Crumlin Viaduct
Encyclopedia
Crumlin Viaduct was a railway viaduct
located above the village of Crumlin in South Wales
. Originally built to carry the Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway (NA&HR)
across the Ebbw River
.
Hailed as "one of the most significant examples of technological achievement during the Industrial Revolution", in its 109 years of service until being dismantled in 1967, it remained: the least expensive bridge for its size ever constructed; the highest railway viaduct in the United Kingdom
; the third highest railway viaduct in the world, after the railway viaduct at Spoleto
, Italy
, and the Portage Timber Viaduct in Portage
, New York state in the United States
.
, and the mass-extraction of coal
from South Wales
, there was a resultant growth in construction of railways into the South Wales Coalfield
. The Taff Vale Railway
so monopolised the trade of shipping coal to Cardiff Docks
, that mine owners were desperate for competitor railway companies to both improve speeds of shipping, provide access to new markets, and hence reduce shipping rates.
The London and North Western Railway
had developed a route for the industrialised West Midlands
and Northwest England, by controlling the Llanfihangel Railway and the Grosmont Railway's as feeder lines into the Hereford Railway, and hence onwards via the joint GWR/LNWR controlled Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
. This allowed shipment of goods from Pontypool
and the Ebbw Valley to Hereford
. However, access to the productive Rhymney Valley
and Rhondda Valley coalfields was at best restricted, through having to route trains south to Cardiff along the TVR, then along the South Wales Railway
to Newport
via the GWR, before being able to access LNWR controlled track.
The UK Parliament hence approved an Act of Parliament
on 3 August 1846, the construction of the Taff Vale Extension, which would connect Coedygric North Junction at Pontypool with the TVR/GWR at Quakers Yard
, and hence allow direct and LNWR controlled access. The LNWR approved the required capitol expenditure, and merged the existing three railways and the extension project in the new Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway.
; and one across the Rhymney River
, the Hengoed Viaduct
.
The Ebbw Valley posed two significant challenges through its geography:
Chief Engineer Charles Liddell concluded that stone would be a poor choice for construction of a suitable bridge, as additional stone would need to be shipped to the valley, and the height of the resulting structure would result in an unstable and high-maintenance bridge. Further, the solidity of a stone structure would create additional compressed wind flow around the rail tracks, resulting in a possible safety hazard for passengers and train crew. Overall, the required over-engineered result would also have been very expensive. His recommendation therefore to the board was for an cast iron structure.
Two tender responses were received by August 1852, with Liddell's recommendation for a design by Scottish
civil engineer Thomas W. Kennard, using an amended design on the Warren Truss
. Contracts were signed in December 1852, with a stipulated completion date of October 1st 1857. After further experimentation of his design system at his fathers Blaenavon Ironworks
, the iron structures were cast at the Falkirk Ironworks and shipped to Newport Docks
.
Kennard commenced construction in October 1853, by building the Crumlin Viaduct Works on the east bank. Here castings from Falkirk were brought together with wrought iron from Blaenavon, and all fitting and fabrication work took place. After shortening the spur from the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, and with the natural land between the two valleys acting as the ninth pier, the first girder was hoisted into place on 3 December 1854. The completed structure linking Pontypool Clarence Street railway station in the north to the Bryn Tunnel (398 yards (363.9 m)) in the south by the end of May 1857.
Testing commenced that same month, in front of the Board of Trade
Inspector, Colonel Wynne. Six locomotives loaded with pig iron
or lead weighing a total of 370 lt were placed in charge of locomotive driver "Mad Jack" of Pontypool
, who before making his first crossing had visited every public house
in Crumlin. After a series of tests, during which a deflection of less than 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) was measured, the bridge was approved for use in the same month.
