SD7579 : The Ribblehead Viaduct, Batty Moss
taken 23 days ago, near to Ribblehead, North Yorkshire, England
The Ribblehead Viaduct or Batty Moss Viaduct carries the Settle–Carlisle railway across Batty Moss in the Ribble Valley at Ribblehead. The viaduct, built by the Midland Railway, is notable as the most impressive structure on the Settle-Carlisle Railway (the longest and the third tallest structure on the line).It is a Grade II* listed structure (List Entry Number: 1132228 Link Historic England).
The Settle to Carlisle line was the last main railway in Britain to be constructed primarily with manual labour. Construction began in late 1869. The huge viaduct required a workforce of some 2,300 navvies, who lived in three hastily-constructed shanty towns at the base of the structure, many of them with their wives and families. Although the huge viaduct can be seen as an engineering triumph, more than 100 men lost their lives during its construction. Memorials along the line, especially those at St Mary’s Church Outhgill and St Leonards’ Church, Chapel-le-dale commemorate the lives of some of the men who died building the line.
The Ribblehead Viaduct is 1320 feet (440m) long and rises 104 feet (32m) over the valley below. The Viaduct is carried on 24 arches each spanning 45 feet (14m). The north end of the Viaduct is 13 feet (4m) higher than the south, or station end. That makes for a gradient of 1:100.