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Dandry Mire Viaduct

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Coordinates: 54°19′30″N 2°19′08″W / 54.325°N 2.319°W / 54.325; -2.319
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Dandry Mire Viaduct
Dandry Mire Viaduct
Coordinates54°19′30″N 2°19′08″W / 54.325°N 2.319°W / 54.325; -2.319
OS grid referenceSD723923
CarriesSettle & Carlisle line
CrossesDandry Mire
LocaleGarsdale, Cumbria, England
Other name(s)Moorcock Viaduct
Garsdale Viaduct
OwnerNetwork Rail
Characteristics
MaterialSandstone
Total length11 chains (730 ft; 220 m)[note 1]
Height50 feet (15 m)
No. of spans12
Rail characteristics
No. of tracks2
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
History
ArchitectJohn Holloway Sanders
Construction start1873
Construction end1875
Statistics
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated14 June 1984
Reference no.1384058
Location
Map

Dandry Mire Viaduct, (or Dandrymire Viaduct), is a railway viaduct on the Settle & Carlisle line in Cumbria,[note 2] England. It is just north of Garsdale station, 21 miles (34 km) from Settle, and 51 miles (82 km) south of Carlisle. When the Settle & Carlisle line was being built, the traversing of Dandry Mire was to have been by use of an embankment, but the bog swallowed all of the material poured into it, so a trench was dug instead, and a viaduct constructed. The viaduct, which is 227 yards (208 m) long and 50 feet (15 m) high, is still open to traffic on the railway, and is a prominent landmark at the head of Garsdale.

History

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Work started on this part of the line in 1871 as part of the second contract let, with the original intent of crossing Dandry Mire Moss on an embankment rather than a viaduct.[2][3] In 1873, it was reported that over 250,000 cubic yards (190,000 m3) of material had been poured into the bog, which had just swallowed it all up, displacing the peat, so much so, that it formed ridges either side of the proposed embankment to a height of nearly 15 feet (4.6 m).[4] The continual wet weather combined with the boggy nature of Dandry Mire, combined to prompt the builders to try a different approach.[5]

John Sanders, the main architect for the structures on the line, designed a viaduct, and J S Crossley was the chief engineer during the build period.[6] Conversion to a viaduct began in 1873, originally as an 8-arch viaduct, which later became a 12-arch structure, listed under the design plans as bridge 117.[7] The arches, which are built from coursed sandstone,[8] were complete by May 1875, with the approach embankments finished two months later. The parapet was completed in September of the same year.[9]

Variations in the length of viaduct are given; mapping from Trackmaps lists it as being 11 chains (730 ft; 220 m),[10] whereas some writers list it as being 227 yards (208 m),[11][12] or 700 feet (210 m).[13] The height is listed as 50 feet (15 m) above the bog, but the foundation of each span is dug down to a depth of 15 feet (4.6 m).[14] The viaduct has twelve-spans,[15][16] with each span being between 44 feet 3 inches (13.49 m) and 45 feet (14 m) in length,[17][18] grouped in three lots of four with a thicker pier dividing each group.[19]

The structure is often called Dandry Mire, but it has been known as Moorcock Viaduct,[20][21][22] and occasionally as Garsdale Viaduct,[10] though Dandry Mire is more common than the other two.[23] Some sources list the spelling as one word (Dandrymire), such as Ordnance Survey mapping,[24][25] and typos are quite common (Dandy Mire).[26] The name Dandry Mire, is first recorded in 1771.[27]

During the Second World War, a Luftwaffe bomber dropped bombs near the viaduct; it missed the viaduct by several hundred yards, although it was apparently aiming for Newcastle, some 70 miles (110 km) away.[28]

The viaduct is 21 miles (34 km) north of Settle railway station,[7] and 51 miles (82 km) south of Carlisle railway station, with it being measured as 257 miles (414 km) north of London St Pancras.[10] Besides spanning Dandry Mire Moss, the viaduct also now spans the Pennine Bridleway between Garsdale railway station, and Moorcock Inn.[24][8] The south side of the A684 road by Moorcock Inn is the site of the Dandry Mire camp, where stone-masons and navvies associated with constructing the viaduct (and other structures on this stretch of line) were housed.[29][30] The viaduct was grade II listed in June 1984,[19] and is recognised as being a prominent landmark at the head of Garsdale, where the watershed divides between the Rivers Clough, Eden and Ure.[31]

