Swithland Viaduct

Last updated

Swithland Viaduct
Swithland Viaduct.jpg
The South Viaduct of the Swithland Viaduct
Coordinates 52°43′5.00″N1°10′28.50″W / 52.7180556°N 1.1745833°W / 52.7180556; -1.1745833 Coordinates: 52°43′5.00″N1°10′28.50″W / 52.7180556°N 1.1745833°W / 52.7180556; -1.1745833
Carries Great Central Railway
Crosses Swithland Reservoir
Characteristics
Material brick
History
DesignerMr. Alexander Ross, M. Inst. C.E.
Constructed byJohn Aird & Sons
Construction endc.1897
Swithland Viaduct

Swithland Viaduct is a railway viaduct in Leicestershire that carries the former Great Central Main Line over Swithland Reservoir. It is unusual in that it carries the line over a reservoir rather than a valley. It actually consists of two separate viaducts, with an embankment over Brazil Island in the centre of the reservoir. The line now carries the Great Central Railway.

The viaducts (bridges No. 349 and 350) were constructed in c.1895/7 by Messrs John Aird & Sons, as a sub-contract to Henry Lovatt & Co. of Wolverhampton. Lovatts were contracted to the Great Central to execute contract number 2 on their extension line to London, East Leake to Aylestone, but the Corporation of Leicester insisted that those portions of the work that could delay or hinder the completion of their new water works at Swithland were to be executed by the main contractors for that job. [1]

The south viaduct has a skew girder section approximately halfway along its length, this having been provided to bridge the weir which separates the reservoir into two unequal portions. As of September 2015 extensive maintenance work is being carried out on this span in order to replace wasted plates within the girders, and this work is expected to carry on until the end of the year.

Originally the lineside telegraph wires were carried along the eastern wall of the viaduct on wooden trunking, except where they were carried over the previously mentioned iron-girder span in structure 350. A telegraph pole, sat on top of the masonry of the parapet wall and guyed appropriately, was provided a short distance from each end of this span, and the circuits were then carried over the span between the two poles. Although little sign of these poles remains from on top of the viaduct, the remains of the guying on the exterior of the parapet wall can still be clearly seen from the reservoir.

As part of the resignalling of much of the GCML, carried out in the early 1940s by Westinghouse to increase capacity, cable hangers were installed on the western walls of the viaducts, and the new lineside signalling and power cables required by the work were strung along them. This cable route was restored to work, albeit with new cables, during the recent resignalling of Swithland Sidings. As part of the same scheme a pair of mechanical signals (Swithland Sidings' Up Inner Distant and Up Outer Home) was installed on Brazil Island, between the two viaducts.

Photography may be undertaken from the south from Main Street, or at very long range from the dam which carries Kinchley Lane. If one has a lineside permit, one can walk south from Quorn and photograph trains coming north off the viaduct. The viaduct itself however is out of bounds. The best location is probably from the east at Kinchley Hill but there is no public access there (the land is owned by Severn Trent)

Related Research Articles

Tay Bridge Railway bridge across the River Tay, Scotland

The Tay Bridge carries the railway across the Firth of Tay in Scotland between Dundee and the suburb of Wormit in Fife. Its span is 2.75 miles. It is the second bridge to occupy the site.

Swithland Human settlement in England

Swithland is a linear village in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. The population of the civil parish was put at 230 in 2004 and counted at 217 in the 2011 census. It is in the old Charnwood Forest, between Cropston, Woodhouse and Woodhouse Eaves. It has a village hall, a parish church and a public house, the Griffin Inn. The village is known for the slate that was quarried in the area.

Runcorn Railway Bridge bridge in United Kingdom

The Runcorn Railway Bridge, Ethelfleda Bridge or Britannia Bridge crosses the River Mersey at Runcorn Gap between Runcorn and Widnes in Cheshire, England. It is alongside the Silver Jubilee Bridge. The bridge is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a Grade II* Listed building.

Laigh Milton Viaduct

Laigh Milton Viaduct is a railway viaduct near Laigh Milton mill to the west of Gatehead in East Ayrshire, Scotland, about 5 miles (8 km) west of Kilmarnock. It is probably the world's earliest surviving railway viaduct on a public railway, and the earliest known survivor of a type of multi-span railway structure subsequently adopted universally.

Rothley railway station Heritage station on the Great Central railway

Rothley railway station is a heritage railway station on the preserved section of the Great Central Railway's London Extension. Built to the standard island platform pattern of country stations on the line, it originally opened on 15 March 1899 and has been restored to late Edwardian era condition, circa 1910.

King Street Bridge (Melbourne) bridge in Melbourne, Australia

The King Street Bridge carries King Street over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia. The bridge continues south as an elevated viaduct, with the Crown Casino built around it in later years.

