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There is one line by a British engineer who worked on the Mulberry harbours for D-Day which I think perfectly sums up the UK’s industrial attitude. This engineer expressed the difficulties in capturing a working port to get supplies to the Allies once they had landed in Normandy. Therefore “the only logical solution was to bring our own port”. Yeah: if you can’t get your own port to support an army of millions, build one and take it with you. ^__^
It was this attitude which saw that the Mersey valley needed to be crossed to connect the industrial powerhouses of Manchester and Stockport. The trains of the age, the late 1830s, were rather lacking in power, and so railways of that time had to be straight and had to be flat, to prevent the additional effort of turning corners and climbing hills. And so, to a certain George W. Buck, the only logical solution in 1839 was to build a viaduct spanning the whole valley, at a maximum height of 111ft (33.9m) above the river Mersey, at a length of 1792ft (546.2), and at a cost of £70,000 (£4.23m in today’s money). It was completed using 11,000,000 red bricks, and was completed within a year, before being opened for rail transport in 1842. In the two years between 1887 and 1889, it was made even larger after being widened to accommodate even more rail traffic, yet even before this expansion it was the largest viaduct ever built. Today, though there are larger viaducts, what you see in this picture is the largest red-brick structure that has ever been built.
Being such a large structure takes plenty of maintenance, as I’m sure you can imagine. The power lines above the railway were installed throughout the 1960s, as part of a wider plan to electrify the West Coast Main Line between London and Glasgow. The bridge underwent extensive renovation by operator Network Rail in 2011, but failing water drainage systems has resulted in deterioration. It seems a shame that when tasked with taking care of what should be a national treasure of the industrial era, the operators should fall short of the mark. Here’s hoping that, like Mr. Buck, we might see the logical solution to the problem, and pull off a feat worthy of the age.
As an aside, this image shows up on my camera as DSCN1839. That makes me a very happy Shep. ^__^
Hope you enjoy!
It was this attitude which saw that the Mersey valley needed to be crossed to connect the industrial powerhouses of Manchester and Stockport. The trains of the age, the late 1830s, were rather lacking in power, and so railways of that time had to be straight and had to be flat, to prevent the additional effort of turning corners and climbing hills. And so, to a certain George W. Buck, the only logical solution in 1839 was to build a viaduct spanning the whole valley, at a maximum height of 111ft (33.9m) above the river Mersey, at a length of 1792ft (546.2), and at a cost of £70,000 (£4.23m in today’s money). It was completed using 11,000,000 red bricks, and was completed within a year, before being opened for rail transport in 1842. In the two years between 1887 and 1889, it was made even larger after being widened to accommodate even more rail traffic, yet even before this expansion it was the largest viaduct ever built. Today, though there are larger viaducts, what you see in this picture is the largest red-brick structure that has ever been built.
Being such a large structure takes plenty of maintenance, as I’m sure you can imagine. The power lines above the railway were installed throughout the 1960s, as part of a wider plan to electrify the West Coast Main Line between London and Glasgow. The bridge underwent extensive renovation by operator Network Rail in 2011, but failing water drainage systems has resulted in deterioration. It seems a shame that when tasked with taking care of what should be a national treasure of the industrial era, the operators should fall short of the mark. Here’s hoping that, like Mr. Buck, we might see the logical solution to the problem, and pull off a feat worthy of the age.
As an aside, this image shows up on my camera as DSCN1839. That makes me a very happy Shep. ^__^
Hope you enjoy!
Category Photography / Scenery
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1280 x 960px
File Size 293.3 kB
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