Crumlin Viaduct

Coordinates: 51°40′49″N 3°08′23″W / 51.6804°N 3.1396°W / 51.6804; -3.1396
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the bridge in Wales. For the bridge in Northern Ireland, see Crumlin Viaduct (Northern Ireland).

Crumlin Viaduct
British Railways
Characteristics
MaterialWrought iron, stone pillars and supports
Total length1,650 ft (502.9 m) (1,066 ft (324.9 m) + 584 ft (178.0 m))
Height200 feet (61 m)
Highest railway viaduct in the United Kingdom throughout its working life
Longest span150 feet (46 m)
No. of spans7 (Ebbw) + 3 (Kendon)
History
ArchitectCharles Liddell
DesignerThomas W. Kennard
Engineering design byFalkirk Iron Co
Fabrication byFalkirk Iron Co
Construction start1853
Construction end1857
Construction cost£62,000 (£41 7s per foot)[1] (£6.262m at 2014 prices)[2]
Opened1 June 1857
Closed1964
Location
Map
The viaduct passing over Crumlin Low Level Station

The Crumlin Viaduct was a

Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway (NA&HR) across the Ebbw River
.

Hailed as "one of the most significant examples of technological achievement during the Industrial Revolution",

New York state.[3]

Background

Main article: Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway

During the Industrial Revolution, and the mass-extraction of coal from South Wales, there was a resultant growth in construction of railways into the South Wales Coalfield. The Taff Vale Railway so monopolised the trade of shipping coal to Cardiff Docks, that mine owners were desperate for competitor railway companies to both improve speeds of shipping, provide access to new markets, and hence reduce shipping rates.

The

Rhondda Valley coalfields was at best restricted, having to route trains south to Cardiff along the TVR, then along the South Wales Railway to Newport
via the GWR, before being able to access LNWR controlled track.

The

Act of Parliament on 3 August 1846, the construction of the Taff Vale Extension, which would connect Coedygric North Junction at Pontypool with the TVR/GWR at Quakers Yard
, and hence allow direct and LNWR controlled access. The LNWR approved the required capital expenditure, and merged the existing three railways and the extension project in the new Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway.

Construction

The route for the Taff Vale Extension required the construction of two significant viaducts across two major river valleys: one across the Ebbw River; and one across the Rhymney River, the Hengoed Viaduct.

The Ebbw Valley posed two significant challenges through its geography:[5]

  • Its height, created both a structural problem and a wind problem, as the valley funnelled and hence increased wind speed
  • It is actually two valleys, the Ebbw and the smaller Kendon

Chief Engineer Charles Liddell concluded that stone would be a poor choice for construction of a suitable bridge, as additional stone would need to be shipped to the valley, and the height of the resulting structure would result in an unstable and high-maintenance bridge. Further, the solidity of a stone structure would create additional compressed wind flow around the rail tracks, resulting in a possible safety hazard for passengers and train crew. Overall, the required over-engineered result would also have been very expensive. His recommendation therefore to the board was for a cast iron structure.[5]

Two tender responses were received by August 1852, with Liddell's recommendation for a design by Scottish civil engineer Thomas W. Kennard, using an amended design using the Warren truss.[6][7] Contracts were signed in December 1852, with a stipulated completion date of 1 October 1857. After further experimentation of his design system at his father's Blaenavon Ironworks, the iron structures were cast at Kennard's Falkirk Ironworks and shipped to Newport Docks.[3]

Kennard began construction in October 1853 by building the Crumlin Viaduct Works on the east bank. Here castings from Falkirk were brought together with wrought iron from Blaenavon, and all fitting and fabrication work took place. After shortening the spur from the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, and with the natural land between the two valleys acting as the ninth pier, the first girder was hoisted into place on 3 December 1854.[3] The completed structure linking Pontypool Clarence Street railway station in the north via the Bryn Tunnel (398 yards (364 m)) to the viaduct east end, came by the end of May 1857.[5]

Testing began that same month, in front of the

public house in Crumlin. Mad Jack was actually John Thomas Jenkins, a locomotive driver born in 1821. He raced across the viaduct despite being told to go slowly. Upon completing the crossing he told the angry engineer "when eternity looks you straight in the face, you may as well go at full speed to meet it!" He died at 65 still in service with London and North Western Railways. After a series of tests, during which a deflection of less than 1.5 inches (38 mm) was measured, the bridge was approved for use in the same month.[3]

Operations

Lithograph 1860

The viaduct was opened on

Crumlin railway stations
, both at high (viaduct) and valley levels.

