Dowery Dell Viaduct
Dowery Dell, between Rubery and Halesowen in Worcestershire, was a 234 yards (214 m), nine span lattice steel, single-track railway viaduct that carried the Halesowen to Longbridge railway. A 10 mph speed limit was in operation.[1] The line opened in 1883. Trains ran until 1964 and the viaduct was dismantled in 1965.[2]
Similar structures
The viaduct was remarkable in being a rare example of a lattice girder supported on trestles, a combination of which there may have been only one other example in Britain, at Bennerley Viaduct (extant), though in that instance the trestles are not as high.
On other well-known trestle-supported viaducts, such as Meldon, Belah, and Crumlin, the superstructure is not a lattice, being typically a Warren truss; and other lattice girders are low structures supported typically on iron caissons, such as Kew Railway Bridge.
Remains
A walk along the footpath that follows the railway route reveals the brick pillar bases that remain in the dell.
References
- ^ Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2007). Stourbridge to Wolverhampton. Midhurst, West Sussex: Middleton Press. pp. 61–62. ISBN 9781906008161.
- ^ "Old Hill to Halesowen and Longbridge (The Halesowen Railway)". Railways in Worcestershire. Malvern Industrial Archaeology Circle (MIAC). Retrieved 16 November 2022.
External links
- Two colour slides of the viaduct and track taken by photographer D J Norton in May 1955
- Black & white photograph taken from a train crossing the viaduct in November 1963 by ricsrailpics
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