Outwood Viaduct

The viaduct was first built in timber for the Manchester, Bury and Rossendale Railway, which was amalgamated into the East Lancashire Railway by the time of opening. The timber viaduct opened on 25 September 1846. It was built to carry the Clifton Junction to Bury line over the River Irwell. The closest station was Radcliffe Bridge, heading southwest to Clifton the following station was Ringley Road. In 1881, the superstructure was rebuilt for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in cast iron from Andrew Handyside and Company of Derby. The timber deck was replaced by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (the result of further amalgamations) in 1923. The railway closed in 1966 and the…

The viaduct is 112 yd long and reaches a maximum height of 60 ft above the Irwell. It consists of five segmental arches in cast iron, each with a 60 ft span. Each arch consists of six ribs, held together by bracing. The inner four arches directly supported the rails, meaning that the weight of trains was transferred straight to the arches rather than through a traditional bridge deck. This allowed for a lightweight timber deck. The spandrels (the space between the arches and the bridge deck) contain decorative iron latticework. The arches are supported on brick piers which appear to be original from the 1840s. The piers contain round relieving arches and the two in the water have stone…