Trivia: the most famous viaduct in Britain

[61653 HTAFC]

Surprised nobody has mentioned Denby Dale. Though Calstock is my favourite.

Both DD and Lockwood are very impressive... as is Penistone with its curve. I already mentioned Paddock so this often-forgotten route does quite well for nice viaducts!

Lockwood Viaduct. I visited Huddersfield RUFC a while back and walked under it. An amazing structure.

Missed this post, apologies!

A few years ago I saw a YouTube video of someone throwing a cricket ball over Lockwood viaduct... can't seem to find it now though.

 

[Taunton]

I wouldn't consider the Forth Bridge to be a viaduct.

Really ? :

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[Spartacus]

My personal fave is Paddock Viaduct near Huddersfield...... No flying Ford Anglias (or Yugos) though!

There's many a car gone flying just up from it at the junction outside the Griffin's door though!

 

[mike57]

What about the Sankey Viaduct, not from a photogenic viewpoint, but historical significance. First 'proper' railway viaduct. Opened 191 years ago and still in daily use with much heavier trains.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Two on/near the WCML are:
- Dutton viaduct over the Weaver valley between Acton Bridge and Weaver Jn, one of the oldest on the network (1837, Grand Junction Railway).
It was a George Stephenson/Joseph Locke design.
- Low Gill viaduct where the LNWR line from Ingleton meets the WCML (disused, but curved and sits strongly in the landscape), also a Joseph Locke design (1859).
There's another similar structure at Ingleton itself, over the River Greta.

All are fine sandstone structures.
Avanti's current TV advert shows a Pendolino on a viaduct, but I haven't worked out which one it is.
Penkridge is another fine viaduct on a Pendolino route.

Two more are between Wrexham and Gobowen, over the Dee and Ceiriog valleys.
The former is downstream of the Pontcysyllte viaduct of the Llangollen Canal, and the latter was built directly alongside the canal viaduct at Chirk.
It's pretty much viaduct central down there.

 

[birchesgreen]

The railway goes under it rather than along it (and it isn't very scenic!) but the Bromford viaduct is rather impressive from an engineering point of view. And is the longest viaduct in Britain.

 

[Harvester]

Belah viaduct with cast iron columns. Now long gone, but I did travel across it as a young lad before it’s demise.

 

[Revaulx]

Surprised nobody has mentioned Denby Dale. Though Calstock is my favourite.

Denby Dale is a good shout. All the viaducts on the Penistone branch are spectacular, not least the one at Penistone which partially collapsed in WW1.

The one up the road from me at Uppermill isn’t the biggest, but it’s extremely photogenic thanks to its Glenfinnan-like curve and its location; crossing both a main road and a famous canal in something of a tourist hotspot.

Welland is absolutely breathtaking and crushes all others thanks to its sheer scale. It doesn’t seem particularly well known though.

I wish I’d been around to see (and ride or at least walk) over Belah.

 

[AM9]

A bridge mainly crosses water, a viaduct mainly crosses land. The Forth Bridge and the Royal Border Bridge are bridges, not viaducts, because they mainly cross water.

My top ten viaducts, in alpha order so I don't have to choose:

Balcombe (Sussex Ouse)
Belah
Bennerley (Erewash)
Chappel (Colne)
Culloden
Digswell (Mimram)
Glenfinnan
Greenwich
Harringworth (Welland)
Ribblehead

I haven't included anything in Wales. I might change my mind if I ever went to Crumlin.

The Chappel viaduct in architectural terms is up there with many of the others but admittedly less well-known outside north-east Essex. The other significant viaduct in Essex which is traversed and seen by many more, (possibly one of the busiest viaducts in the UK) is the Chelmsford viaduct, a more modest 18 arches built in 1842.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Avanti's current TV advert shows a Pendolino on a viaduct, but I haven't worked out which one it is.

That one's the Twemlow viaduct in Cheshire, near to Holmes Chapel on the Manchester -> Crewe line.

 

[Darandio]

Surprised that Durham hasn't had a mention yet, read any book or watch any video about the ECML and the view from travelling over it is often mentioned. It might be the most functional for the public as well, was any other viaduct built with a drinking fountain incorporated into it?

 

[4COR]

Perhaps not as impressive as some above, but I'm going to mention Durham, if only for the glorious view of the Cathedral when travelling across it.

EDIT: @Darandio Great minds!

 

[The Quincunx]

I live not too far from the wonderful Wharncliffe Viaduct.

 

[JohnRegular]

A local landmark of Bristol is what I think is technically Redland viaduct, but known to all in the area as 'The Arches'.
I don't know the history of the viaduct, but it appears that two of the arches were replaced with a single span to accomodate the busy Cheltenham Road beneath, giving it a unique look.

 

[306024]

The Chappel viaduct in architectural terms is up there with many of the others but admittedly less well-known outside north-east Essex. The other significant viaduct in Essex which is traversed and seen by many more, (possibly one of the busiest viaducts in the UK) is the Chelmsford viaduct, a more modest 18 arches built in 1842.

And in terms of ‘bricks per coaches per day’ Chappel could be one of the least used (6 coaches per hour plus the power pack) but certainly is an impressive sight.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/england/sevenwonders/east/chappell_mm/index.shtml#:~:text=The viaduct crosses the Colne,after the Battersea Power Station.