Notes

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  1. ^ Chains is the measurement used by the railway engineers in the 19th century, and still in use today on Network Rail.
  2. ^ The viaduct was originally in the West Riding of Yorkshire until the county boundary changes of 1974, which placed it in Cumbria.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Chrystal, Paul (2017). The Place Names of Yorkshire; Cities, Towns, Villages, Rivers and Dales, some Pubs too, in Praise of Yorkshire Ales (1 ed.). Catrine: Stenlake. p. 100. ISBN 9781840337532.
  2. ^ Bairstow 1994, p. 21.
  3. ^ Mussett 2011, p. 56.
  4. ^ Mitchell, W. R. (2005). How they built the Settle-Carlisle Railway. Giggleswick: Castleberg. p. 32. ISBN 1-871064-03-1.
  5. ^ Mitchell, W. R. (1984). Settle to Carlisle, a railway over the Pennines. Clapham: Dalesman. p. 28. ISBN 085206778X.
  6. ^ "Dandry Mire Viaduct". www.heritagegateway.org.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  7. ^ a b Mussett 2011, p. 208.
  8. ^ a b SCRCA 2010, p. 36.
  9. ^ Baughan, Peter E (1987). Midland Railway north of Leeds : the Leeds-Settle-Carlisle line and its branches (2 ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 434. ISBN 0715388525.
  10. ^ a b c Kelman, Leanne (2018). Brailsford, Martyn (ed.). Railway Track Diagrams 4: Midlands & North West (4 ed.). Beckington, Frome: Trackmaps. 36C. ISBN 9781-9996271-1-9.
  11. ^ "Viaducts". The Settle Carlisle Railway. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  12. ^ Morrison, G W (1990). The long drag : Settle to Carlisle portfolio. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 30. ISBN 0711018936.
  13. ^ Speight, Harry (1892). The Craven and north-west Yorkshire highlands. Being a complete account of the history, scenery, and antiquities of that romantic district. London: E Stock. p. 130. OCLC 7219082.
  14. ^ Williams, Frederick Smeeton (1877). The Midland Railway : its rise and progress: a narrative of modern enterprise (3 ed.). London: Bemrose. p. 510. OCLC 614211007.
  15. ^ Bairstow 1994, p. 10.
  16. ^ Joy, David (1984). Portrait of the Settle-Carlisle. Clapham: Dalesman. p. 60. ISBN 0-85206-806-9.
  17. ^ "Claim against the Midland Railway Company". Sheffield Independent. No. 8134. Column C. 4 November 1880. p. 2.
  18. ^ Anderson, V R; Fox, G K (1986). Stations & structures of the Settle & Carlisle Railway. Poole: Oxford Pub. plate 89. ISBN 0-86093-360-1.
  19. ^ a b Historic England. "Dandrymire Viaduct (Grade II) (1384058)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  20. ^ Carter, Ernest Frank (1963). The railway encyclopaedia. London: Starke. p. 81. OCLC 11931902.
  21. ^ Houghton, Frederick (1948). The story of the Settle-Carlisle Line. Bradford: Norman Arch. p. 108. OCLC 12364090.
  22. ^ Mitchell, W. R. (1999). The story of the Yorkshire Dales. Chichester, West Sussex: Phillimore. p. 84. ISBN 1860770886.
  23. ^ "Railway viaducts, location L-P". www.railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  24. ^ a b "OL19" (Map). Howgill Fells and Upper Eden Valley. 1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2016. ISBN 978-0-319-26334-1.
  25. ^ Hanks, Martyn (1997). Yorkshire Dales and Moors : youth hosteller's walking guide. Ashbourne: Landmark. p. 28. ISBN 1901522415.
  26. ^ "Railway viaducts, location D-G". www.railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  27. ^ "Dandra Garth, Dandry Mire :: Survey of English Place-Names". epns.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  28. ^ Amos, Mike (16 August 2016). "A favourite station marks a milestone". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  29. ^ Dennison, Ed (2008). Garsdale Station and Moorcock Cottages, Garsdale Head, Garsdale, Cumbria and North Yorkshire: Pennine Bridleway Phase 1 Archaeological Survey (Report). pp. 5, 50. doi:10.5284/1006161.
  30. ^ SCRCA 2010, p. 67.
  31. ^ "LCA 5 Garsdale and Rawthey Valley Yorkshire Dales National Park - Landscape Character Assessment" (PDF). yorkshiredales.org.uk. p. 6. Retrieved 10 April 2021.

Sources

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