Historic bridges · London
Digswell Viaduct
Digswell Viaduct is a historic bridge in the United Kingdom.
Wikimedia Commons contributors — see linked file page for photographer and licence licence
Plan your visit
- Typical visit
- 15 min–30 min
- Nearest railway station
- Welwyn North · 0.6 km
- Free entry
- Dog-friendly
About
Digswell Viaduct is a named historic bridge in the United Kingdom. Records date its origin to 1850. Coordinates: 51.8189°, -0.1946°.
Photo gallery
From the Wikipedia article
The Digswell Viaduct, also known as the Welwyn Viaduct and officially the Welwyn Railway Viaduct, is a railway viaduct that carries two tracks of the East Coast Main Line over the Mimram Valley in Hertfordshire, Eastern England. A prominent local landmark, it is located between Welwyn Garden City and Welwyn North railway stations, and is located above the village of Digswell and the River Mimram. Designed by father and son William and Joseph Cubitt, and engineered by Thomas Brassey, the viaduct opened in 1850 and has been a Grade II* listed structure since 1980. The viaduct has forty arches and was originally built from red facing bricks, with blue facing bricks added in the 1930s. Metal gantries were appended to the side of the viaduct in 1980 as part of the electrification of the Great Northern route. At 1,560 feet (475 m) in length and up to 100 ft (30 m) in height, it was one of the largest works on the Great Northern Railway when it opened.
Excerpt from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0. See the source article linked in Sources below.
Background
Architecture
The viaduct carries the East Coast Main Line across the Mimram Valley. Due to the width of the viaduct, the railway narrows from four tracks to two tracks, making it a bottleneck which is the limiting factor for capacity on the congested and strategically important route. This problem is exacerbated by Welwyn North railway station being situated at the northern end of the viaduct, which blocks the line while trains are stationary, and by two tunnels to the north. Various ideas to overcome the limitations of the viaduct and station without damaging the viaduct's essential historic character and rhythmic design are periodically discussed. The viaduct was styled to be similar to Roman…
Sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates
- 51.8189, -0.1946
- County
- Hertfordshire
- District
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Parish
- Welwyn
- Postcode
- AL6 0SP
- Parliamentary constituency
- Welwyn Hatfield
- Established
- 1850
- Nearest railway station
- Welwyn North — 0.6 km
- Opening
- 7 August 1850
Sources
- osm: w1370392515 (ODbL)
- wikipedia: Digswell Viaduct (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- commons: Welwynviaduct.jpg (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Frequently asked questions
- Where is Digswell Viaduct?
- Digswell Viaduct is in Hertfordshire, London, United Kingdom (postcode AL6 0SP), in the parish of Welwyn.
- When was Digswell Viaduct built?
- Built or established in 1850.
- Is Digswell Viaduct free to visit?
- Yes, Digswell Viaduct is free to enter.
- How do I get to Digswell Viaduct?
- The nearest railway station is Welwyn North, about 0.6 km away. Drivers can navigate to postcode AL6 0SP.