Penistone Viaduct

Penistone Viaduct
A train traversing a long stone viaduct
Huddersfield–bound (northwards) DMU traversing the viaduct
Coordinates53°31′41″N 1°37′23″W / 53.528°N 1.623°W / 53.528; -1.623
OS grid referenceSE250035
CarriedPenistone Line
CrossedRiver Don
LocalePenistone, South Yorkshire, England
Characteristics
Total length16 chains (1,100 ft; 320 m)[note 1]
Height85 feet (26 m)
Rail characteristics
No. of tracks1 (built for 2)
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
History
Opened1850
Rebuilt1916
Collapsed1916
Statistics
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated27 April 1988
Reference no.1286798
Location
Map

Penistone Viaduct is a grade II listed railway viaduct that carries the Penistone Line over the River Don in Penistone, South Yorkshire, England. It is immediately north of Penistone station and was completed in 1850 to a design by John Hawkshaw. The viaduct was partially rebuilt in 1916 after one of the arches over the River Don collapsed.

History

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Penistone Viaduct was completed in 1850, when the line was opened for traffic, though some sources state a newer viaduct was built in 1885.[1][2][3][4][5][note 2] Originally planned and engineered by the Huddersfield and Sheffield Junction Railway, by the time of opening, the line was in the hands of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.[6] The viaduct is 330 yards (300 m) long and 83–85 feet (25–26 m) above the bed of the River Don. The outside of the viaduct consisted of rough ashlar blocks which were 12 inches (300 mm) thick.[7] It also has 29 arches and curved with a radius of 40 chains (2,600 ft; 800 m), with the inside of the curve facing away from the town.[8] Each pier is 7 feet (2.1 m) thick at the base, tapering to 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m) at the top and is infilled with rubble.[9][10] The viaduct was built from solid stone blocks, assembled using a method called 'block-in-course', which the engineer described as "requiring great care in its execution."[note 3][12] Stone for the first viaduct was sourced from a quarry in Walk Mill, a part of the settlement of Oxspring, just to the east of Penistone.[13]

In 1884, a train was halted on the viaduct on the approach to the station, and one passenger, assuming the train had stopped in the station, stepped out of the compartment and fell to his death in the valley below.[14] Ironically, the train had stopped a little too short of the station as people falling off the viaduct was anticipated when it was built, and a short length of iron fencing was placed upon the eastern parapet on the southern end to prevent such an eventuality as someone stepping off the viaduct.[7]

In February 1916, the viaduct collapsed whilst an engine was stationary upon it. The driver and fireman had noticed that the arch they were on was collapsing slowly, and managed to get away safely before total loss, however the steam engine fell into the void.[15] The arches that collapsed were at the southern end where the viaduct crosses the River Don.[16] Heavy rains had scoured the base of the stone piers, and some days before a crack had appeared in the parapet, but it could not be ascertained why, and the crack was filled in.[17] The Huddersfield Chamber of Commerce held a meeting to complain to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway about the situation with the collapsed viaduct. Coal supply was affected and passengers would have to travel a circuitous route to London. The company was also asked why trains would stop ten minutes short of Penistone railway station, with no official transport to convey passengers and their luggage onwards to Penistone.[18] The viaduct was repaired quickly, and reopened to traffic on 14 August 1916.[19] The engine was recovered and scrapped, and the chimney was used as a plant pot at Brockholes station.[20]

The length of the viaduct is 16 chains (1,100 ft; 320 m),[21] and it consists of 29 arches, though sometimes it is listed as having either 30 or 31 arches.[22] Each pier is 7 feet (2.1 m) at the bottom, and tapers to 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m) at the top.[23] Biddle states the viaduct to be 98 feet (30 m) high.[24][note 4] Whilst the line was engineered for two tracks throughout and the station at Penistone has two platforms, the lines merge, just to the north of the station, with only the former southbound line in use.[25] The viaduct itself is grade II Listed.[5]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Chains were the standard use of measure used by the railway engineers in the 19th century, and still in use today on Network Rail.
  2. ^ Only Pevsner and Historic England state the viaduct was rebuilt in 1885. No other sources make mention of this, with most stating the viaduct was built in 1850, despite the disparity between it having either 31, or 29 arches.
  3. ^ 'Block-in-course' is a method of using squared stone masonry which has quite close joints. This is supposed to give the structure strength and durability.[11]
  4. ^ Various sources give differing heights for the viaduct

