Midland Counties Railway Viaduct

The double track viaduct was built to cross the Avon valley in 1839 by Charles Blacker Vignoles as part of the Midland Counties Railway (MCR) and opened in 1840. It formed part of the MCR's line from Derby and Nottingham to Rugby via Leicester. From Rugby, MCR trains could join the London and Birmingham Railway to access London. The MCR also connected with other lines at its northern end, making the viaduct part of the main railway route from London to the East Midlands and Yorkshire for the first decade of its life, until more direct routes were opened. Besides a viaduct over the River Trent, the viaduct at Rugby was the only substantial bridge on the route and is the only one to survive…

The viaduct is approximately 700 ft long and consists of eleven elliptical arches, 60 ft high and 50 ft wide. It is built of red brick, with a facing of Staffordshire blue bricks covering the entire structure apart from impost bands at the tops of the piers and a narrow cornice. It was one of the earliest large structures to make such extensive use of blue engineering bricks.