NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 29
More on Crumlin Viaduct
(and Other Bridges and Viaducts)
Michael L. Roach
In Part 26 I described a day trip from Plymouth to Crumlin in1964 to pay my last respects to a magnificent railway viaduct which was shortly to be closed to all rail traffic and likely to be demolished. Demolition started 60 years ago in the summer of 1965 and was no easy task. History records that no less than six demolition contractors came and went before British Railways found one that could actually do the work; but first we must go back and learn a bit more about the viaduct.
I alighted from a train at Crumlin High Level Station on the Pontypool Road to Neath line and walked down into the Ebbw Valley to visit the Low Level Station. This had closed to passengers on 30 April 1962 but was still intact and freight trains still passed through on their way to the steel works at the head of the valley. It was only from down here at ground level that one could truly appreciate the sheer scale of Crumlin Viaduct towering over the valley. In fact the viaduct was in two parts and crossed two valleys. The longest crossed the Ebbw Valley on seven 150 feet spans; while the shorter part crossed the Kendon Valley with three 150 feet spans.
Crumlin Viaduct was built by the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway Company as part of their Taff Vale Extension Railway which aimed to link their own line at Pontypool with the Taff Vale Railway at Quakers Yard. The line crossed a number of valleys on major viaducts as at Hengoed; but the major crossing was at the Ebbw Valley where the proposed railway was 200 feet (61 metres) above the bottom of the valley. The Engineer for the line was Charles Liddell, but he did not design the necessary viaduct. He invited various contractors to submit tenders for building the two bridges needed to their own design. The winner of the competition was Thomas William Kennard (1825 – 1893) who started with an advantage over the others tendering as his family already owned iron-works capable of casting some of the iron which was used in his all-metal design. Kennard tried different combinations of span length and number of piers and finally settled on 150 feet spans and 6 piers / 7 spans for the main part of the viaduct. Crumlin was also a very economical structure to build costing £62,000. The railway across the viaduct was opened on 1 June 1857 and throughout its life the viaduct was the highest (i.e tallest) railway viaduct in the United Kingdom.
The superstructure of Crumlin Viaduct contained 1,133 tons of wrought iron in the trusses which were manufactured at the Blaenavon Ironworks just 10 miles away. The 1,368 tons of cast iron in the piers came from the Falkirk Ironworks in Scotland which was owned by the Kennard Family, and which came most of the way by sea. Cast iron is good in compression but not good in tension. Wrought iron is much better at coping with the tension that would arise in the bottom flange of the 150 feet spans. The main difference between cast and wrought iron is that the latter has been hammered or wrought. At the same time as the viaduct was being built, Henry Bessemer was inventing the Bessemer Process for the mass production of steel which would replace cast and wrought iron in bridge structures. Kennard established an iron-works below the viaduct which no doubt helped during the construction of the viaduct and the works later established a good reputation for bridge building at home and abroad.
One of the bridges supplied with iron from the Viaduct Works was the Lydbrook Viaduct just 30 miles away to the north-east of Crumlin. This was a wrought iron lattice truss type bridge with three main spans plus stone arch approaches at each end crossing the Lydbrook Valley just before it met the Wye Valley. The two main piers were built of the same stone as the approach spans. The main spans were 120 feet, 150 feet and 120 feet. The centre span was the same length as the main spans of the Crumlin Viaduct. The trusses were similar to those provided in hundreds of other road and rail bridges throughout the world. Lydbrook Viaduct was constructed between 1872 – 74 and opened to traffic 26 August 1874. The viaduct was designed by the Severn & Wye Railway's own Chief Engineer George William Keeling (1838 – 1913) and he was also the joint designer of the Severn Bridge. The first of the two adjacent Meldon Viaducts was built 1871 – 74 and opened to traffic two months after Lydbrook on 12 October 1874. The trusses at Meldon were were also made of wrought iron.
The last image attached to this article shows Lydbrook Viaduct as it neared completion in 1874. The line across the viaduct was the last link in joining the River Severn to the River Wye by rail constructed by the Severn & Wye Railway. The following year (1875) work started on building a rail bridge across the River Severn (opened 1879) by the Severn Bridge Railway Company just to the north of Sharpness Docks. The two Companies amalgamated the same year and in 1894 were taken over to become the Severn & Wye Joint Railway; jointly owned by the Great Western and Midland Railways. The railways of the Forest of Dean and the Joint Railway have a fascinating history and I still remember that night in October 1960 when the first item on the 10.00 o'clock news was the fact that two barges carrying petroleum products had collided with one pier of the Severn Bridge in thick fog; brought down two spans of the bridge; exploded and been engulfed in flames. Five men lost their lives and the bridge was never repaired.
