Denby Dale Viaduct
Denby Dale Viaduct | |
---|---|
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
History
The
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 £2,769,000 in 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]
See also
- Listed buildings in Denby Dale
- Lockwood Viaduct, another viaduct on the same line
Notes
- Chains is the measurement used by the railway engineers in the 19th century, and still in use today on Network Rail.
- ^ The four engines were from the London and North Western Railway. The first test involved driving the engines all together, and then placing them funnel to funnel on the two lines and sending them across in pairs at the same time. Repairs had costed £1,000, (equivalent to £99,000 in 2021).[9]
References
- OCLC 606579523.
- OCLC 65274315.
- ISBN 978-0750946193.
- ^ Bairstow 1993, p. 21.
- ^ OCLC 1064471280.
- ISBN 0-946537-11-9.
- .
- OCLC 1064471280.
- OCLC 1064471280.
- ^ Bairstow 1993, p. 45.
- ISBN 978-0-7277-3504-1.
- .
- OCLC 1064471280.
- ^ a b Bairstow 1993, p. 6.
- OCLC 1064471280.
- ^ a b Heath 2001, p. 152.
- ISBN 978-1-9996271-3-3.
- ^ "Denby Dale stone viaduct". The Sheffield Independent. No. 7799. Column A. 18 September 1879. p. 2.
- OCLC 1064471280.
- ^ Bairstow 1993, pp. 10, 44.
- ^ Historic England. "Denby Dale Railway Viaduct (Grade II) (1313339)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
Sources
- Bairstow, Martin (1993) [1985]. The Huddersfield & Sheffield Junction Railway : the Penistone Line (2 ed.). Halifax: The author. ISBN 1-871944-08-2.
- Heath, Chris (2001). Denby & district (2 ed.). Barnsley: Wharncliffe Books. ISBN 1903425115.