Stockport Viaduct
Coordinates: 53°24′18″N 2°9′46″W / 53.405°N 2.16278°W
| Stockport Viaduct | |
|---|---|
 Stockport Viaduct |
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 Location within Greater Manchester
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| General information | |
| Town or city | Stockport, Greater Manchester |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 53°24′33″N 2°09′51″W / 53.409186°N 2.164215°W |
| Construction started | 1839 |
| Completed | 1840 |
| Cost | £70,000 |
| Design and construction | |
| Engineer | George W. Buck |
The Stockport Viaduct is a large brick-built bridge which carries a main railway line across the valley of the River Mersey, in Stockport, Greater Manchester (grid reference SJ89089030). Designed by George Watson Buck and completed in 1840, the viaduct is 33.85 metres (111.1 ft) high.[1] At the time of its construction it was the largest viaduct in the world, and it represents a major feat of Victorian engineering and a key pioneering structure of the railway age. It is currently a Grade II* listed structure,[2] and remains one of western Europe's biggest brick structures.[1]
[edit] History
The 27 arch viaduct took 21 months to build and cost £70,000; 11,000,000 bricks were used in its construction.[2] It was officially opened on June 4, 1840.[3] In common with Stockport railway station, the viaduct was also historically referred to as Edgeley Viaduct.[4] At the peak of the work, 600 workers were employed in shifts – working day and night – to complete the structure. It was entirely built of layer upon layer of common brick. The engine house of the 1831 Wear Mill lay on the path of the viaduct- so the viaduct was built over it. The viaduct opened in 1842 with services running to Crewe, allowing passengers from Stockport to reach London.[5]
It has made a brief contribution to literature, being mentioned in the introduction to the Northern Mill Towns in Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South.
The first section of the Manchester & Birmingham line to be completed ran from a temporary station in Manchester, at Travis Street, to a temporary station at Heaton Norris, on the Lancashire side of the Stockport viaduct. Opened for traffic on 4 June 1840, this short line was an immediate success, carrying nearly 2,000 passengers a day during the second half of 1840. Two years later, on 10 May 1842, train services were extended from Heaton Norris to Sandbach and the permanent Manchester station in Store Street was opened.
In around 1890 it was decided the viaduct should be expanded. This was because London and North Western Railway, formed in 1846, wanted to have several tracks on one route so that slower trains could be overtaken. To add more tracks to the viaduct would mean the need for expansion. The viaduct was expanded to accommodate four tracks instead of two. The viaduct has appeared in several of L.S. Lowry's works.
The overhead power cables were added during the 1960s when this part of the West Coast Main Line was electrified.[6]
The viaduct underwent a programme of restoration in 1989, costing £3 million. The process included adding floodlights to the structure. The viaduct is now part of a main line service carrying passengers to destinations across the UK.[5]
In 2007 Stockport council complained about plans by the train operator Arriva Cross Country to reduce by 50% the number of Manchester to Birmingham trains stopping at Stockport. Councillor David White claimed that an 1840 Act of Parliament guaranteed that all trains passing over the viaduct had to stop at Stockport station.[7]
In 2011, Stockport Viaduct was refurbished by Network Rail.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Stockport Railway Viaduct". Pastscape.org.uk. http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=76880. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
- ^ a b "Stockport Viaduct". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=210778. Retrieved 29 February 2008.
- ^ Francis Whishaw, The Railways of Great Britain and Ireland Practically Described, J. Weale, 1842, p306 google books
- ^ Edgeley Viaduct, Stockport, about 1890, Science and Society Picture Library, [1]
- ^ a b Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. "Stockport Viaduct". Stockport.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 13 March 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080313194239/http://www.stockport.gov.uk/content/communitypeopleliving/historyandheritage/buildingsandstructures/railwayviaduct?a=5441. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
- ^ John Andrew Fairhurst. "Stockport Viaduct". http://freespace.virgin.net/john.fairhurst/ImagePages/Viaduct.htm. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
- ^ Morley, Victoria (14 November 2007). "Stop! Trains just ‘passing through’". Stockport Express (M.E.N. Media). http://menmedia.co.uk/stockportexpress/news/s/1024173_stop_trains_just_passing_through.