References

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  1. ^ Thomas 2007, p. 77.
  2. ^ "The collapse of the Penistone Viaduct". The Guardian. No. 21684. 5 February 1916. p. 5. OCLC 12044147.
  3. ^ "Alarming mishap at Penistone". The Guardian. No. 21684. 5 February 1916. p. 15. OCLC 12044147.
  4. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (2003) [1959]. Ratcliffe, Enid (ed.). The buildings of England; Yorkshire, the West Riding (2 ed.). London: Yale University Press. p. 392. ISBN 0-300-09662-3.
  5. ^ a b Historic England. "Penistone Railway Viaduct (Grade II) (1286798)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  6. ^ Bairstow 1993, p. 21.
  7. ^ a b Marshall, John (1969). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 231. ISBN 0-7153-4352-1.
  8. ^ "Opening of the line of railway from Huddersfield to Holmfirth and Penistone". The Huddersfield Chronicle and West Yorkshire Advertiser. No. 14. 6 July 1850. p. 5. OCLC 1326218001.
  9. ^ Hawkshaw, J. (January 1851). "Description of the Lockwood Viaduct on the Huddersfield and Sheffield Railway". Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 10 (1851): 299. doi:10.1680/imotp.1851.24100.
  10. ^ Slack, Margaret (1986). The bridges of Lancashire and Yorkshire. London: Robert Hale. p. 148. ISBN 0-7090-2814-8.
  11. ^ "Definition of BLOCK-IN-COURSE". Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  12. ^ Marshall, John (1969). The Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Volume 1. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 231. ISBN 0-7153-4352-1.
  13. ^ "Mill and stone quarry". Sheffield and Rotherham Independent. No. 1833. 25 November 1854. p. 4. OCLC 751551247.
  14. ^ "Shocking fatal accident at Penistone". Derby Daily Telegraph. No. 1549. 10 September 1884. p. 4.
  15. ^ Thomas 2007, p. 7.
  16. ^ "The collapse of the Penistone Viaduct". The Manchester Guardian. No. 21, 684. 5 February 1916. p. 5. OCLC 12044147.
  17. ^ Pike, Jim (2010). Track. Stroud: History Press. p. 184. ISBN 9780752457895.
  18. ^ "Chamber of Commerce Viaduct Collapse". The Huddersfield Examiner and West Riding Reporter. No. 15, 056. 26 February 1916. p. 7. OCLC 751654221.
  19. ^ Bairstow 1993, p. 52.
  20. ^ Stocks, William B. (20 March 1969). "Diary of a railway enthusiast". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. No. 33, 885. p. 16. ISSN 0962-1644.
  21. ^ Kelman, Leanne (2020). Railway track diagrams, books 2 - eastern (5 ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. 34C. ISBN 978-1-9996271-3-3.
  22. ^ Body, Geoffrey (1989). Railways of the Eastern Region. Wellingborough: P. Stephens. p. 32. ISBN 1-85260-072-1.
  23. ^ Hawkshaw, J. (January 1851). "Viaducts on the Huddersfield and Sheffield Railway". Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 10 (1851): 299. doi:10.1680/imotp.1851.24100.
  24. ^ Biddle, Gordon (2003). Britain's historic railway buildings: an Oxford gazetteer of structures and sites. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 449. ISBN 0198662475.
  25. ^ Shannon, Paul (2005). Past and present: Yorkshire, the West Riding, part 2. Kettering: Past and present. p. 88. ISBN 1-85895-241-7.

Sources

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  • Bairstow, Martin (1993) [1985]. The Huddersfield & Sheffield Junction Railway : the Penistone Line (2 ed.). Halifax: The author. ISBN 1-871944-08-2.
  • Thomas, Peter (2007). Along the Penistone Line. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0750946199.
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