Ordsall Chord Viaduct Over Water Street - Manchester, UK - Railroad Bridges on Waymarking.com

"Ordsall Chord, also known as the Castlefield Curve, is a short railway line in Ordsall, Salford, England, which links Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Oxford Road to Manchester Victoria, designed to increase capacity and reduce journey times into and through Manchester. It allows trains to run from Leeds, Newcastle and Redcar Central direct to Manchester Airport." link

"This new double track 300m curve allows direct running between the two principal station in Manchester, Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria. It is also known as the Castlefield Chord, after an earlier proposal and the district.

The purpose of this chord is to allow further through services to Manchester Airport and allow trains which would have terminated in Piccadilly to continue via the through platforms to Victoria.

There are nine bridges notably the Irwell Crossing and Trinity Way Viaduct which are linked with 'dips' or 'swooshes' to give the appearance of a single bridge.

The approach to Manchester Liverpool Street, the 1830 Manchester terminus of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, was severed by this curve as it crossed it on the level. Stephenson's bridge over the Irwell has been restored. " link

This section of the chord is a girder bridge over water street. Next to this site the new Ordsall Chord connects to a viaduct of the Ordsall branch of Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway. This railway connected Manchester Piccadilly Station with Altrincham with a small branch line here to Ordsall Lane in Salford. It is this section of existing railway that will permit trains using the Ordsall Chord to connect to Piccadilly Station. After crossing Water Street, the Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway crossed the river Irwell and then headed west (away from Manchester Victoria).

This viaduct is one of the 9 sections of the new Ordsall Chord and heads to the east before crossing the river Irwell. When the Ordsall Chord was constructed a junction was made with the existing Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway and as well as the new viaduct being constructed the original arch bridge of Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway over Water Street was replaced with a girder bridge of the same design as this one. New concrete arches were added to both sides of the existing viaduct,

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

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