, 1 June 1857, with the first train crossing bridge and entering the Bryn Tunnel in June 1854, but could not proceed further as Kennard's construction team had not yet finished the Hengoed Viaduct, which he had won the contract to design and act as civil engineer on. The final Crumlin viaduct, at 200 feet (61 m) high and 1650 feet (502.9 m) across its two spans and ten trusses in length (1066 feet (324.9 m) and 584 feet (178 m)), remained the highest railway viaduct in Great Britain throughout its working life. Nearby were the Crumlin railway stations, both at high (viaduct) and valley levels.
The location proved as Liddell predicted to be susceptible to high winds and resultant swaying, resulting in continual and high-cost maintenance. The NA&HR route, due to a combination of its height and steepness, proved to be one of the most expensive railway lines in all of the UK to operate. It was therefore no surprise post-World War II
nationalisation, that British Railways reduced the entire extension line to single track post-1947.
, the last scheduled passenger train ran over the bridge on Saturday 13 June 1964, the 21:10 from Pontypool to Treherbert.
Preservation of the historic viaduct was discussed, and the structure was scheduled as being of architectural and historical interest by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government
. But while the stone Hengoed Viaduct survived, a structural survey of the cast iron Crumlin Viaduct showed its poor state, and resultant need for high investment to secure its future, let alone ongoing maintenance costs. The decision was therefore made to dismantle it, as by now housing was extending into the lower valley area.
In the period between closure of the NA&HR and dismantling operations beginning, scenes for the Universal Pictures
film Arabesque
which starred Sophia Loren
and Gregory Peck
were shot both on and around the bridge. Demolition of the Viaduct was carried out by Bird's of Swansea from June 1966, taking nine months with the help of a Bailey bridge
.
The iron parts of the bridge had been completed dismantled by the end of 1967, and now only the stone and cast concrete abutments remain visible on the valley sides.
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
located above the village of Crumlin in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
. Originally built to carry the Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway (NA&HR)
Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway
The Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway was a railway line connecting the Welsh port city of Newport via Abergavenny, to the major English market town of Hereford.Sponsored by the LNWR, it opened on 6 December 1853...
across the Ebbw River
Ebbw River
The Ebbw River is a river in South Wales.The main Ebbw River is formed by the confluence of the two minor Ebbw rivers, Ebbw Fach, and Ebbw Fawr ....
.
Hailed as "one of the most significant examples of technological achievement during the Industrial Revolution", in its 109 years of service until being dismantled in 1967, it remained: the least expensive bridge for its size ever constructed; the highest railway viaduct in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
; the third highest railway viaduct in the world, after the railway viaduct at Spoleto
Spoleto
Spoleto is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome.-History:...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and the Portage Timber Viaduct in Portage
Portage (town), New York
Portage is a town in the southwest corner of Livingston County, New York, USA. The town is near the south end of Letchworth State Park. The name of the town stems from the need to portage canoes around the falls of the Genesee River.- History :...
, New York state in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Background
During the Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, and the mass-extraction of coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
from South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, there was a resultant growth in construction of railways into the South Wales Coalfield
South Wales Coalfield
The South Wales Coalfield is a large region of south Wales that is rich with coal deposits, especially the South Wales Valleys.-The coalfield area:...
. The Taff Vale Railway
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales. It operated as an independent company from 1836 until 1922, when it became a constituent company of the Great Western Railway...
so monopolised the trade of shipping coal to Cardiff Docks
Cardiff Docks
Cardiff Docks is a port in south Cardiff, Wales. At its peak, the port was one of the largest dock systems in the world with a total quayage of almost...
, that mine owners were desperate for competitor railway companies to both improve speeds of shipping, provide access to new markets, and hence reduce shipping rates.
The London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
had developed a route for the industrialised West Midlands
West Midlands
West Midlands may refer to:* West Midlands , a region in England* West Midlands , the metropolitan county in the West Midlands region* West Midlands conurbation, the large conurbation in the West Midlands region...
and Northwest England, by controlling the Llanfihangel Railway and the Grosmont Railway's as feeder lines into the Hereford Railway, and hence onwards via the joint GWR/LNWR controlled Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway
The Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway was an independently developed English railway, the first to run train services in Herefordshire.Built between 1850 and 1853, it crossed a number of services by both the Great Western Railway and London and North Western Railway companies, became a joint...
