Ribblehead Viaduct

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File:Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire.jpg

Sunrise over the viaduct

The Ribblehead Viaduct or Batty Moss Viaduct carries the Settle–Carlisle railway across Batty Moss in the Ribble Valley at Ribblehead, in North Yorkshire, England. The viaduct, built by the Midland Railway, is Template:Convert north-west of Skipton and Template:Convert south-east of Kendal. It is a Grade II* listed structure.<ref name=NHLE>Template:National Heritage List for England</ref> Ribblehead Viaduct is the longest and the third tallest structure on the Settle–Carlisle line.

The viaduct was designed by John Sydney Crossley, chief engineer of the Midland Railway, who was responsible for the design and construction of all major structures along the line. The viaduct was necessitated by the challenging terrain of the route. Construction began in late 1869. It necessitated a large workforce, up to 2,300 men, most of whom lived in shanty towns set up near its base. Over 100 men lost their lives during its construction. The Settle to Carlisle line was the last main railway in Britain to be constructed primarily with manual labour.

By the end of 1874, the last stone of the structure had been laid; on 1 May 1876, the Settle–Carlisle line was opened for passenger services. During the 1980s, British Rail proposed closing the line. In 1989, after lobbying by the public against closure, it was announced that the line would be retained. Since the 1980s, the viaduct has had multiple repairs and restorations and the lines relaid as a single track. The land underneath and around the viaduct is a scheduled ancient monument; the remains of the construction camp and navvy settlements (Batty Wife Hole, Sebastopol, and Belgravia) are located there.<ref name = "natiheri">Template:National Heritage List for England</ref>

HistoryEdit

BackgroundEdit

Template:Settle-Carlisle line In the 1860s, the Midland Railway, keen to capitalise on the growth in rail traffic between England and Scotland, proposed building a line between Settle and Carlisle.<ref name=engtime/> The line was intended to join the Midland line between Skipton and Carnforth to the city of Carlisle. On 16 July 1866, the Midland Railway (Settle to Carlisle) Act was passed by Parliament, authorising the company "to construct Railways from Settle to Hawes, Appleby, and Carlisle; and for other Purposes".<ref name=engtime/>

After the Act passed, the Midland Railway came to an agreement with the London & North Western Railway, to run services on the LNWR line via Shap.<ref name=engtime/> The company applied for a bill of abandonment for its original plan but Parliament rejected the bill on 16 April 1869 and the Midland Railway was compelled to build the Settle to Carlisle line.<ref name=engtime/>

The line passed through difficult terrain that necessitated building several substantial structures.<ref name=engtime/> The company's chief engineer, John Sydney Crossley and its general manager, James Joseph Allport, surveyed the line. Crossley was responsible for the design and construction of the major works, including Ribblehead Viaduct.<ref name=NHLE/><ref name=engtime/>

On 6 November 1869, a contract to construct the Settle Junction (SD813606) to Dent Head Viaduct section including Ribblehead Viaduct was awarded to contractor John Ashwell. The estimated cost was £343,318 and completion was expected by May 1873.<ref name=engtime/> Work commenced at the southern end of the Template:Convert line.<ref name=engtime/>

ConstructionEdit

By July 1870, work had started on the foundations for Ribblehead Viaduct.<ref name=engtime/> On 12 October 1870, contractor's agent William Henry Ashwell laid the first stone. Financial difficulties came to greatly trouble John Ashwell; on 26 October 1871, his contract was cancelled by mutual agreement.<ref name=engtime/> From this date, the viaduct was constructed by the Midland Railway who worked on a semi-contractual basis overseen by William Ashwell.<ref name=engtime/>

The viaduct was built by a workforce of up to 2,300 men.<ref name=engtime/> They lived, often with their families, in temporary camps, named Batty Wife Hole, Sebastopol, and Belgravia on adjacent land.<ref name = "natiheri"/><ref name=HR150/> More than a hundred workers lost their lives in construction-related accidents, fighting, or from outbreaks of smallpox.<ref name=engtime/> According to Church of England records, there are around 200 burials of men, women, and children in the graveyard at Chapel-le-Dale and the church has a memorial to the railway workers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In December 1872, the design for Ribblehead Viaduct was changed from 18 arches to 24, each spanning Template:Convert.<ref name=engtime/> By August 1874, the arches had been keyed and the last stone was laid by the end of the year.<ref name=Houghton/> A single track was laid over the viaduct and on 6 September 1874 the first train carrying passengers was hauled across by the locomotive Diamond. On 3 August 1875, the viaduct was opened for freight traffic and on 1 May 1876, the whole line opened for passenger services, following approval by Colonel F. H. Rich from the Board of Trade.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=engtime/>

