...and an interesting overbridge!

[drmditch]

Despite the bad news coming from everywhere, I managed to pick a good weather day yesterday to take my trusty (if Bavarian) 1-1-0 on the longest of the routes I ride:-
Durham-Bishop Auckland north as far as Relly Mill Junction
Lanchester Valley west as far as Lydgett's Junction (I', not sure if this is a railway name.)
Stanhope and Tyne (with S&D varations) south-west through Waskerley to Parkhead, at the top of the Weatherhill incline down to Stanhope. (I don't go down the incline!)

There are some items of railway interest remaining on this route, and just beyond the former Whitehall Station there is a rather interesting overbridge:

This stretch of line is the deviation to avoid the original S&T Nanny Mayor's incline, and was opened by the Stockton and Darlington (or rather a group of S&D Directors as the Wear and Derwent Junction Railway) in 1859.

I have not noticed this type of arch structure before, and at first thought it might be a very early S&T 1834 structure, but then I realised that it is too far above the start of Nanny Mayor's incline, so it must be part of the deviation. It is an all stone structure, including the underside of the arch.

I would be interested to know if there are any other similar structures surviving.

This route also takes me over the Hownes Gill viaduct, now provided with a steel cage to try to prevent poor souls jumping off it. This is an 1858 structure designed by Thomas Bouch with some advice from Robert Stephenson. Are there any other Bouch bridges still in use for carrying traffic?
I have read that some of the girder spans (although obviously not the piers) from the original Tay Bridge were re-used in the later re-construction.

I should also take the opportunity of recommending the County Durham Railway Paths to those who have not discovered them yet. They are a superb asset for getting out in the fresh air and enjoying countryside which is transformed from it's industrial heyday.

(References - K Hoole - various works, North Eastern Record Vol.1, 'Battle for the North', Charles McKean.)

[PinzaC55]

There's a nice photo of a bridge near Loftus in Ken Hoole's Dalesman book "Railways Of Cleveland" and it had two arches one directly below the other, and the lower arch had become crushed due to mining subsidence.

[drmditch]

Thank you. I was particularly interested in the nature of the arch construction on 'my' bridge.
(location is ....here....)

Usually arches that I have seen are constructed of shaped ashlars, with horizontal courses infilled above. This one seems to have the entire structure consisting of wedge shapes with no horizontal courses. I haven't seen another one like it that I can remember.