. This allowed shipment of goods from Pontypool
Pontypool
Pontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales....
and the Ebbw Valley to Hereford
Hereford railway station
Hereford railway station serves the city of Hereford, England. Managed by Arriva Trains Wales, it lies on the Welsh Marches Line between Leominster and Abergavenny and is the western terminus of the Cotswold Line.The station has four platforms...
. However, access to the productive Rhymney Valley
Rhymney Valley
The Rhymney Valley is a valley encompassing the villages of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tirphil, New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Rhymney, and Ystrad Mynach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly, in south-east Wales, formerly famous for its coal mining and iron industries.-Geography:Created as a...
and Rhondda Valley coalfields was at best restricted, through having to route trains south to Cardiff along the TVR, then along the South Wales Railway
South Wales Railway
The South Wales Railway was a broad gauge railway that linked the Gloucester and Dean Forest Railway with Neyland in Wales.-History:The need for the railway was created by the need to ship coal from the South Wales Valleys to London, and secondly to complete Brunel's vision of linking London with...
to Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
via the GWR, before being able to access LNWR controlled track.
The UK Parliament hence approved an Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
on 3 August 1846, the construction of the Taff Vale Extension, which would connect Coedygric North Junction at Pontypool with the TVR/GWR at Quakers Yard
Quakers Yard
Quakers Yard is a village in the Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, situated where the Taff Bargoed Valley joins the Taff Valley. Quakers Yard is part of the community of Treharris.-History:...
, and hence allow direct and LNWR controlled access. The LNWR approved the required capitol expenditure, and merged the existing three railways and the extension project in the new Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway.
Construction
The route for the Taff Vale Extension required the construction of two significant viaducts across two major river valleys: one across the Ebbw RiverEbbw River
The Ebbw River is a river in South Wales.The main Ebbw River is formed by the confluence of the two minor Ebbw rivers, Ebbw Fach, and Ebbw Fawr ....
; and one across the Rhymney River
Rhymney River
The Rhymney River is a river in the Rhymney Valley, south-east Wales, flowing through Cardiff into the Severn estuary.The river forms the boundary between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.-Path of the river:...
, the Hengoed Viaduct
Hengoed Viaduct
Hengoed Viaduct is a Grade II* listed railway viaduct, located above the village of Maesycwmmer, in Caerphilly county borough, South Wales. Originally built to carry the Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway across the Rhymney River, it is now part of National Cycle...
.
The Ebbw Valley posed two significant challenges through its geography:
- Its height, created both a structural problem and a wind problem, as the valley funnelled and hence increased wind speed
- It is actually two valleys, the Ebbw and the smaller Kendon
Chief Engineer Charles Liddell concluded that stone would be a poor choice for construction of a suitable bridge, as additional stone would need to be shipped to the valley, and the height of the resulting structure would result in an unstable and high-maintenance bridge. Further, the solidity of a stone structure would create additional compressed wind flow around the rail tracks, resulting in a possible safety hazard for passengers and train crew. Overall, the required over-engineered result would also have been very expensive. His recommendation therefore to the board was for an cast iron structure.
Two tender responses were received by August 1852, with Liddell's recommendation for a design by Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
civil engineer Thomas W. Kennard, using an amended design on the Warren Truss
Warren Truss
Warren Errol Truss , Australian politician, is the current leader of the National Party of Australia in the Parliament of Australia. He has held the House of Representatives seat of Wide Bay since the 1990 election...
. Contracts were signed in December 1852, with a stipulated completion date of October 1st 1857. After further experimentation of his design system at his fathers Blaenavon Ironworks
Blaenavon Ironworks
Blaenavon Ironworks is an industrial museum in Blaenavon in Wales. The ironworks was of crucial importance in the development of the ability to use cheap, low quality, high sulphur iron ores worldwide...
