Crimple Valley Viaduct

Crimple Valley Viaduct
Crimple Viaduct
Coordinates53°58′22.79″N 1°31′0.07″W / 53.9729972°N 1.5166861°W / 53.9729972; -1.5166861
CarriesHarrogate Line
CrossesCrimple Valley
LocaleNorth Yorkshire
Official nameCrimple Valley Viaduct
Maintained byNetwork Rail
Heritage statusGrade II* listed
ELR no.LEH 3
Characteristics
Total length1,872 feet (571 m)
Height110 feet (34 m)
History
Opened1848[1]
Location
Railways in Harrogate
to Northallerton via Ripon
closed to passengers 1967
Harrogate
Starbeck
Hornbeam Park
opened 1992
to York
Line to Church Fenton
closed to passengers 1964
Pannal
to Leeds

Crimple Valley Viaduct, also known as Crimple Viaduct and Crimple Beck Viaduct is a railway viaduct which crosses the Crimple Valley between Pannal railway station and Hornbeam Park railway station in North Yorkshire. It is a Grade II* listed structure.[1]

History

The viaduct was built for the Harrogate–Church Fenton line (then part of the York & North Midland Railway) and crosses Crimple Beck, and also the Leeds Northern Railway which opened in 1849.[2] The Leeds Northern Railway line went underneath the eastern side of the viaduct through the second arch inwards, and then soon after crossed a ten-arch viaduct referred to as Crimple Low Viaduct to differentiate between the two.[3][4] In 1854, the North Eastern Railway was formed, which amalgamated several railway companies, including the Leeds Northern and the Y&NMR, and so in 1862, a new connection was built between the Leeds & Thirsk and the Church Fenton Line, with a rising gradient line which connected the two lines at the extreme eastern end of the viaduct at Crimple Junction.[5][6][7]

It is 1,872 feet (571 m) long and has 31 arches, each of 52-foot (16 m) span, which reach a maximum height of 110 feet (34 m) above the Crimple Valley.[8] The viaduct is also built on a rising gradient of 1-in-91, which levels off on the approach into Harrogate itself.[9] The sharp bend in the track on the south side of the viaduct causes trains to reduce speed significantly.[10] Older Pacer rolling stock units are locally known to loudly squeal whilst passing around the tight bend due to increased pressure on the bogies and wheels.

It was completed in 1848 for the York and North Midland Railway company, and opened for traffic in July of that year.[11] It is built of brick, and rusticated grit stone ashlar.[1][11][12] The viaduct was designed by James Cass Birkinshaw.[13]

The section of the Leeds Northern Railway between Pannal and Starbeck which went under the viaduct was closed in June 1951.[14] Crimple Viaduct is part of the Harrogate line which has traffic running between Leeds and York via Harrogate and Knaresborough.[15] The track is designated as up towards Leeds (the northernmost line on the viaduct), whilst towards Harrogate is the down line.[16] Network Rail designate the bridge as number LEH3; the LEH stands for Leeds and Harrogate line.[17][18]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Historic England. "Crimple Valley Viaduct (1189723)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  2. ^ Bairstow 2022, p. 3.
  3. ^ Bairstow 2022, p. 11.
  4. ^ "Crimple Low Viaduct". forgottenrelics.org. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  5. ^ Hoole, K. (1984). North-Eastern branch lines: past and present. Poole: Oxford Publishing Company. 149. ISBN 0-8609-3189-7.
  6. ^ Bairstow 2022, p. 24.
  7. ^ Hoole, K. (1986). The North East (3 ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 104. ISBN 0-9465-3731-3.
  8. ^ Chapman 2011, p. 4.
  9. ^ Bairstow 2022, p. 104.
  10. ^ Bennett, Christopher (30 March 2020). "City should be considered in rail quadrangle". The Yorkshire Post. p. 14. ISSN 0140-0460.
  11. ^ a b Smith, Martin (1994). British railway bridges & viaducts. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 42. ISBN 0-7110-2273-9.
  12. ^ Hoole, K. (1986). The North East (3 ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 35. ISBN 0-9465-3731-3.
  13. ^ Biddle, Gordon; Nock, Oswald S. (1983). The railway heritage of Britain: 150 years of railway architecture and engineering. London: M. Joseph. p. 37. ISBN 0-7181-2355-7.
  14. ^ Bairstow 2022, p. 127.
  15. ^ Chapman 2011, p. 24.
  16. ^ Bairstow 2022, p. 69.
  17. ^ "Crimple Viaduct". www.railwaydata.co.uk. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  18. ^ Padgett, David (2016). Railway track diagrams 2: Eastern. Frome: Trackmaps. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-9549866-8-1.

Sources

  • Bairstow, Martin (2022). Railways through Harrogate. Farsley: Bairstow. ISBN 978-1-871944-49-5.
  • Chapman, Stephen (2011). Railway Memories No. 24 Harrogate & Wetherby. Todmorden: Bellcode Books. ISBN 978-1871233-24-7.
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