Chappel Viaduct at Wakes Colne in Essex is a Grade 1 European monument.

Construction on this impressive structure started in 1846 and took two years to complete.

This monumental structure is a legacy and symbol of the Victorian age.

The viaduct's statistics are awe inspiring - it is 1,066 feet long and boasts 32 arches of 30 feet span.

The viaduct crosses the Colne Valley at a maximum height of 75 feet.

With seven million bricks, it is the second largest brick built structure in England after the Battersea Power Station.

Peter Bruff, the engineer for the Stour Valley Railway, picked brick rather than the original choice of laminated timber, partly because it was cheaper.

Construction of the viaduct took two years to complete.

The viaduct is wide enough for two tracks but only one was laid.

The viaduct remains in use today as part of a branch line.

 

[Rescars]

The Big Water of Fleet viaduct remains a very fine structure, though you have to venture far into the now trainless uplands of Galloway to find it.

 

[ChrisC]

Perhaps not one of the most spectacular but I would put Mansfield viaduct as one which really dominates a town. The grade 2 listed stone structure is in the middle of the town, quite close to the market place. It would be difficult to imagine the centre of Mansfield without it.

 

[Western Sunset]

Really ? :

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Whilst there are elements of viaduct at its approaches, as an entity, I'd still stick with "bridge".

 

[Harvester]

Crimdon Dene viaduct in County Durham is an impressive structure. When completed in 1905 it allowed the Durham Coast line to open between Ryhope Grange Junction, and Cemetery North Junction (Hartlepool).

 

[Western Sunset]

I rather like the definition someone made, further above, that viaducts are predominately over land. Hence the Tay Bridge rather than the Tay Viaduct. Though there was the Solway Viaduct, rather than the Solway Bridge; such is the nature of threads like this.

 

[yorksrob]

Surely the south west has it's contenders:
Coombe (Saltash)
St Germans
Largin
Angarrack
Hayle.

Not to mention Cober, which is the most southerly in the UK.

 

[james60059]

My first thought would be Harringworth Viaduct

 

[Revaulx]

That one's the Twemlow viaduct in Cheshire, near to Holmes Chapel on the Manchester -> Crewe line.

Twemlow is almost identical to Stockport, obviously having been built as part of the same line.

It lacks Stockport’s unique urban topography, but is in some ways more impressive as it was never widened and retains its original elegance.

 

[swt_passenger]

I rather like the definition someone made, further above, that viaducts are predominately over land. Hence the Tay Bridge rather than the Tay Viaduct. Though there was the Solway Viaduct, rather than the Solway Bridge; such is the nature of threads like this.

The long above ground approaches to the various main termini south of the Thames are also referred to as viaducts aren’t they? So that brings many others like the previously mentioned Greenwich Viaduct into the debate, it’s 3.5 miles long and Grade II listed.

Something I just remembered, the fairly spectacular arch over Dean St heading down to Newcastle Quayside is officially the Dean St Viaduct. I wonder how many other examples there are around the country that have been surrounded by buildings since originally built?

 

[geoffk]

I see Harringworth has been mentioned just once and I sought it out on a recent holiday in Corby (yes, really). Approaching it by road it just seems to appear from nowhere in a not particularly scenic area and its sheer length must put it near the top of anyone's list. But nowhere near as famous as Ribblehead or Glenfinnan.

 

[mrcheek]

Glenfinnan is easily the most famous. Bear in mind, users of this site are not exactly a cross-section of the population....

I would say Ribblehead is next best known. Aside from that, theres probably not one I could name off the top of my head without prompting

 

[ashkeba]

I see Harringworth has been mentioned just once and I sought it out on a recent holiday in Corby (yes, really). Approaching it by road it just seems to appear from nowhere in a not particularly scenic area and its sheer length must put it near the top of anyone's list. But nowhere near as famous as Ribblehead or Glenfinnan.

I am not far from it (1 or 2 counties away) but I think few know it and fewer would know its name to tell anyone.

But then, most people call Digswell viaduct "Welwyn viaduct" and plenty know it so does fame mean people know its name?

 

[Doctor Fegg]

I see Harringworth has been mentioned just once and I sought it out on a recent holiday in Corby (yes, really). Approaching it by road it just seems to appear from nowhere in a not particularly scenic area and its sheer length must put it near the top of anyone's list. But nowhere near as famous as Ribblehead or Glenfinnan.

Harringworth Viaduct is also known as Welland Viaduct, mentioned a few posts above.

I grew up a few villages away from Harringworth while my wife comes from Stockport, so "best viaduct" has been an argument in our house for some 20 years now.

 

[swt_passenger]

Durham is quite a significant feature viewed from the area below, but for rail travellers it’s usually about the view from it.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

A bridge mainly crosses water, a viaduct mainly crosses land. The Forth Bridge and the Royal Border Bridge are bridges, not viaducts, because they mainly cross water.

I haven't included anything in Wales. I might change my mind if I ever went to Crumlin.

Sadly, Crumlin Viaduct isn't there any more, as it was demolished in 1967, although some of the abutments on both sides are still visible.

Based on your definition above, though, it's interesting that the Viaduct crossed both the River Ebbw and the village of Crumlin .. maybe the word "mainly" comes into operation here, as the land area is much bigger than the water area?