The Nine Elms to Waterloo Viaduct is a large Victorian

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

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 v ...

in south

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The viaduct is in length and carries the

South West Main Line The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile (230 km) major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south we ...

into

Waterloo station Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of t ...

. Initially constructed in 1848, the viaduct begins in eastern

Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batt ...

Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies on the River Thames, with Battersea to the west, South Lambeth to the south and Vauxhall to the east. The area was formerly mainly industrial ...

and with an intermediate station at

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...

incorporated within the viaduct, the viaduct terminates at Waterloo. The viaduct comprises six

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

girder bridges, with a combined weight of , and over 290 arches (excluding those beneath the Waterloo Bridge terminus). The brick sections of the viaduct are composed of some 80,000,000

bricks A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

. The viaduct is managed by

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's len ...

, who in turn lease many of the arches for commercial, retail and industrial use.

History

In the mid-19th century, the original

London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...

terminus was located at

on the south-western edge of what was then the urban limit of developed London. To facilitate easier entrance for goods and passengers into central London, the railway sought a “Metropolitan Extension” from Nine Elms to

Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at t ...

. A four-track extension was authorised by an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...

on 31 July 1845 with a supplementary Act of 1847 providing an additional two tracks; the capital authorised was estimated at £800,000. The work was carried out under the direction of the engineer

Joseph Locke Joseph Locke FRSA (9 August 1805 – 18 September 1860) was a notable English civil engineer of the nineteenth century, particularly associated with railway projects. Locke ranked alongside Robert Stephenson and Isambard Kingdom Brunel as on ...

. Running through the ancient parishes of Battersea and

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...

the construction was reported to have displaced about 700 houses. It dissected the areas of Vauxhall and Lambeth, creating an artificial divide. Passage underneath the viaduct is obtained through one of the many tunnels constructed underneath the viaduct for street level access. It was stated that one glassworks, one engineering works, the Royal Swimming Baths and a church (All Saints Church) were all demolished for the construction of the viaduct. However, the viaduct was built to avoid some major landmarks at the time, including the

Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens Vauxhall Gardens is a public park in Kennington in the London Borough of Lambeth, England, on the south bank of the River Thames. Originally known as New Spring Gardens, it is believed to have opened before the Restoration of 1660, being m ...

and

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposit ...

and for this reason does not follow a straight route to Waterloo. The opening of the viaduct and line was planned for 30 June 1848, but the Board of Trade Inspector did not approve some of the large-span bridges at the eastern end, however his superior was satisfied by later load tests, and the line opened on 11 July 1848. Further widening of the viaduct took place between 1877 and 1868 and again from 1898, when an eight-track railway all the way through from Waterloo to

Clapham Junction Clapham Junction is an urban locality around Clapham Junction railway station in London, England. Despite its name, it is not located in Clapham, but forms the commercial centre of Battersea. Clapham Junction was a scene of disturbances during ...

was completed (taking until 1910 to be fully completed). Waterloo-Station-2013

A 70m section of the viaduct's ageing parapet collapsed unexpectedly during engineering work on Christmas Day 2020. In the 2020s, an arch through the viaduct was opened up as a pedestrian route as part of the

Northern line extension to Battersea The Northern line extension to Battersea is an extension of the London Underground from to Battersea in South West London, terminating at the redeveloped Battersea Power Station. The extension formed a continuation of the Northern line's br ...

. 'Arch 42' will allow easier access through the

area, as well as improving access rom Nine Elms station to developments such as the

US Embassy The United States has the second most diplomatic missions of any country in the world after Mainland China, including 166 of the 193 member countries of the United Nations, as well as observer state Vatican City and non-member countries Kosovo a ...

and

Embassy Gardens Embassy Gardens is a residential and business development built by Ballymore Group in the Nine Elms regeneration zone in London, England, surrounding the United States Embassy building opened in 2017. It features the tranparent Sky Pool for swi ...

Stations

The viaduct still has two railway stations, the first is an intermediate station at

incorporated within the viaduct and the second is the terminus at

London Waterloo Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station o ...

. The Nine Elms station was discontinued upon the opening of the Waterloo station.

References

{{coords, 51.4919, -0.1194, display=title Railway viaducts in London Nine Elms