Sankey Viaduct - Newton-le-Willows, UK - Arch Bridges on Waymarking.com

There is a nearby information board about the area that has the following details about the bridge.

The Sankey Viaduct was built by George Stephenson in 1828-29 to take the Liverpool & Manchester Railway across the Sankey Valley. The Sankey Viaduct is a Grade I listed structure and is described by Heritage England as "the earliest major railway viaduct in the world".

Constructed from yellow sandstone and red brick it is known locally as "The Nine Arches" and is still in daily use carrying trains weighing far more than could ever have been envisaged at the time of its construction. The architecture of the viaduct draws from canal aqueduct designs, being the available technology of the day. The viaduct stands between 18.3m and 21.3m tall.

The reason that the viaduct was built so high was because of the sailing craft on the Sankey Canal. "The Sankey Canal was built for Mersey Flats, the common sailing craft of the local rivers; they were used on the rivers Mersey, Irwell and Weaver and along the Lancashire and North Wales coasts. To allow for the masts of the flats, swing bridges were constructed for the roads which crossed the canal. When the railways were built, they too had to cross in similar fashion. The exception was at Earlestown, where Stephenson erected the Sankey Viaduct for the country's first passenger railway from Liverpool to Manchester, leaving 70-foot (21 m) headroom for the flats' sails." link

The viaduct is a Historic England Grade I listed building. "Railway viaduct, 1830, by George Stephenson for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company. Yellow sandstone and red brick, of 9 round-arched spans on sharply-battered piers. Rusticated ashlar faces, stone-banded brick jambs. Plinths of 3 steps. One projecting band on each jamb. Plain, square imposts. Heavily moulded cornices carry stone parapets with plain square caps; a corbelled square pilaster on each pier carries the cornice. Battered, curved abutments of brick have stone quoins at inner ends. Listed Grade I as the earliest major railway viaduct in the world; in form and expression it presages the slightly later and hence more assured Dutton and Vale Royal viaducts by George Stephenson and Joseph Locke, carrying the former Grand Junction Railway over the Weaver valley. Part of this viaduct is in Cheshire." link

The Sankey Canal closed in 1962 and although a restoration society wishes to re-open it parts of the canal have been infilled. Where the canal used to pass under the 3rd arch there is currently a footpath that follows the line of the canal. There was a slight bend in the canal where it passed through the bridge arch and the tow ropes used to rub against the arch. To protect the bridge a slot was carved in the bridge to carry a wooden roller that protected the bridge. The slot and part of the fixings for the roller can still be seen.

Height of bridge: 21 m What type of traffic does this bridge support?: railroad What kind of gap does this bridge cross?: Sankey Brook and the Sankey Canal Date constructed: 1830 Is the bridge still in service for its original purpose?: Yes Name of road or trail the bridge services: Liverpool to Manchester Railway Location: Sankey Brook near Newton-le_Willows, Merseyside Length of bridge: Not listed

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