source near Great Whernside in Nidderdale, to its confluence with the River Ouse near Nun Monkton. Nidd Gorge makes up approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) of the entire length of the river, and stretches from the now defunct Nidd viaduct at Bilton in Harrogate to Grimbald Bridge, just south of Knaresborough.
The Nidd Valley Railway was a 11.5-mile (18.5 km) long single-track branch railway line that ran along the valley of the River Nidd in North Yorkshire, England. Built by the North Eastern Railway, it ran from Ripley Junction, on the Harrogate to Ripon Line, to Pateley Bridge via five intermediate stations, Ripley Valley, Hampsthwaite, Birstwith, Darley, and Dacre.
The Harrogate–Church Fenton line was a railway line in North Yorkshire, opened by the York and North Midland Railway between 1847 and 1848, linking Harrogate and Church Fenton.
The Leeds Northern Railway (LNR), originally the Leeds and Thirsk Railway, was an English railway company that built and opened a line from Leeds to Stockton via Harrogate and Thirsk. In 1845 the Leeds and Thirsk Railway received permission for a line from Leeds to Thirsk, part of which opened in 1848, but problems building the Bramhope Tunnel delayed trains operating into Leeds until 1849.
The East and West Yorkshire Junction Railway was a railway company established in 1846 between the Leeds and Thirsk Railway at Knaresborough and the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway near York, England. The company merged into the York and North Midland Railway in 1852.
The Leeds and York Railway was a proposed railway line, promoted in the mid 1840s, intended to connect York and Leeds. The line lost a significant promoter, the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1845/6 as a result of a non-competition arrangement between that company and the York and North Midland Railway.
The Nidd Aqueduct is an aqueduct or man-made watercourse in North Yorkshire, England. It feeds water from Angram and Scar House reservoirs in upper Nidderdale, North Yorkshire 32 mi (51 km) to Bradford in West Yorkshire. The aqueduct supplies 21,000,000 imp gal (95,000 m3) of water per day to Chellow Heights water treatment works. The aqueduct and the reservoirs it connects to are all maintained by Yorkshire Water.
Arthington Viaduct, listed and also known as the Wharfedale Viaduct, carries the Harrogate Line across the Wharfe valley between Arthington in West Yorkshire and Castley in North Yorkshire, England. It is a Grade II listed structure.
The Nidderdale Greenway is a 4-mile (6.4 km) path that runs between Harrogate and Ripley in North Yorkshire, England. It uses a former railway line that ran between Harrogate and Pateley Bridge as its course. The route connects to other cycle paths including the Way of the Roses.
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.
National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 636 is a Sustrans Route that runs from Harrogate to Knaresborough. The route is 4 miles (6.4 km) in length and is fully open and signed in both directions.
Kirkstall Road Viaduct is a Grade II listed railway viaduct carrying the Harrogate line over the A65 Kirkstall Road, the River Aire, and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Burley, Leeds, West Yorkshire. It was built in 1849 by the engineer Thomas Grainger for the Leeds and Thirsk Railway. The viaduct, which is approximately 440 m, is a significant local landmark due to the wide, shallow nature of the valley it crosses.
Oak Beck is a watercourse that flows eastwards across the northern part of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. The beck flows through a broad V-shaped valley, before emptying into the River Nidd at Bilton, just upstream from the Nidd Gorge Viaduct. Water from Oak Beck has been used as a water supply for Harrogate and also for industrial purposes further downstream.