Stockport Viaduct

Stockport viaduct

The Stockport Viaduct is a grade-II* listed structure in Stockport,England. At 111 feet or 33.85 metres high, Stockport's railway viaduct is on of western Europe's biggest brick structure and represents a major feat of Victorian engineering. Built in 1840, Stockport Railway Viaduct was the largest in the world at the time of its construction and a key pioneering structure of the early railway age. Eleven million bricks were used in its construction - if laid end to end they would stretch 1,500 miles! At one stage, 600 workers were employed in shifts, day and night, to complete the massive structure. It was entirely built of layer upon layer of common brick. It opened in 1842 with services running to Crewe, enabling travellers from Stockport to reach London. Northern artist L.S. Lowry was an admirer, depicting its 27 arches in a number of his works. It was also widened from two to four tracks during 1887-1889. Floodlit and given a facelift in 1989 in a £3 million restoration project, the viaduct is now part of a main line service carrying passengers to destinations across the UK.

History

Before the second world war this viaduct was not the largest brick construction, The Krupps Armanents works, in germany, enjoyed this title but that did not survive Allied bombing. Most of the structure is Victorian and many lives were lost during it's construction. It has made a brief contribution to literature, being the introduction to the Northern Mill Towns in Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South. Along with the usual gaggle of garages and scrap metal yards, this must be unique in having an old five story mill nestled under the arches. The overhead power cables were added during the 1970s when this part of the West Coast Main Line was electrified.