Ribblehead Viaduct

{{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. 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".

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. 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.

The line passed through difficult terrain that necessitated building several substantial structures. 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.

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. Work commenced at the southern end of the {{convert|116|km|order=flip|adj=on}} line.

By July 1870, work had started on the foundations for Ribblehead Viaduct. 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. From this date, the viaduct was constructed by the Midland Railway who worked on a semi-contractual basis overseen by William Ashwell.

The viaduct was built by a workforce of up to 2,300 men. They lived, often with their families, in temporary camps, named Batty Wife Hole, Sebastopol, and Belgravia on adjacent land. More than a hundred workers lost their lives in construction-related accidents, fighting, or from outbreaks of smallpox. 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.{{cite web |title=Chapel-le-Dale: St Leonard, Ingleton |url=http://www.achurchnearyou.com/chapel-le-dale-st-leonard/ |publisher=Church of England |access-date=25 August 2013}}{{cite web |last=Kapp |first=Alexander P |title=St Leonard's Church Chapel le Dale, Memorial |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1788933 |work=SD7377 |publisher=Geograph Project |access-date=25 August 2013 |date=28 March 2010}}{{cite web |last=Taylor |first=Ian |title=Millennium gravestone, Chapel le Dale |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1905789 |work=SD7377 |publisher=Geograph Project |access-date=25 August 2013 |date=6 June 2010}}

In December 1872, the design for Ribblehead Viaduct was changed from 18 arches to 24, each spanning {{convert|13.7|m|order=flip}}. By August 1874, the arches had been keyed and the last stone was laid by the end of the year. 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.{{cite web |title=Milestones Locomotives: The Ribblehead viaduct |url=http://locodriver.co.uk/Railway_Encyclopedia/Part229/Part01/TEXT01.rtf |website=locodriver.co.uk |access-date=2 February 2015 |format=Word document |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202154210/http://locodriver.co.uk/Railway_Encyclopedia/Part229/Part01/TEXT01.rtf |archive-date=2 February 2015 |df=dmy-all}}

Ribblehead Viaduct is {{convert|440|yd|m}} long, and {{convert|104|ft|m}} above the valley floor at its highest point,{{cite book|last1=Houghton|first1= F. W. |last2= Foster |first2=W. H. |year=1965 |edition=2nd |title= The Story of the Settle-Carlisle Line|publisher= Advertiser Press Ltd|location= Huddersfield| page=137}} it was designed to carry a pair of tracks aligned over the sleeper walls. The viaduct has 24 arches of {{convert|45|ft|m}} span, the foundations of which are {{convert|25|ft|m}} deep. The piers are tapered, roughly {{convert|4|m|order=flip}} across at the base and {{convert|1.8 |m|order=flip}} thick near the arches and have loosely-packed rubble-filled cores. Every sixth pier is 50 per cent thicker, a mitigating measure against collapse should any of the piers fail. The north end is {{convert|13|ft|m|0}} higher in elevation than the south, a gradient of 1:100.{{cite magazine|title=A matter of life and death for railway pioneers |first=Geoff |last=Courtney |magazine=Heritage Railway |issue= 150|date= 12 May – 8 June 2011 |publisher=Mortons Media Group Ltd |location=Horncastle |page=37}}

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. 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/england/sevenwonders/yorkshire/ribbleshead_mm/index.shtml |title=Ribbleshead Viaduct |work=Seven Man Made Wonders |publisher=BBC |access-date=29 September 2012}}{{cite web |title=Ribblehead Viaduct |url=http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=151 |work=Engineering Timelines |access-date=25 August 2013}}

Ribblehead Viaduct is {{convert|300|m|order=flip}} above sea level on moorland exposed to the prevailing westerly wind. Its height, from foundation to rails is {{convert|50.3|m|yd|order=flip|0}}. It is {{convert|404.8|m|yd|order=flip}} long on a lateral curve with a radius of {{convert|1.37|km|order=flip}}.

The viaduct is the longest structure on the Settle–Carlisle Railway which has two taller viaducts, Smardale Viaduct at {{convert|131|ft|m}} near Crosby Garrett, and Arten Gill at {{convert|117|ft|m}}. 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.{{cite book|last=Garrat|first= Colin |last2= Matthews|first2= Max-Wade |title= Illustrated Encyclopedia of Steam And Rail |publisher= Barnes & Noble Books|location= New York|year= 2003 |isbn=0-7607-4952-3}}

During 1964, several Humber cars were blown off their wagons while being carried over the viaduct on a freight train.

By 1980, the viaduct was in disrepair and many of its piers had been weakened by water ingress. 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. During 1988, minor repairs were carried out and trial bores were made into several piers. In 1989, a waterproof membrane was installed.

In the 1980s, British Rail proposed closing the line, citing the high cost of repairs to its major structures. 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. 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.Stokes, Spencer. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-25364686 "Settle-Carlisle line thriving 30 years on after closure threat."] BBC News, 15 December 2013.

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.

Between 1990 and 1992, Ribblehead Viaduct underwent major restoration. 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.