Lydbrook Viaduct was a magnificent structure which just like Crumlin dominated its setting but I regret I never got to see it before it was demolished between August 1965 and March 1966. The firms that demolished Lydbrook was R.S.Tyley of Barry working with Cox and Danks one of the most well-known names in scrapping steam engines in the 1960s.
The firm that actually demolished Crumlin Viaduct was Bird's of Risca – more at thebirdgroup.co.uk/history. Risca is a village located six miles south of Crumlin in the same valley. My sincere thanks go to Robert Darlaston for supplying the two colour images accompanying the article which show the piers of Crumlin in June 1965 just two months before demolition commenced. Looking at the site of the viaduct on Streetview it looks as though parts of the Viaduct Ironworks may still exist adjacent to Lawn Terrace. The windowthroughtime website (which was new to me) describes Crumlin Viaduct as “one of the most significant examples of technological achievement during the Industrial Revolution.” Crumlin Viaduct was one of the first railway structures to be photographed throughout the construction period and I anticipate that some of those photos have been used in a recently published book on the subject. Coming from Lightmoor Press I am sure that it will be first class record in words, photos, maps and diagrams.
I alighted from a train at Crumlin High Level Station on the Pontypool Road to Neath line and walked down into the Ebbw Valley to visit the Low Level Station. This had closed to passengers on 30 April 1962 but was still intact and freight trains still passed through on their way to the steel works at the head of the valley. It was only from down here at ground level that one could truly appreciate the sheer scale of Crumlin Viaduct towering over the valley. In fact the viaduct was in two parts and crossed two valleys. The longest crossed the Ebbw Valley on seven 150 feet spans; while the shorter part crossed the Kendon Valley with three 150 feet spans.
Crumlin Viaduct was built by the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway Company as part of their Taff Vale Extension Railway which aimed to link their own line at Pontypool with the Taff Vale Railway at Quakers Yard. The line crossed a number of valleys on major viaducts as at Hengoed; but the major crossing was at the Ebbw Valley where the proposed railway was 200 feet (61 metres) above the bottom of the valley. The Engineer for the line was Charles Liddell, but he did not design the necessary viaduct. He invited various contractors to submit tenders for building the two bridges needed to their own design. The winner of the competition was Thomas William Kennard (1825 – 1893) who started with an advantage over the others tendering as his family already owned iron-works capable of casting some of the iron which was used in his all-metal design. Kennard tried different combinations of span length and number of piers and finally settled on 150 feet spans and 6 piers / 7 spans for the main part of the viaduct. Crumlin was also a very economical structure to build costing £62,000. The railway across the viaduct was opened on 1 June 1857 and throughout its life the viaduct was the highest (i.e tallest) railway viaduct in the United Kingdom.
The superstructure of Crumlin Viaduct contained 1,133 tons of wrought iron in the trusses which were manufactured at the Blaenavon Ironworks just 10 miles away. The 1,368 tons of cast iron in the piers came from the Falkirk Ironworks in Scotland which was owned by the Kennard Family, and which came most of the way by sea. Cast iron is good in compression but not good in tension. Wrought iron is much better at coping with the tension that would arise in the bottom flange of the 150 feet spans. The main difference between cast and wrought iron is that the latter has been hammered or wrought. At the same time as the viaduct was being built, Henry Bessemer was inventing the Bessemer Process for the mass production of steel which would replace cast and wrought iron in bridge structures. Kennard established an iron-works below the viaduct which no doubt helped during the construction of the viaduct and the works later established a good reputation for bridge building at home and abroad.
One of the bridges supplied with iron from the Viaduct Works was the Lydbrook Viaduct just 30 miles away to the north-east of Crumlin. This was a wrought iron lattice truss type bridge with three main spans plus stone arch approaches at each end crossing the Lydbrook Valley just before it met the Wye Valley. The two main piers were built of the same stone as the approach spans. The main spans were 120 feet, 150 feet and 120 feet. The centre span was the same length as the main spans of the Crumlin Viaduct. The trusses were similar to those provided in hundreds of other road and rail bridges throughout the world. Lydbrook Viaduct was constructed between 1872 – 74 and opened to traffic 26 August 1874. The viaduct was designed by the Severn & Wye Railway's own Chief Engineer George William Keeling (1838 – 1913) and he was also the joint designer of the Severn Bridge. The first of the two adjacent Meldon Viaducts was built 1871 – 74 and opened to traffic two months after Lydbrook on 12 October 1874. The trusses at Meldon were were also made of wrought iron.
The last image attached to this article shows Lydbrook Viaduct as it neared completion in 1874. The line across the viaduct was the last link in joining the River Severn to the River Wye by rail constructed by the Severn & Wye Railway. The following year (1875) work started on building a rail bridge across the River Severn (opened 1879) by the Severn Bridge Railway Company just to the north of Sharpness Docks. The two Companies amalgamated the same year and in 1894 were taken over to become the Severn & Wye Joint Railway; jointly owned by the Great Western and Midland Railways. The railways of the Forest of Dean and the Joint Railway have a fascinating history and I still remember that night in October 1960 when the first item on the 10.00 o'clock news was the fact that two barges carrying petroleum products had collided with one pier of the Severn Bridge in thick fog; brought down two spans of the bridge; exploded and been engulfed in flames. Five men lost their lives and the bridge was never repaired.
