NY4654 : Bridge Plaque, Corby Bridge
taken 2 months ago, near to Wetheral, Cumbria, England

CORBY BRIDGE
FRANCIS GILES CIVIL ENGINEER
WILLIAM DENTON BUILDER.
MDCCCXXXI. MDCCCXXXIIII.
Officially Wetheral Viaduct, the railway bridge over the River Eden at Wetheral is locally known as Corby Bridge, the name originally given to the structure by the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway when it was completed in 1834. The railway track is approximately 33 metres (108 feet) above the river. The Grade I listed bridge is 280m long and built of red sandstone; it has the national engineer’s reference number NEC2 157.
The Grade I Listed Viaduct is named Corby Bridge on the OS maps. It was built 1830 to 1834 (opened 12 August) designed by Francis Giles and built by William S. Denton for the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway Company. The footbridge was added at parapet level to the north face in 1851, with P Tate engineer and C D Richardson, contractor. Initially, a half-penny toll was charged on the footbridge, having risen to a penny by the time the station closed in 1956 (train services resumed in 1981). The bridge is faced with red sandstone from Newbiggin Quarry near Carlisle and filled with sandstone rubble from Wetheral and Corby Beck Quarries. It is about 33m above water level and has a total length of 280m. Newcastle & Carlisle Railway was formed in 1825 and began operating mineral trains in 1834 and passengers the following year with the line fully opened in 1839. The railway was absorbed by the larger North Eastern Railway in 1862. It now carries what is known as the Tyne Valley Line.