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.{{cite news |title=Craven Through The Years |url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/3806145.Craven_through_the_years/ |access-date=30 November 2015 |work=Telegraph & Argus |date=1 November 2008}} During 2016, the line carried seven passenger trains from Leeds to Carlisle per day in each direction,{{NRtimes|December 2016|42}} and long-distance excursions, many hauled by preserved steam locomotives.{{cite web|url=https://www.settle-carlisle.co.uk/steam-trains-on-the-settle-carlisle-line/|title=Steam train excursions|date=7 June 2017|website=The Settle Carlisle Railway|access-date=12 January 2019}}

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.{{cite journal |last1=Metcalfe |first1=Phil |title=Freight flows of the famous S&C |journal=Rail Magazine |date=2 January 2020 |issue=895 |page=43 |publisher=Bauer Media |location=Peterborough |issn=0953-4563}} Limestone aggregate trains from Arcow quarry sidings (near {{rws|Horton-in-Ribblesdale}}) 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.[https://www.railengineer.uk/2016/01/05/connected/ "Connected."] Rail Engineer, 5 January 2016. Retrieved: 7 April 2017.

Major restoration work started in November 2020 as a £2.1 million project to re-point mortar joints and replace broken stones got underway.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-54949954|title=Ribblehead Viaduct: Major restoration work begins|work=BBC News|access-date=16 November 2020}} Network Rail released a timelapse video of the works in June 2021.{{cite news|title=Network Rail: Ribblehead Viaduct - Remote Site Security|url=https://www.wcctv.co.uk/case-studies/network-rail-ribblehead-viaduct-remote-site-security/|publisher=WCCTV}}

Building the viaduct was the inspiration behind the ITV period drama series Jericho.{{cite web |title=JERICHO - Big hopes for major new drama series filmed in Huddersfield |url=http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/jericho-big-hopes-major-new-10671901 |date=6 January 2016 |work=Huddersfield Examiner |access-date=8 January 2016}} The viaduct appears in the 1970 film No Blade of Grass{{cite book |last1=Gere |first1=Charlie |title=I Hate the Lake District |date=2019 |publisher=Goldsmith Press |location=London |isbn=978-1-912685-11-0 |pages=117–118}} and also in the 2012 film Sightseers.{{cite news |last1=Masters |first1=Tim |title=Sightseers: Not-so-happy campers |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20396062 |access-date=24 January 2020 |work=BBC News |date=28 November 2012}} A number of other films and television programmes have also included the viaduct.{{cite web| url=https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?locations=Ribblehead%20Viaduct,%20Ribblehead,%20North%20Yorkshire,%20England,%20UK | title=Filming Location Matching Ribblehead Viaduct |work=IMDB |access-date=16 June 2019}}

• Grade II* listed buildings in North Yorkshire (district)
• Listed buildings in Ingleton, North Yorkshire
• Glenfinnan Viaduct

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |last=Baughan |first=Peter E |title=North of Leeds: The Leeds-Settle-Carlisle Line and its Branches |year=1966 |publisher=Roundhouse Books |location=Hatch End}}
• {{cite book |last=Brooke |first=David |title=The Railway Navvy: That Despicable Race of Men |url=https://archive.org/details/railwaynavvythat0000broo/page/41 |url-access=registration |publisher=David and Charles |location=Newton Abbot |isbn=9780715384497 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/railwaynavvythat0000broo/page/41 41–47, 51–54 et al.] |date=1 January 1983 }}
• {{cite book |first1=William Reginald |last1=Mitchell |first2=Peter |last2=Fox |title=The Story of Ribblehead Viaduct |date=1 May 1990 |publisher=Kingfisher Productions |isbn=9781871064087}}
• {{cite book |last=Williams |first=Frederick Smeeton |title=The Midland Railway: Its rise and progress |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-05036-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A53CQr-HjQsC&q=The+Midland+railway:+its+rise+and+progress |orig-year=1876 |date= 26 April 2012 |pages=490–498}}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Ribblehead Viaduct}}

• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/content/image_galleries/ribblehead_viaduct_gallery.shtml Pictures of the viaduct at the BBC]
• [http://www.visitcumbria.com/carlset/ribblehead-viaduct/ Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle-Carlisle line]
• {{cite news |url=http://www.cravenherald.co.uk/nostalgia/nostalgia_history/10139882.Tasmanian_who_played_an_important_role_in_the_early_history_of_Settle_Carlisle_railway/ |newspaper=Craven Herald and Pioneer |title= Tasmanian who played an important role in the early history of Settle-Carlisle railway |date=5 January 2013}}
• {{NHLE |num=1132228 |desc=Grade II*}}
• {{cite web |url=https://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=43410288 |title=Search for photos including the Ribblehead Viaduct |publisher=Geograph project}}

{{Viaducts in Yorkshire}}

Category:Ribblesdale

Category:Railway viaducts in North Yorkshire

Category:Bridges completed in 1875

Category:Grade II* listed buildings in North Yorkshire

Category:Grade II* listed railway bridges and viaducts

Category:Viaducts in England