, the iron structures were cast at the Falkirk Ironworks and shipped to Newport Docks
Newport Docks
Newport Docks is the collective name for a series of docks in the city of Newport, South Wales.-Background:Newport was a small fishing port and market town until the coming of the industrial age at the beginning of the 19th century...
.
Kennard commenced construction in October 1853, by building the Crumlin Viaduct Works on the east bank. Here castings from Falkirk were brought together with wrought iron from Blaenavon, and all fitting and fabrication work took place. After shortening the spur from the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, and with the natural land between the two valleys acting as the ninth pier, the first girder was hoisted into place on 3 December 1854. The completed structure linking Pontypool Clarence Street railway station in the north to the Bryn Tunnel (398 yards (363.9 m)) in the south by the end of May 1857.
Testing commenced that same month, in front of the Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
Inspector, Colonel Wynne. Six locomotives loaded with pig iron
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel...
or lead weighing a total of 370 lt were placed in charge of locomotive driver "Mad Jack" of Pontypool
Pontypool
Pontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales....
, who before making his first crossing had visited every public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Crumlin. After a series of tests, during which a deflection of less than 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) was measured, the bridge was approved for use in the same month.
Operations
Lady Isabella Fitzmaurice opened the viaduct on Whit MondayWhit Monday
Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a movable feast in the Christian calendar. It is movable because it is determined by the date of Easter....
, 1 June 1857, with the first train crossing bridge and entering the Bryn Tunnel in June 1854, but could not proceed further as Kennard's construction team had not yet finished the Hengoed Viaduct, which he had won the contract to design and act as civil engineer on. The final Crumlin viaduct, at 200 feet (61 m) high and 1650 feet (502.9 m) across its two spans and ten trusses in length (1066 feet (324.9 m) and 584 feet (178 m)), remained the highest railway viaduct in Great Britain throughout its working life. Nearby were the Crumlin railway stations, both at high (viaduct) and valley levels.
The location proved as Liddell predicted to be susceptible to high winds and resultant swaying, resulting in continual and high-cost maintenance. The NA&HR route, due to a combination of its height and steepness, proved to be one of the most expensive railway lines in all of the UK to operate. It was therefore no surprise post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
nationalisation, that British Railways reduced the entire extension line to single track post-1947.
Closure and demolition
As a result of the Beeching AxeBeeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
, the last scheduled passenger train ran over the bridge on Saturday 13 June 1964, the 21:10 from Pontypool to Treherbert.
Preservation of the historic viaduct was discussed, and the structure was scheduled as being of architectural and historical interest by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government
Ministry of Housing and Local Government
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed after the Second World War, covering the areas of housing and local government....
. But while the stone Hengoed Viaduct survived, a structural survey of the cast iron Crumlin Viaduct showed its poor state, and resultant need for high investment to secure its future, let alone ongoing maintenance costs. The decision was therefore made to dismantle it, as by now housing was extending into the lower valley area.
In the period between closure of the NA&HR and dismantling operations beginning, scenes for the Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
film Arabesque
Arabesque (film)
Arabesque is a 1966 thriller starring Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren. The movie is based on Gordon Cotler's novel The Cypher and directed by Stanley Donen.-Plot:Professor David Pollock is an expert in ancient hieroglyphics at Oxford University...
which starred Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren, OMRI is an Italian actress.In 1962, Loren won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Two Women, along with 21 awards, becoming the first actress to win an Academy Award for a non-English-speaking performance...
and Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
were shot both on and around the bridge. Demolition of the Viaduct was carried out by Bird's of Swansea from June 1966, taking nine months with the help of a Bailey bridge
Bailey bridge
The Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed by the British during World War II for military use and saw extensive use by both British and the American military engineering units....
.
The iron parts of the bridge had been completed dismantled by the end of 1967, and now only the stone and cast concrete abutments remain visible on the valley sides.