Yarm Viaduct

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Yarm Viaduct
County Durham, Yorkshire

Yarm Viaduct;
Location
Carrying: Railway traffic
Crossing: River Tees
Location
Grid reference: NZ417131
Location: 54°30’41"N, 1°21’25"W
Structure
Length: 2,280 feet
Main span: 67 feet
History
Built 1849 – 1852
Information
Owned by: Network Rail

Yarm Viaduct is a railway viaduct carrying the railways above the town of Yarm in the North Riding of Yorkshire and over the River Tees into County Durham, the river being the country border. It is a Grade II listed structure.[1]

The railway runs between Northallerton and Eaglescliffe. It was opened in 1852 as part of the extension of the Leeds Northern Railway to Stockton-on-Tees. The line and viaduct are currently owned and maintained by Network Rail and carries passenger traffic for TransPennine Express and Grand Central train companies. It also sees a variety of freight traffic.

The viaduct consists of 43 arches; 41 of which are made of red brick, with the two arches straddling the water constructed of stone. In its listing, the viaduct, is cited for its appearance and height above the town.[1]

History

The section of line through Yarm to Eaglescliffe (original Preston) Junction[2][3][4] was formally started in July 1847,[5] but work on the viaduct did not commence until 1849.[6]

The structure opened up to traffic on 15 May 1852[7] and it was the last work completed by Grainger as he died two months later in a railway accident in Stockton-on-Tees.[8] The viaduct is noted for its height above the town of Yarm and is variously described as being "towering", "very beautiful" and "great".[9] One local writer described the viaduct as being "acknowledged as the finest in the kingdom".[10] Due to its height and length, when viewing the town from afar (especially from the west) the viaduct is a dominating structure across the town.[11]

The line that the viaduct is on (Northallerton to Eaglescliffe line) carries passenger services for Grand Central (Sunderland to London King's Cross)[12] and TransPennine Express (Middlesbrough to Manchester Airport) as well as a variety of freight traffic to and from the north east.[13]

The structure was strengthened in two of its spans with extra bricks on the inside of the arches and stabilisation works undertaken in 2001 due to subsidence, lessened the vibrations felt by property owners below the viaduct either significantly or completely.[14][15]

Structure

The viaduct extends for over 2,280 feet in a north/south direction over the town of Yarm and across the River Tees.[16] It consists of 43 arches; 41 of them are 40-foot span and are constructed of 7.5 million red bricks. The other two arches are constructed from stone and are 67 feet across and are skewed across the river by 20 degrees.[17][18] On the downstream side of the viaduct (eastern side) is a large plaque set into the stone section of where the bridge spans the river. This commemorates the engineers and contractors on the project.[19][20]

Workers on the structure (navvies) were paid £1 per day with the total cost of the bridge being £44,500 by its completion in 1852 (£5.6 million equivalent in 2016).[9] A system of pulleys worked by teams of horses allowed the raw materials to be brought onto the site.[21]

Outside links

 ("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Yarm Viaduct)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 National Heritage List 1139259: Yarm Viaduct (Grade II listing)
  2. ↑ "History of Preston Junction, in Stockton on Tees and County Durham | Map and description". http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/25874. 
  3. ↑ Langley, J Baxter (1963). The illustrated official guide and tourist's hand book to the North Eastern Railway and its branches. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Lambert. p. 198. OCLC 25963310. 
  4. ↑ Hoole, K (1974). A regional history of the railways of Great Britain. Vol. 4, North East England. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 126. ISBN 0-7153-6439-1. 
  5. ↑ "Opening of the Leeds Northern Extension to Stockton and Hartlepool". The Leeds Mercury (6,180): p. 5. 18 May 1852. OCLC 11968069. 
  6. ↑ Thompson, Alan R; Groundwater, Ken (1992). British railways past and present.. Kettering: Silver Link. p. 65. ISBN 0-947971-84-X. 
  7. ↑ Rennison, R W, ed (1996). Civil engineering heritage. Northern England (2 ed.). London: Thomas Telford. pp. 94–95. ISBN 0-7277-2518-1. 
  8. ↑ Chrimes, Mike (2002). Skempton, A W; Chrimes, M M; Cox, R C et al.. eds. A biographical dictionary of civil engineers in Great Britain and Ireland. London: Thomas Telford. p. 265. ISBN 0-7277-2939-X. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lloyd, Chris (12 May 2016). "Yarm viaduct: way to go!". The Northern Echo. https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/history/14492678.yarm-viaduct-way-to-go/. 
  10. ↑ Heavisides, Henry (1865). The annals of Stockton-on-Tees; with biographical notices. Stockton-on-Tees: Heavisides. p. 211. OCLC 23381160. https://archive.org/details/annalsstocktono01heavgoog. 
  11. ↑ "Yarm Conservation Area Appraisal". p. 6. https://www.stockton.gov.uk/media/2820/c11-yarm-conservation-area-appraisal.pdf. 
  12. ↑ "Hartlepool Borough Council Local Transport Plan 3 2011-2026" (PDF). April 2011. p. 16. https://www.hartlepool.gov.uk/downloads/file/17/hartlepool_borough_council_ltp3_2011-2026. 
  13. ↑ "East Coast Main Line Route Utilisation Strategy". February 2008. p. 53. http://archive.nr.co.uk/browse%20documents/rus%20documents/route%20utilisation%20strategies/east%20coast%20main%20line/east%20coast%20main%20line%20rus.pdf. 
  14. ↑ Hughes, M T (2002). Railway engineering 2002 5th international conference and exhibition, London, UK, 3-4 July 2002 ; [registered papers]. Edinburgh: Engineering Technics Press. p. 116. ISBN 0947644490. 
  15. ↑ Lesley, L (2009). "2; Fatigue in railway and tramway track". in Robinson, Mark; Kapoor, Ajay. Fatigue in Railway Infrastructure.. Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-84569-702-0. https://archive.org/details/fatiguerailwayin00robi. 
  16. ↑ "Yarm Railway Viaduct". https://www.bridgesonthetyne.co.uk/yarmrail.html. 
  17. ↑ "Engineering Timelines - Yarm Viaduct". http://engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=561. 
  18. ↑ Lloyd, Chris (16 May 2016). "From the archive: Yarm viaduct". Darlington and Stockton Times. https://www.darlingtonandstocktontimes.co.uk/history/14492260.from-the-archive-yarm-viaduct/. 
  19. ↑ Woodhouse, R (1991). The River Tees : a North Country river. T. Dalton. p. 65. ISBN 0-86138-091-6. 
  20. ↑ "Bridges over the Tees". https://www.ice.org.uk/ICEDevelopmentWebPortal/media/Documents/Regions/UK%20Regions/Tees-Bridges-Leaflet-online.pdf. 
  21. ↑ "A Brief History of the River Tees". p. 17. http://heritage.stockton.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/A_Brief_History_of_The_River_Tees.pdf. 


Bridges and crossings on the River Tees
Girsby Bridge Fishlocks Bridge Over Dinsdale Bridge Yarm Viaduct Yarm Bridge Preston Pipe Bridge Jubilee Bridge
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