StructureEdit

Ribblehead Viaduct is Template:Convert long, and Template:Convert above the valley floor at its highest point,<ref name=Houghton>Template:Cite book</ref> it was designed to carry a pair of tracks aligned over the sleeper walls.<ref name=engtime/> The viaduct has 24 arches of Template:Convert span, the foundations of which are Template:Convert deep. The piers are tapered, roughly Template:Convert across at the base and Template:Convert thick near the arches and have loosely-packed rubble-filled cores.<ref name=engtime/> Every sixth pier is 50 per cent thicker, a mitigating measure against collapse should any of the piers fail. The north end is Template:Convert higher in elevation than the south, a gradient of 1:100.<ref name=HR150>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

The viaduct is faced with limestone masonry set in hydraulic lime mortar and the near-semicircular arches are red brick, constructed in five separate rings, with stone voussoirs.<ref name=engtime/> Sleeper walls rise from the arches to support the stone slabs of the viaduct's deck and hollow spandrels support plain solid parapet walls. In total, 1.5 million bricks were used; some of the limestone blocks weigh eight tons.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=engtime>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Ribblehead Viaduct is Template:Convert above sea level on moorland exposed to the prevailing westerly wind. Its height, from foundation to rails is Template:Convert. It is Template:Convert long on a lateral curve with a radius of Template:Convert.<ref name=engtime/>

The viaduct is the longest structure on the Settle–Carlisle Railway which has two taller viaducts, Smardale Viaduct at Template:Convert near Crosby Garrett, and Arten Gill at Template:Convert. Ribblehead railway station is less than half a mile to the south and to the north is Blea Moor Tunnel, the longest on the line, near the foot of Whernside.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

OperationsEdit

During 1964, several Humber cars were blown off their wagons while being carried over the viaduct on a freight train.<ref name=HR150/>

By 1980, the viaduct was in disrepair and many of its piers had been weakened by water ingress.<ref name=engtime/> Between 1981 and 1984, repairs were undertaken as a cost of roughly £100,000. Repairs included strengthening the piers by the addition of steel rails and concrete cladding. For safety reasons, the line was reduced to single track across the viaduct to avoid the simultaneous loading from two trains crossing and a 20mph speed limit was imposed.<ref name=engtime/> During 1988, minor repairs were carried out and trial bores were made into several piers. In 1989, a waterproof membrane was installed.<ref name=engtime/>

In the 1980s, British Rail proposed closing the line, citing the high cost of repairs to its major structures.<ref name=engtime/> Vigorous campaigning by the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line, formed during 1981, garnered and mobilised public support against the plan. In 1989, the line was saved from closure.<ref name=engtime/> According to Michael Portillo, who took the decision in his capacity as Minister of State for Transport, the economic arguments for closing it had been weakened by a spike in passenger numbers, and further studies by engineers had determined that restoration work would not be nearly as costly as estimated.<ref>Stokes, Spencer. "Settle-Carlisle line thriving 30 years on after closure threat." BBC News, 15 December 2013.</ref>

In November 1988, Ribblehead Viaduct was Grade II* listed. The surrounding land where the remains of its construction camps are located has been recognised as a scheduled monument.<ref name=engtime/>

Between 1990 and 1992, Ribblehead Viaduct underwent major restoration.<ref name=engtime/> Between September 1999 and March 2001, a programme of improvements was implemented involving renewal of track, replacement of ballast and the installation of new drainage. Restoration has allowed for increased levels of freight traffic assuring the line's viability.<ref name=engtime/>

The Settle–Carlisle Line is one of three north–south main lines, along with the West Coast Main Line through Penrith and the East Coast Main Line via Newcastle.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During 2016, the line carried seven passenger trains from Leeds to Carlisle per day in each direction,<ref>Template:NRtimes</ref> and long-distance excursions, many hauled by preserved steam locomotives.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Regular heavy freight trains use the route avoiding congestion on the West Coast Main Line. Timber trains, and stone from Ingleton quarry, pass over the viaduct when they depart from the yard opposite Ribblehead railway station. The stone from Ingleton is ferried to the terminal at Ribblehead by road.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Limestone aggregate trains from Arcow quarry sidings (near Template:Rws) run to various stone terminals in the Leeds and Manchester areas on different days – these trains reverse in the goods loop at Blea Moor signal box because the connection from the quarry sidings faces north.<ref>"Connected." Rail Engineer, 5 January 2016. Retrieved: 7 April 2017.</ref>

Major restoration work started in November 2020 as a £2.1 million project to re-point mortar joints and replace broken stones got underway.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Network Rail released a timelapse video of the works in June 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In popular cultureEdit

Building the viaduct was the inspiration behind the ITV period drama series Jericho.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The viaduct appears in the 1970 film No Blade of Grass<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and also in the 2012 film Sightseers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A number of other films and television programmes have also included the viaduct.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>