As Liddell predicted, the location proved to be susceptible to high winds and resultant swaying, resulting in continual expensive maintenance. The NA&HR route, due to a combination of its height and steepness, proved to be one of the most expensive railway lines in all of the UK to operate. It was therefore no surprise when, following the post-

British Railways
reduced the entire extension line to single track after 1947.

Closure and demolition

As a result of the

Beeching Axe
, the last booked westbound scheduled passenger train ran over the viaduct on Saturday 13 June 1964, the 8.55pm from Pontypool Road to Aberdare (High Level), arriving at 10.09pm, which was booked to stop at Crumlin (High Level) at 9.20pm. The very last eastbound train over the Vale of Neath line was the 8.45pm from Neath (General) to Aberdare (High Level) which on Saturdays was extended from Aberdare to Pontypool Road arriving there at 11.18pm, calling at Crumlin (High Level) at 10.54pm. but apparently ran only as far as Aberdare on that date.

Preservation of the historic viaduct was discussed, and the structure was scheduled as being of architectural and historical interest by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.[3] But while the stone Hengoed Viaduct survived, a structural survey of the cast iron Crumlin Viaduct showed its poor state, and resultant need for high investment to secure its future, let alone ongoing maintenance costs. The decision was therefore made to dismantle it because, by then, housing had extended into the lower valley area.[5]

In the period between closure of the NA&HR and dismantling operation beginning, scenes for the

Arabesque, which starred Sophia Loren and Gregory Peck, were shot both on and around the viaduct. Its demolition, by Bird's of Swansea, began in June 1965 and took nine months, with the help of a Bailey bridge.[3]

The iron parts of the bridge had been completely dismantled by the end of 1967, and only the stone and cast concrete abutments now remain visible on the valley sides.[3][5]

The abutments are visible at: 51°40′51.19″N 3°08′14.55″W / 51.6808861°N 3.1373750°W / 51.6808861; -3.1373750, 51°40′47.48″N 3°08′30.07″W / 51.6798556°N 3.1416861°W / 51.6798556; -3.1416861 & 51°40′44.16″N 3°08′36.79″W / 51.6789333°N 3.1435528°W / 51.6789333; -3.1435528

Gallery

  • Crumlin viaduct on the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford railway extension to Taff vale ca 1865 by Newman and Co. (London, England)
    Crumlin viaduct on the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford railway extension to Taff vale ca 1865 by Newman and Co. (London, England)
  • Crumlin Viaduct, on the Taff Vale Extension of the West Midland Railway ca 1855 by H J Cooke, fl ca 1855 and Maclure, Macdonald and Macgregor (lithographers), Engraver
    Crumlin Viaduct, on the Taff Vale Extension of the West Midland Railway ca 1855 by H J Cooke, fl ca 1855 and Maclure, Macdonald and Macgregor (lithographers), Engraver
  • Crumlin viaduct. On the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford railway extension to Taff vale ca 1865
    Crumlin viaduct. On the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford railway extension to Taff vale ca 1865

References

  1. ^ Railway Magazine September 1957 pp. 647-649
  2. ^ Bank of England inflation calculator
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Crumlin Viaduct". caerphilly.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  4. ^ "Crumlin Viaduct". RIBA. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "History". crumlinviaduct.co.uk. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  6. ISBN 0711022739
    .
  7. ISBN 9780752449128
    .

External links

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