Bennerley Viaduct

Bennerley Viaduct
The Bennerley Viaduct in 2006
Coordinates	52.988°N 1.3°W / 52.988; -1.3
Carries	Ex-Great Northern Railway
Crosses	Erewash Valley
Locale	Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Border
Maintained by	Sustrans
Characteristics
Design	Wrought Iron Lattice Work
Total length	1452 feet
Width	Twin Standard Gauge Rail
Height	60 feet 10 inches
History
Opened	January 1878
Location

Bennerley Viaduct photographed from Nottingham Canal Towpath in 2006

Bennerley Viaduct is a disused railway viaduct spanning the Erewash Valley between Awsworth in Nottinghamshire and Ilkeston in Derbyshire.

Origins

The Structure of the Viaduct as seen from under the Deck

This wrought iron lattice work viaduct is 1452 feet long with the rails 60 feet 10 inches above the Erewash River. Most railway viaducts at the time were brick built but the foundations of the Bennerley Viaduct were subject to a great deal of coal mining subsidence therefore, the lighter wrought iron design was chosen. The viaduct was built between May 1876 and November 1877. The contract was given by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) to Benton & Woodiwiss with the line laid out by, and the viaduct designed by Richard Johnson (Chief Civil Engineer of the GNR); Samuel Abbott was the resident engineer. The viaduct consists of 16 lattice work deck spans, each 76 feet 7 inches long supported on wrought iron columns with stone capped blue brick foundations. There were three additional iron skew spans at the Ilkeston end of the viaduct which carried the railway line over the Erewash Canal and the Midland Railway's Erewash Valley Line. A skew span crosses its abutments and or piers at an angle other than a right angle. At the Awsworth end of the viaduct there was a section of embankment (including bridges of more conventional brick construction) which has been demolished. The Nottingham Canal passed under this section. The viaduct was built for the railway line between Awsworth Junction and Derby on the Derbyshire and Staffordshire Line and opened in January 1878..

Giltbrook Viaduct

At Awsworth Junction the railway branched, one line passed over the Bennerley Viaduct as described, the other turned North towards Pinxton crossing the Giltbrook Viaduct (or Kimberley Viaduct but known locally as Forty Bridges). This viaduct was also designed by Richard Johnson and built of red bricks used to create 43 arched spans with a total length of 1716 feet and a height of 60 feet.

Other Wrought Iron Viaducts

Meldon Viaduct, Devon

• The only similar viaduct in the United Kingdom was the Halesowen Railway's Dowery Dell (Hunnington or Frankley) Viaduct demolished in 1964..
• The first Tay Rail Bridge used a similar Lattice work design, it collapsed during a storm in 1879 with the loss of 75 lives.
• One other wrought iron railway viaduct still stands in Britain. This is the Meldon Viaduct consisting of 6, 90 feet long Warren Truss spans with a total length of 540 feet, 120 feet above the valley floor built for the London and South Western Railway in 1874.
• The dismantled Crumlin Viaduct finished in 1857 consisted of 10, 150 feet long Warren Truss Spans 200 feet above the valley floor built for the Taff Vale Railway extension. This was the tallest viaduct in Great Britain until its demolition in 1965.
• The dismantled Belah Viaduct finished in 1861 consisted of 16 spans with a total length of 1,040 feet, 196 feet above the valley floor, built for the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway. This was the tallest viaduct in England, it was closed in 1962.

After Closure

Looking up through the centre of a Pier

Bennerley viaduct's wrought iron construction saved it from demolition. Wrought iron structures cannot be cut up with an oxy-acetylene torch and must be taken apart rivet by rivet, as a result when tenders for demolition were requested the cost was unacceptably high. The viaduct survived to become a grade II* listed structure. The Meldon Viaduct was refurbished in 1996 and is now part of the Granite Way cycle and footpath in Devon. Bennerley Viaduct is managed by Sustrans and may yet be used in the future as part of the national foot and cyclepath network in a similar way to the Meldon Viaduct. It is on the Buildings at Risk Register.

External links

• Gillespie, G. "Bennerley Viaduct".
• Leverton, N. "Nottingham's Lost Railways".
• "Ilkeston Town Walks".
• "Ilkeston and District Heritage".
• "Sustrans".
• D.J.Norton. "Dowery Dell Viaduct Picture".
• Historic England. "Details from listed building database ({{{num}}})". National Heritage List for England.
• Historic England. "Details from listed building database ({{{num}}})". National Heritage List for England.
• Heritage at Risk Register: Bennerley+Viaduct
• Bennerley Viaduct on WikiMapia

Further reading

• Kingscott, Geoffrey (2004). Lost Railways of Nottinghamshire. Countryside Books. ISBN 1-8530-6884-5. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |origdate= (help)
• Henshaw, Alfred (2000). The Great Northern Railway in the East Midlands. RCTS. ISBN 0-9011-1588-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |origdate= (help)
• Rayner Thrower, W. (1984). The Great Northern Main Line. Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1297-8. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |origdate= (help)