Bridge MVN2/124 Over The Rochdale Canal - Hebden Bridge, UK - Railroad Bridges on Waymarking.com

"The Manchester and Leeds Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom which opened in 1839, connecting Manchester with Leeds via the North Midland Railway which it joined at Normanton.

Its route now forms the backbone of the present-day Caldervale Line.

It was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1836, with a second Act in 1839 which authorised the extension from the original Manchester terminus at Oldham Road railway station to join the Liverpool and Manchester Railway when the latter was extended to Hunt's Bank (later called Manchester Victoria). The Act also authorised branches to Oldham and Halifax with a diversion at Kirkthorpe. Superintended by George Stephenson, its engineer was Thomas Longridge Gooch, a brother of Daniel Gooch of the GWR.

The 4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm) line was opened in 1839 as far as Littleborough, and from Normanton to Hebden Bridge in 1840. The final linking section opened on completion of the Summit Tunnel in 1841." link

The Canal History
The Rochdale Canal was completed in 1804 and is one of three canals that cross the Pennine hills. This is the only one that doesn’t use tunnels. In addition it was a broad canal with bridges and locks that allowed boats of 14 feet width to pass through.

The one downside of not using tunnels is that it originally had 92 locks. These days two of them have been combined into one deep lock in front of this tunnel.

Competition from railways and roads subsequently led to a decline in goods being carried and by 1937 the only section left in operation was at the Manchester end of the canal.

In 1965 there was talk of abandoning the canal but by this time leisure boating had become very popular in the UK and there was a campaign to keep it open. Work was started and the canal slowly re-opened in a number of different stages.

The Bridge
The bridge carries the railway over both the canal and Halifax Road (A646). The portion over the road is a stone arch bridge, whereas over the canal it is a single span girder bridge with stone buttresses.

It is bridge 20 over the canal from the start at Mytholmroyd.

Bridge Type: Girder Bridge Usage: Railroad Moving Bridge: This bridge is static (has no moving pieces)

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