Midland Counties Railway Viaduct, Rugby

The Midland Counties Railway viaduct (known locally as the Eleven Arches Viaduct) is a disused railway viaduct at Rugby, Warwickshire, which crosses over both the A426 Rugby to Leicester road, and the River Avon to the north of Rugby town centre.[1]

The viaduct running over the A426 Leicester road

Architecture
Early engraving of the viaduct as it appeared soon after opening.

The viaduct is approximately 700 feet (210 metres) long, and consists of eleven elliptical arches, elevating 40 feet (12 m) above the valley floor. It is built of red brick, with a facing of Staffordshire blue bricks and sandstone.[1][2][3]

History
Viaduct arches

The double track viaduct was built during 1839-40 as part of the Midland Counties Railway line from Derby to Rugby, and was opened in June 1840, as such it is one of the UK's oldest disused railway viaducts. It was engineered by Charles Vignoles.[1][2]

The main line over the viaduct was closed in January 1962, but trains continued to use it until May 1965, serving the Oxford Canal basin at nearby Newbold-on-Avon.[1]

Reuse as a cycleway
Cycleway and footpath crossing the viaduct.

After being derelict for decades, the viaduct was brought back into use as a footpath and cycleway in 2012, as part of a £1 million scheme by Rugby Borough Council and the cycling charity Sustrans, in order to create a traffic free route from Rugby town centre to the northern suburbs of Newbold and Brownsover, and the Brownsover industrial estate.[4][1][5]

Listing

The viaduct gained Grade II listing in February 2000. It met the criteria for listing because of its "age, design quality, unaltered nature and its association with an important engineer and railway company."[2]

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References
  1. "Rugby Viaduct". Forgotten Relics. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  2. "Railway Viaduct A Grade II Listed Building in Rugby, Warwickshire". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  3. "Tebutt's Railway Companion". Leicestershire Mercury. England. 23 May 1840. Retrieved 20 October 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. "Old Rugby viaduct to be £1 million cycle track". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  5. "A fantastic new cycling and walking route providing links to Rugby town centre". Sustrans. Retrieved 14 November 2018.

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