Dent Head Viaduct
| Dent Head Viaduct | |
| Yorkshire West Riding | |
|---|---|
 The Dent Head Viaduct | |
| Location | |
| Type: | Railway viaduct |
| Carrying: | Settle–Carlisle line |
| Crossing: | River Dee |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SD777844 |
| Location: | 54°15’17"N, 2°20’33"W |
| Structure | |
| Length: | 199 yards |
| Type: | Railway viaduct |
| History | |
| Built 1869 - 1875 | |
| Information | |
The Dent Head Viaduct spans the treacherous terrain of Upper Dentdale in the West Riding of Yorkshire, carrying the Settle–Carlisle line over the head of the Dee, in a stretch of the line alternating with cuttings and embankments as it passes along the steep slopes of the dale over numerous burns draining the moorland into its river.
Running north from Dent Head, the line passes through cuttings and embankments to the Artengill Viaduct, then through and over cuttings and embankments to Dent station, beyond which it enters another tunnel, taking the line to Garsdale. Heading south and passes into the Blea Moor Tunnel. The viaducts, the tunnels and the earthworks all along the line here show the ingenuity and effort of the Victorian engineers in passing such troublesome terrain. The whole line was the most difficult and hazardous feat in railway engineering in the land, of which this stretch is a snapshot.
The viaduct was built between 1869 and 1875 for the Midland Railway Company. It is 199 yards long, with 10 arches, and stands 100 feet high above the dale floor. Like the larger Artengill Viaduct to the north, it is built of massive blocks of Dent marble and crosses over the quarry that produced it.
The viaduct is a Grade II listed building.[1][2]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Dent Head Viaduct) |
References
- ↑ Dent Head Viaduct, Dent - British Listed Buildings
- ↑ National Heritage List 1383847: Dent Head Viaduct
