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| qid = Q26517794 |
| qid = Q26517794 |
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| carries = [[Huddersfield line]] |
| carries = [[Huddersfield line]] |
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| official_name = |
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| other_name = Hillhouse Viaduct |
| other_name = Hillhouse Viaduct |
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| owner = [[Network Rail]] |
| owner = [[Network Rail]] |
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| length = {{convert|663|yard}} |
| length = {{convert|663|yard}} |
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| width = |
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| height = {{convert|53|ft}} (Maximum) |
| height = {{convert|53|ft}} (Maximum) |
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| depth = |
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| mainspan = |
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| number_spans = 47 |
| number_spans = 47 |
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| num_track = 2 (4 by 2030) |
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| num_track = 2 |
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| electrification = Overhead catenary (by 2030) |
| electrification = Overhead catenary (by 2030) |
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| opened = 1847 |
| opened = 1847 |
Revision as of 14:15, 4 May 2024
Huddersfield Viaduct | |
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Coordinates | 53°39′11″N 1°46′52″W / 53.653°N 1.781°W |
OS grid reference | SE145173 |
Carries | Huddersfield line |
Other name(s) | Hillhouse Viaduct |
Owner | Network Rail |
Characteristics | |
Total length | 663 yards (606 m) |
Height | 53 feet (16 m) (Maximum) |
No. of spans | 47 |
Rail characteristics | |
No. of tracks | 2 (4 by 2030) |
Electrified | Overhead catenary (by 2030) |
History | |
Opened | 1847 |
Rebuilt | 1883 |
Statistics | |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Designated | 28 September 1978 |
Reference no. | 1223531 |
Location | |
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Huddersfield Viaduct (or Hillhouse Viaduct)[1] is a railway bridge to the north-east of Huddersfield railway station in West Yorkshire, England. The viaduct carries the Trans-Pennine Line connecting Huddersfield with Dewsbury, Leeds, and York eastwards, and Manchester and Liverpool westwards. The viaduct was built to carry two lines, but was widened in the 1880s to take four tracks, and then reduced to two tracks in 1970. Huddersfield Viaduct is less well-known than other viaducts in the Kirklees area as they are higher, but Huddersfield Viaduct is the longest in Kirklees.
As part of the Trans-Pennine Upgrade (TRU), the viaduct will again have four lines along the whole 663 yards (606 m), and will additionally be electrified with a 25 kV overhead catenary by 2030.
History
The first railway in the area was the Manchester & Leeds Railway which passed Huddersfield 3.25 miles (5.23 km) to the north. Initially, the operators of that line were reluctant to provide a route into Huddersfield from the north, but in the face of opposing railway companies submitting bills through Parliament, the M&L optioned their own scheme which would have taken a route along the valley floor, thus making any station a dead-end as it could not raise up to the height needed to exit the valley to the south.[2][3] A joint scheme between the M&L and the Huddersfield & Manchester Railway, proposed the elevated route and built Huddersfield Viaduct to a length of 663 yards (606 m),[note 1] with 47 spans, 45 of which are masonry spans, whilst two have iron decks over major roads beneath the viaduct.[2][1] Forty-three of the spans are square on to the roads they cross, but four are set at oblique angles.[5] Most of the arched spans are 30 feet (9.1 m) across, although one of the skewed bridge sections measures 57 feet (17 m) across.[6] Whilst it is unclear who was the engineer on the project, it was possibly either Thomas Nicholson or A. S. Jee, who both worked on bridges and viaducts on the line between Stalybridge and Heaton Lodge Junction.[7][note 2]
The viaduct was opened up to traffic in August 1847 with only a single line connecting Huddersfield with Heaton Lodge Junction on the Manchester and Leeds line through the Calder Valley.[8] Construction of the viaduct started in 1845, but it was delayed in opening as it had to be re-profiled due to there had being some error in achieving the correct gradients.[9] This added an extra £1,000, (equivalent to £115,000 in 2023) on the existing cost of building the viaduct.[2]
Initially the west end of the viaduct (that nearest the railway station) had two lines, which widened to accommodate four lines. However, in 1883, the entire structure was widened to take five lines between Huddersfield and the yards and depot at Hillhouse, using stone quarried from Springwood Cutting (west of Huddersfield station) when the lines there were also being widened to four tracks.[10][7] The cost of widening the viaduct was £50,000 (equivalent to £6,361,000 in 2023).[11] During the widening process, other schemes were also implemented, including changing the arched span over John William Street to an iron span without the arched sides for full headway, the removal of goods sidings to the yard at Hillhouse, and the "...discontinuance of any buildings under the arches of the Huddersfield Viaduct south of Bradford Road....".[12] The span over Bradford road was widened using an iron deck on either side of the stone viaduct. When seen from ground level, the original two-track width stone arch is visible, encased in iron spans at the top.[13]
The viaduct also had a signal box (Huddersfield No. 2 Signal Box), which was about 100 yards (91 m) east of the station.[14][15] The viaduct crosses over several roads, the Huddersfield Ring Road, the A641 Bradford Road, and numerous minor roads, but also historically bridged several tram lines and the level road-running industrial line to Huddersfield gas works.[16] Of the many viaducts in the Kirklees area (such as Crimble, Golcar, Denby Dale, Slaithwaite, Lockwood and Penistone), Huddersfield Viaduct is not as well-known as the others, as they are significantly higher, but Huddersfield Viaduct is the longest.[17][18] The maximum height that the viaduct reaches is 53 feet (16 m) with the tallest arches being at the northern end of the viaduct in Hillhouse. The land falls away from south to north undulating as it does so, so the shallowest arch is that nearest the station in Huddersfield, but the height of the structure varies along its course.[1][19]
The viaduct had a new bridge deck built upon it during an engineering blockade over the Easter bank holiday weekend of 2024, as part of the Trans-Pennine Route Upgrade (TRU).[20][21] Other works on the viaduct as part of the TRU will include extending the platforms at Huddersfield onto the viaduct, the replacement of corroded wrought iron decks with concrete supports, and the overhead line equipment (OLE), which will be supported by masts fixed to the outside of the viaduct between spans 1 and 33, thereafter, the OLE will be fixed onto the deck of the viaduct.[22][23][note 3] Five lines will run onto the viaduct direct from the station, and these will combine into four tracks by span 17, all along the rest of the viaduct north-eastwards.[25]
The viaduct was grade II listed in 1978 and also forms part of Huddersfield Town Conservation area at the south-western end of the viaduct.[26][27]
Accidents
- 20 August 1865, the coupling broke on some empty coaches at Lockwood, and they ran downhill through Huddersfield being wrecked on the one of the parapets of the viaduct.[28]
- 21 April 1905, an LNWR empty coaching stock train ran through red lights and onto the same track as an approaching L&YR train from Bradford, two people died.[29]
- 6 November 1989, two trains collided head-on at the western end of the viaduct. Twenty-eight people were injured.[30]
Notes
- ^ According to trackmaps, the viaduct extends for 29 chains (1,900 ft; 580 m).[4]
- ^ Historic England state it was possibly Nicholson, whilst Biddle states it was Jee.