Swithland Reservoir lake in the United Kingdom

Swithland Reservoir is a reservoir in the English county of Leicestershire. It is north-east of the village of Swithland from which it takes its name, north-west of Rothley and approximately 133 metres (145 yd) south-west of Mountsorrel Quarry. It is part of the 187.1-hectare (462-acre) Buddon Wood and Swithland Reservoir Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Swithland Sidings is a set of railway sidings on the preserved Great Central Railway, situated just south of Swithland Reservoir and Swithland Viaduct which crosses it.

Stockport Viaduct

Stockport Viaduct carries the West Coast Main Line across the valley of the River Mersey in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is one of the largest brick structures in the United Kingdom.

Braunstone Gate Bridge bridge in United Kingdom

The Braunstone Gate Bridge was a former railway bridge carrying the Great Central Railway, and later a public footpath and cycleway, over Western Boulevard and the River Soar in Leicester, England. The bridge had been in a poor state of repair following years of neglect by the local council and it was demolished to facilitate developments for De Montfort University. The Council claimed that the costs of restoration were prohibitive.

Tees Viaduct bridge in United Kingdom

The A19 Tees Viaduct or Tees Flyover is a high level six-lane dual carriageway road bridge in the North East of England carrying the main A19 trunk road north-south across the River Tees.

Mountsorrel Railway Heritage railway in Leicestershire

The Mountsorrel Railway was a network of industrial railway lines that served the granite quarries which dominate the Leicestershire village of Mountsorrel. After being closed in the 1950s, a section was reopened in 2015 as a heritage line run by Mountsorrel & Rothley Community Heritage Centre.

Wilmington Rail Viaduct United States historic place

The Wilmington Rail Viaduct is a series of fills and bridges, about 4 miles (6.4 km) long, that carries the Northeast Corridor through the city of Wilmington, Delaware, above street level. Constructed between 1902 and 1908, the structure consists principally of fills supported by heavy stone retaining walls, punctuated with plate girder bridges over streets, and augmented by a few sections of brick arch viaduct. Its construction is typical of the Pennsylvania Railroad's architectural practices at the time, and the viaduct has been documented by the Historic American Engineering Record and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) as part of a series of grade crossing eliminations along the Northeast Corridor, the elevation of the rail line necessitated several other changes to rail infrastructure in Wilmington, including the construction of the Wilmington Shops at the east end of the viaduct, and the construction of the Wilmington Station and adjacent Pennsylvania Railroad Office Building along the elevated right-of-way.

Lyne Viaduct footbridge in Scottish Borders, Scotland, UK

Lyne Viaduct is a viaduct at Lyne in the Scottish Borders of Scotland. It consists of three stone skew arches and a plate girder approach span over a minor road and was built to carry the Symington to Peebles branch line of the Caledonian Railway over Lyne Water to the west of Peebles. Now closed to rail traffic the bridge is used as a footpath.

Maldon, New South Wales Town in New South Wales, Australia

Maldon is a locality in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Wollondilly Shire. In the 2016 census it had a population of 15.

Caledonian Railway Bridge bridge in United Kingdom

The Caledonian Railway Bridge is a bridge crossing the River Clyde at Broomielaw in Scotland. It is adjacent to Glasgow Central station.

Dinting Viaduct railway viaduct in Glossopdale, Derbyshire, England

Dinting Viaduct is a 19th-century railway viaduct in Glossopdale in Derbyshire, England, that carries the Glossop Line over a valley at the village of Dinting. It crosses the Glossop Brook and the A57 road between Manchester and Sheffield.

Surtees Rail Bridge

The Surtees Rail Bridge is a rail bridge on the Tees Valley Line over the River Tees in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. The bridge is south of Stockton-on-Tees town centre and just north of the adjacent Surtees Bridge which carries the A66 road. The bridge is built on the site of a series of Tees Bridges alternating between two adjacent crossing sites.

Swithland was a railway station which was constructed on the Great Central Main Line between Rothley and Quorn and Woodhouse. The station was due to open in March 1899 but was never completed although the line opened as planned in March 1899. The line through the station site was closed in May 1969. The line through the station was reopened in 1990 as the Great Central Railway.

Bowenfels rail viaducts railway bridges, New South Wales, Australia

The Bowenfels rail viaducts are a series of heritage-listed railway viaducts and railway bridges over Farmers Creek on the Main Western line in Bowenfels, City of Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed in two stages, by John Whitton as the Engineer-in-Chief for Railways, in 1870; and by engineering staff of New South Wales Government Railways in 1921; and was built from 1870 to 1921. It is also known as Farmers Creek viaducts. The property is owned by RailCorp, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. The viaduct are located approximately 159 kilometres (99 mi) west of Central railway station.

References

  1. "Swithland viaduct, Leicestershire". 1897. Retrieved 1 July 2011.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Swithland Viaduct at Wikimedia Commons