Ouse Valley Viaduct
The Ouse Valley Viaduct (also called Balcombe Viaduct) is a spectacular railway viaduct 1,475 feet long in Sussex which crosses the River Ouse and its broad valley carrying the London-Brighton Railway Line. It is to be found to the north of Haywards Heath and south of Balcombe.
The viaduct was built in 1841 by the London and Brighton Railway.
Description
The viaduct is 492 yards long, 96 feet high and is carried on 37 semi-circular arches, each of 30 feet, surmounted by balustrades. Each pier contains a Jack arch with a semi-circular soffit to reduce the number of bricks required.[1]
At each end of the abutment is an ornamental square open tower, the brickwork of which is faced with stone from Heddon Quarries near Newcastle-upon-Tyne.[2] The viaduct was designed by engineer for the line John Urpeth Rastrick in association with the architect of the London to Brighton railway, David Mocatta. It has been described as “probably the most elegant viaduct in Britain.”[3]
History
The viaduct was opened in July 1841. The 11 million bricks needed for its construction were shipped up the Ouse River (by way of Newhaven and Lewes) from the Netherlands. It cost £38,500 to build[4] (equivalent to about £3½ million in 2014[5]).
It is a Grade II* structure.[6] The viaduct was restored in 1996 with grants from the Railway Heritage Trust and English Heritage. Matching stone was imported from France, to ensure a close match with the existing balustrades and pavilions.[7]
This is, as it always has been, a busy, working railway viaduct. It carries some 110 trains a day passing over it on the Brighton Main Line.
See also
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References
- ↑ Turner, John Howard (1977). The London Brighton and South Coast Railway 1 Origins and formation. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-0275-X. p.124.
- ↑ Turner, p.124.
- ↑ The Ouse Valley Viaduct – 'Our Transport Heritage'
- ↑ Body, Geoffrey (1989). Railway of the Southern Region. Patrick Stephens. ISBN 1-85260-297-X. p.141.
- ↑ Inflation calculator
- ↑ National Heritage List 1366101: Ouse Valley Railway Viaduct
- ↑ 'Trusting in Trusts: The Railway Heritage Trust: conservation and change' (The Institute of Historic Building Conservation)