Lydbrook Viaduct was a magnificent structure which just like Crumlin dominated its setting but I regret I never got to see it before it was demolished between August 1965 and March 1966. The firms that demolished Lydbrook was R.S.Tyley of Barry working with Cox and Danks one of the most well-known names in scrapping steam engines in the 1960s.
The firm that actually demolished Crumlin Viaduct was Bird's of Risca – more at thebirdgroup.co.uk/history. Risca is a village located six miles south of Crumlin in the same valley. My sincere thanks go to Robert Darlaston for supplying the two colour images accompanying the article which show the piers of Crumlin in June 1965 just two months before demolition commenced. Looking at the site of the viaduct on Streetview it looks as though parts of the Viaduct Ironworks may still exist adjacent to Lawn Terrace. The windowthroughtime website (which was new to me) describes Crumlin Viaduct as “one of the most significant examples of technological achievement during the Industrial Revolution.” Crumlin Viaduct was one of the first railway structures to be photographed throughout the construction period and I anticipate that some of those photos have been used in a recently published book on the subject. Coming from Lightmoor Press I am sure that it will be first class record in words, photos, maps and diagrams.
Crumlin Viaduct looking north from the closed Low Level Station on the Western Valleys Branch. This photo was taken at 8.20am on the morning of Saturday 11 April 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A view west along the south side of Crumlin Viaduct. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Not the best of images, but the only one I have of a train crossing the Viaduct – Churchward mogul 2-6-0 no. 6361 of Aberdare Shed was hauling the 7.45am Aberdare to Pontypool Road, one of many passenger trains not to run the full length of the line. The engine was withdrawn the following month. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
This view looking north is believed to show the two tallest piers of the 7-span main viaduct on Whit Monday – 7 June 1965. Each lift was 17 feet (5.2 metres) high. Not sure what the large maroon car is, but it might be an Austin Westminster. Copyright Robert Darlaston.
Believed to be piers 5 and 6 from the eastern end. The bridge at the base carried the Western Valleys freight-only line over the River Ebbw. Copyright Robert Darlaston.
The finishing touches are being made to Lydbrook Viaduct in 1874 with some temporary works still in place. The quality of the stonework is quite superb. A great pity the viaduct did not survive as a cycleway and footpath. No Copyright.
Many thanks for another interesting read, Michael.
For more of Michaels articles, please click here.
For more of Michaels articles, please click here.
Class 66s With an engineers train at Plymouth Station
Leslie Curnow
Leslie Curnow
Class 66s Seen on the through road at Plymouth Station after Plymouth Argyle match with Liverpool beating them 1 nill at Home Park.. Copyright Leslie Curnow
Class 66s Seen on the through road at Plymouth Station after Plymouth Argyle match with Liverpool beating them 1 nill. Copyright Leslie Curnow
950001 heads west
David Tozer
Stoke Canon on a very gloomy morning (10.02.2025). If as we are led to believe, this could be the final visit to the South West by Network Rail's solitary Class 150 950001. It was working the 0303 2Q08 Bristol Kingsland Road to Plymouth. The unit is schedule to return to Derby R.T.C today (11.02.2025). Copyright David Tozer.
Many thanks Dave
Views from Dawlish
Jack Burchill
150238 heads 2T19 Exeter Central to Paignton (150265 on the rear). With 150219 now off for bodywork and refurbishment, this is the last blue and pink unit on the network. 09.02.2025, copyright Jack Burchill.
Rounding the corner at red rock is the 2T21 service from Exeter Central to Paignton run with 150247+150261. 09.02.2025, copyright Jack Burchill.
66419"Lionesses roar" exits the platform at Dawlish Warren hauling the 6Y45 Westbury T.C. to Goonbarrow Junction for engineering works to put in a passing loop at Newquay. 09.02.2025, copyright Jack Burchill.
66531 on the rear of the train. 09.02.2025, copyright Jack Burchill.
Many thanks indeed for sharing your wonderful photos, Jack - very much appreciated.
All change at Exmouth Junction
David Tozer
158958 passes Exmouth Junction with the 1220 Paignton to Exmouth. 09.02.2025, copyright David Tozer.
What a sad state of affairs - the site of the once vast engine sheds, latterly concrete and coal works, now flattened with development work starting for some non-rail purpose. 09.02.2025, copyright David Tozer.
Many thanks, Dave - a really sad sight.
For some pics of Exmouth Junction in happier times, please click here.
For some pics of Exmouth Junction in happier times, please click here.