Broadbottom Viaduct

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Broadbottom Viaduct - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 53°26′27″N 2°00′24″W / 53.440794°N 2.006548°W

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Broadbottom Viaduct
The central section, showing one of the original stone piers and one of the 20th-century red brick intermediate piers
Coordinates	53°26′27″N 2°00′24″W / 53.440794°N 2.006548°W / 53.440794; -2.006548
Carries	Glossop Line
Crosses	River Etherow
Locale	Broadbottom, Greater Manchester, England grid reference SJ997938
Other name(s)	Etherow Arches
Maintained by	Network Rail
Characteristics
Total length	169 yards (155 meters)
Height	136 feet (41 meters)
History
Architect	A.S. Jee
Designer	Joseph Locke
Opened	1842
Location

Broadbottom Viaduct (also known as Etherow or Mottram Viaduct) is a railway viaduct that spans the River Etherow between Derbyshire and Greater Manchester in England. Originally of wooden construction supported by stone piers, the timber was replaced first with wrought iron box girders, less than 20 years after the viaduct's opening, later followed by steel trusses and more supporting piers.^[1]^[2]

History and design

Broadbottom Viaduct is one of two similar viaducts 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) apart (the other being the much longer Dinting Viaduct) on the Glossop Line, which connects several villages in north-west Derbyshire with Manchester Piccadilly station. Both viaducts are significant for their height and the distance between their columns. Broadbottom is 137 feet (42 metres) high, 169 yards (155 metres) long, and has three main spans, which carry the railway over a gorge formed by the River Etherow.^[1]

Built by Joseph Locke and A. S. Jee for the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway,^[1] the foundation stone of Broadbottom Viaduct was laid by John Chapman on 17 February 1842. Then on 10 December that same year trains ran from Godley to Broadbottom.^[3]

The viaduct itself was originally of a laminated timber construction with three arches (of unequal lengths) supported on piers of locally quarried stone. Each arch span had three parallel ribs, of which the middle rib was considerably heavier than the other two. The timberwork deteriorated, and was replaced with hollow wrought iron box girders which were fabricated on-site by contractors William Fairbairn & Sons while the viaduct continued in use. The girders were carried onto the bridge on bogies before being lowered onto the existing supporting piers. The work was completed by the end of 1859 after a little over six months; similar work carried out on Dinting Viaduct was completed in 1860, having had minimal effect on train services.^[1] Railway historian Gordon Biddle described the wrought iron construction as "less majestic" than the original, but "still impressive".^[1]

At some point, the wrought iron box girders were supplemented with riveted steel truss girders.^[2] Further remedial work was carried out in 1919; by then, the weight of modern trains necessitated the strengthening of Broadbottom and Dinting viaducts. Three red brick intermediate piers, of which one is in the river, were built to better support the girders.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Biddle, Gordon (2011). Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: A Gazetteer of Structures (Second ed.). Hersham, Surrey: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 292–293. ISBN 9780711034914.
^ ^a ^b Ashmore, Owen (1982). The Industrial Archaeology of North-west England. Manchester: Manchester University Press. pp. 85–86. ISBN 9780719008207.
^ "Viaduct is still on track". Manchester Evening News. 15 March 2012.

v t e Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, England
Buildings	Ashton Town Hall Cavendish Mill, Ashton Denton Town Hall Dukinfield Town Hall Hartshead Pike Tower Hyde Hall, Denton Hyde Town Hall Old Street drill hall, Ashton Stayley Hall, Stalybridge Tower Mill, Dukinfield
Places of worship	St Anne's, Haughton St George's, Stalybridge St John's, Dukinfield St Michael's, Ashton St Michael's, Mottram St Peter's, Ashton St Lawrence's, Denton
Education	Alder Community High School All Saints Catholic College, Dukinfield Audenshaw School Copley Academy Denton Community College Droylsden Academy Fairfield High School for Girls Great Academy Ashton Hyde High School Longdendale High School Mossley Hollins High School Rayner Stephens High School St Damian's Roman Catholic Science College St Thomas More Roman Catholic College West Hill School
Transportation	Ashton-under-Lyne bus station Ashton-under-Lyne railway station Denton railway station Fairfield railway station Flowery Field railway station Godley railway station Guide Bridge railway station Hattersley railway station Hyde Central railway station Hyde North railway station Mossley railway station Newton for Hyde railway station Stalybridge railway station
Shopping complexes	Ashton Arcades Clarendon Square Shopping Centre, Hyde
Sport and entertainment	Bower Fold Butcher's Arms Ground Ewen Fields Tameside Hippodrome
Bridges	Broadbottom Viaduct
Others	Mottram Tunnel Tameside General Hospital
Demolished	Atlas Mill, Ashton Cedar Mill, Ashton Curzon Mill, Ashton Gorse Hall, Stalybridge Junction Mills, Ashton Minerva Mill, Ashton Ray Mill, Stalybridge Rock Mill, Ashton Texas Mill, Ashton Tudor Mill, Ashton Waterside Mill
Lists	List of schools in Tameside List of mills in Tameside
Listed buildings in	Ashton-under-Lyne Audenshaw Denton Droylsden Dukinfield Hyde Longdendale Mossley Stalybridge

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References