Ribblehead Viaduct

Another one of my 'must visit' places. A truely magnificent structure that today attracted hundreds of visitors. Some like me just to see the viaduct and many others just passing through. The viaduct took 4 years to build in the 1880's and it took one thousand Navvies to complete the job. One hundred navvies died on the construction work and many hundreds more from smallpox.

Today's blip shows a freight train partway across the viaduct. I had hoped for the impossible - one of the special Steam locomotives - but it was not to be...

Other facts: Ribblehead viaduct is 440 yards (400 m) long, and 104 feet (32 m) above the valley floor at its highest point. It is made up of twenty-four arches of 45 feet (14 m) span, with foundations 15 feet (4.6 m) deep. The north end of the viaduct is 13 feet (4.0 m) higher in elevation than the south end.