Denby Dale Viaduct

The Huddersfield and Sheffield Junction Railway, connecting with , was opened to traffic in 1850. Originally, all viaducts on the line were supposed to be constructed of stone, and whilst some were, such as Lockwood Viaduct further north, others such as Denby Dale were hastily designed and constructed from wood due to a stone-masons strike, which had inflated the price of building a viaduct in this material due to the shortage of skilled labour. The timber viaduct was 1,070 ft long, consisting of fifty-five spans each around 16 ft in length. The greatest height from the rails to ground was 108 ft, with the viaduct reaching an average height of 76 ft. However, this first viaduct collapsed…