- ^ Spans are counted from the station towards the North-East direction, so the span over John William Street at the station end of the viaduct is span number 1, and then each span increases in number until number 47 which is at Hillhouse.[24]
References
- ^ a b c Biddle, Gordon; Nock, O. S. (1983). The railway heritage of Britain: 150 years of railway architecture and engineering. London: M. Joseph. p. 35. ISBN 0718123557.
- ^ a b c Joy 1984, p. 138.
- ^ Fisher 1997, p. 9.
- ^ Kelman, Leanne (2020). Railway Track Diagrams Book 2: Eastern (5 ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. 37A. ISBN 978-1-9996271-3-3.
- ^ Fisher 1997, p. 15.
- ^ Biddle, Gordon (2003). Britain's historic railway buildings: an Oxford gazetteer of structures and sites. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 443. ISBN 0198662475.
- ^ a b NRHV 2021, p. 17.
- ^ Joy 1984, pp. 138–139.
- ^ NRHV 2021, p. 5.
- ^ Bairstow 1984, p. 15.
- ^ "The Hull, Barnsley & West Riding Junction railway bill". Huddersfield Weekly Examiner. No. 5, 120. 27 May 1882. p. 8. OCLC 751654221.
Mr Stephenson, chief engineer of the London & North-Western Railway Company, said that he had examined the plans of the proposed line, and found that they would interfere seriously with his company's plans [for widening].
- ^ Report from the joint select committee of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, on railway companies amalgamation : together with the proceedings of the Committee, minutes of evidence, and appendix. London: HMSO. 1872. p. 623. OCLC 602071920.
- ^ NRHV 2021, p. 20.
- ^ "Accident Returns: Extract for the Accident at Huddersfield on 21st April 1905 :: The Railways Archive". railwaysarchive.co.uk. p. 52. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Huddersfield Viaduct Signal Box - Huddersfield Exposed: Exploring the History of the Huddersfield Area". huddersfield.exposed. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ Bairstow 1984, p. 33.
- ^ NRHV 2021, p. 24.
- ^ Minter, Gordon; Minter, Enid (1998). Discovering Old Huddersfield part three. p. 6. ISBN 0-9524747-5-1.
- ^ NRHV 2021, p. 18.
- ^ Hakimian, Rob (28 March 2024). "Network Rail gears up for £90M of engineering works over Easter bank holiday weekend". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Disruption to Huddersfield rail services over Easter weekend". BBC News. 29 March 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ Haigh, Philip (21 April 2021). "Network Rail's vision for major changes at Huddersfield". Rail Magazine. No. 929. Peterborough: Bauer Media. p. 31. ISSN 0033-8923.
- ^ Lavigueur, Nick (14 March 2020). "Major changes are revealed in £1bn rail plans". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. pp. 18–19. ISSN 0962-1644.
- ^ NRHV 2021, p. 52.
- ^ NRHV 2021, p. 7.
- ^ Historic England. "Huddersfield Railway Viaduct (Grade II) (1223531)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
- ^ NRHV 2021, p. 28.
- ^ Joy 1984, p. 147.
- ^ Fisher 1997, p. 31.
- ^ Williams, A. (1993). Railway accident at Huddersfield. London: HMSO. p. iii. ISBN 0-7176-0650-3.
Sources
- Bairstow, Martin (1984). The Leeds, Huddersfield and Manchester Railway (the Standedge Line). Pudsey: Bairstow. ISBN 0-90243830-1.
- Fisher, J. N. (1997). The Huddersfield and Kirkburton branch. Oxford: Oakwood. ISBN 0-85361-510-1.
- Joy, David (1984) [1975]. South and West Yorkshire: the industrial West Riding (2 ed.). Newton Abbot: David Charles. ISBN 0946537119.
- The Network Rail (Huddersfield to Westtown (Dewsbury) Improvements) Order Huddersfield Viaduct (MVL3/92) – Heritage Assessment (PDF). sacuksprodnrdigital0001.blob.core.windows.net (Report). Network Rail. March 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2024.