Stockport Viaduct
| Stockport Viaduct | |
|---|---|
 Stockport Viaduct | |
  Location within Greater Manchester | |
| General information | |
| Town or city | Stockport, Greater Manchester |
| Country | England |
| Construction started | 1839 |
| Completed | 1840 |
| Cost | £70,000 |
| Design and construction | |
| Engineer | George W. Buck |
The Stockport Viaduct is a Grade II* listed structure designed by George Watson Buck in Stockport, Greater Manchester (grid reference SJ89089030).[1][2] At 33.85 metres (111.1 ft) high,[2] Stockport's railway viaduct is one of western Europe's biggest brick structures and represents a major feat of Victorian engineering. Completed 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.
History
The 27 arch viaduct took 21 months to build and cost £70,000; 11,000,000 bricks were used in its construction.[1] It was officially opened on June 4th 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. It 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 from to accommodate four tracks instead of four. 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]
In 1989, the viaduct underwent a programme of restoration 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]
Controversy
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 a 1840 Act of Parliament guaranteed that all trains passing over the viaduct had to stop at Stockport station.[7]
Significant Events
In 2008 a 16 year old boy, Joel Cross, managed to gain access to the bridge via Stockport Train Station and managed to throw himself over the side. This however was a stunt and he managed to survive the fall. He did this by aiming for the River Mersey below. He did this for the latest James Bond movie, Quantum of Solice. What the producers didn't know is that he is mentally unstable and can no longer use the footage. Scott Wallace thinks this is STEWARD!
See also
References
- ^ a b "Stockport Viaduct". Images of England. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
- ^ a b "Stockport Railway Viaduct". Pastscape.org.uk. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ 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. Retrieved on 24 October 2008.
- ^ John Andrew Fairhurst. "Stockport Viaduct".
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessedon=ignored (help) - ^ Victoria Morley, Stop! Trains just ‘passing through’, Stockport Express, 14/11/2007 [2]