Belah Viaduct NE (near) and SW (far) abutments 24

The Belah Viaduct was a

railway viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

on the

South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway The South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway (SD&LUR) built a railway line linking the Stockton & Darlington Railway near Bishop Auckland with the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (the West Coast Main Line) at Tebay, via Barnard Castle, Stainmore S ...

, crossing the

River Belah The River Belah is a river in the county of Cumbria in England. Its name derives from the Old English word and means the "Roaring River". The Belah is formed by the confluence of several small streams or ''sikes'' draining most of north and s ...

, in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, England, about south of the village of

Barras Barras may refer to: Places * Barras, Cumbria, England * Barras, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France * Barras, Piauí, Brazil * Duas Barras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * Sete Barras, São Paulo, Brazil Other uses * Barras (surname) * Barras (market), ...

and east north east of

Kirkby Stephen Kirkby Stephen () is a market town and civil parish in Cumbria, North West England. Historically part of Westmorland, it lies on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, about from the nearest larger towns: Kendal and Penrith. ...

. It was completed in 1860 and was demolished in 1963. The viaduct was designed by

Thomas Bouch Sir Thomas Bouch (; 25 February 1822 – 30 October 1880) was a British railway engineer. He was born in Thursby, near Carlisle, Cumberland, and lived in Edinburgh. As manager of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway he introduced the first roll-o ...

and the ironwork was supplied and erected by Gilkes Wilson; both Bouch and Gilkes Wilson were also responsible for the later

Tay Bridge The Tay Bridge ( gd, Drochaid-rèile na Tatha) carries the railway across the Firth of Tay in Scotland between Dundee and the suburb of Wormit in Fife. Its span is . It is the second bridge to occupy the site. Plans for a bridge over the Tay ...

. It had 'double' Warren truss girders on cast iron columns, and was constructed at a cost of £31,630. The foundation stone was laid in November 1857. The first locomotive crossed the viaduct in November 1860, and the line opened on 7 August 1861. It was long, wide, with 16 spans, and at it was the highest bridge in England when it was built (but lower than the

Crumlin Viaduct The Crumlin Viaduct was a railway bridge, railway viaduct located above the village of Crumlin, Caerphilly, Crumlin in South Wales, originally built to carry the Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway, Newport, Ab ...

in Wales). Post-WWII, weight limitations on the aging viaduct and its limited maintenance led to a ban on

double heading In railroad terminology, double heading indicates the use of two locomotives at the front of a train, each operated individually by its own crew. The practice of triple-heading involves the use of three locomotives. The practice of multi-headi ...

across both Belah and Deepdale Viaducts. As two light locomotives were still needed to haul trains up the inclines of the Tebay line, one worked as a

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

at the rear. This also caused problems if the breakdown crane from Darlington was needed. This 45 ton crane itself had a weight of 156 tons. Hauling it across the viaducts required it to be spaced from the locomotive by at least three empty wagons, to distribute the load. In 1956 the viaduct was completely repainted, which "might have implied to some that BR valued the line as a long-term proposition", but the closure of the line was announced in 1959 and the final passenger train ran on 20 January 1962. The iron structure of the viaduct was demolished in the summer of 1963. The stone abutments at either side of the Belah valley still remain.

Commemorative verses

Charles Davis wrote a verse about the viaduct, which was buried in the central column of the eighth pier on 6 September 1859 and found during demolition. The lines quoted in ''Dow's Dictionary of Railway Quotations'' are: :See! now Beelah's beauteous sights begin! :Whose curling stream shall ever flow within, :And underneath this splendid monster Bridge, :Shall floods henceforth descend from every Ridge; :And thousands wonder at the glorious sight, :When trains will run aloft both day and night; :For ages past, no human tongue could tell :Of such a structure o'er thy monster gill. :Time will roll on, and mortals may increase :When those who see it now, we hope will rest in peace. ''Dow's Dictionary'' includes another verse, cited only as having been quoted in ''

The Railway Magazine ''The Railway Magazine'' is a monthly British railway magazine, aimed at the railway enthusiast market, that has been published in London since July 1897. it was, for three years running, the railway magazine with the largest circulation in t ...

'' vol XLVI, 1920: :To future ages these lines will tell :Who built the structure o'er the dell. :Gilkes Wilson, with his eighty men, :Raised Belah's Viaduct o'er the glen.

References

External links

* ''A personal account of the viaduct''
Painting of the viaduct, by John Osborn Brown
{{Authority control Railway viaducts in Cumbria Demolished bridges in England South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway Thomas Bouch Former railway bridges in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures demolished in 1963