Fledborough Viaduct
Opened in 1897, it consists of 59 arches spread either side of four metal girder spans which cross the river itself.
The viaduct was described and illustrated in Engineering 1899/12/29. Engineer: R. Elliott Cooper. Four river spans, with approaches on 20 brick arches on one side, and 39 similar arches on the other, The four river spans are each 115 ft. (centre to centre) or 110 ft. in the clear, supported on cast-iron cylinders filled with Portland cement concrete, 9 ft. in diameter at their upper part, enlarged to 15 ft. at their lower extremities, carried down 16 ft. below the river bed, through varying thicknesses of river deposits resting on sandy gravels, to the solid blue marl. Pressurisation was not required. Handyside and Co constructed the steel girders. The article named Pearson and Son as the main contractors, but subsequently corrected this to Price and Wills of Westminster.
Fledborough Viaduct[1]
The viaduct is a substantial structure which carried the double-track Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway Chesterfield Market Place to Lincoln Central main line over the River Trent; It is now part of National Cycle Route 647 which takes cyclists over the river Trent; It is situated between the former stations of Fledborough and Clifton-on-Trent, but nearer the latter.
Opened in 1897, it consists of 59 arches spread either side of four metal girder spans which cross the river itself. Nine million bricks were used in its construction which cost £65,000.
Timetabled passenger services over the viaduct ended in September 1955, though summer weekend excursions from Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire to Cleethorpes and Mablethorpe and from Manchester Central to Yarmouth Vauxhall continued until 1964.
From the 1960s traffic east of Langwith Junction was overwhelmingly coal, much of which went straight from collieries to High Marnham Power Station which opened in 1959, this traffic therefore turned off about half a mile before the viaduct. The Grimsby to Whitland express fish train ran until at least 1962 via Fledborough and through Mansfield Central. Traffic continued to run over the viaduct until 21 February 1980 when a train derailed at Clifton-on-Trent. The line from Pyewipe Junction over the viaduct to High Marnham was closed “temporarily” the next day and has subsequently been lifted. Traffic continued from the West to High Marnham until it closed in 2003.
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ NEDIAS Supplementary Newsletter – September 2020. Article by Doug Spencer