# Brandon Viaduct > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Brandon_Viaduct > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Brandon_Viaduct.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Viaduct > Source revision: 1301966800 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{about|the viaduct in Warwickshire|other bridges over Rivers Avon|Avon Viaduct (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox bridge |bridge_name = Brandon Viaduct |image = File:Brandon Viaduct, Warwickshire 14.jpg |image_size = |alt = |caption = The bridge with a train on it in 2022; the two arches on the right span the river |carries = [Birmingham Loop](/source/Birmingham_Loop) |crosses = [River Avon, Warwickshire](/source/River_Avon%2C_Warwickshire) |locale = [Brandon](/source/Brandon%2C_Warwickshire)/[Wolston](/source/Wolston), [Warwickshire](/source/Warwickshire), England |maint = [Network Rail](/source/Network_Rail) |design = |material = |spans = |pierswater = |mainspan = |length = |width = |height = {{convert|40|ft}} |load = |clearance = |below = |traffic = |builder = |begin = |complete = 1835 |open = |preceded = |followed = |heritage = Grade II [listed building](/source/listed_building) |collapsed = |closed = |toll = |map_cue = |map_image = |map_alt = |map_text = |map_width = |coordinates = }} '''Brandon Viaduct''' (also known as '''Wolston Viaduct''' or the '''Avon Viaduct''') is a railway [viaduct](/source/viaduct) crossing the [River Avon](/source/River_Avon%2C_Warwickshire) between the villages of [Brandon](/source/Brandon%2C_Warwickshire) and [Wolston](/source/Wolston) in [Warwickshire](/source/Warwickshire). It carries the [Birmingham Loop](/source/Birmingham_Loop) line and is roughly halfway between [Rugby](/source/Rugby%2C_Warwickshire) and [Coventry](/source/Coventry). The bridge was built in around 1835 for the [London and Birmingham Railway](/source/London_and_Birmingham_Railway) and is now a grade II [listed building](/source/listed_building).{{NHLE|num=1034898|desc=Avon Viaduct|accessdate=28 December 2022}}{{cite book|last=Biddle|first=Gordon|title=Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: A Gazetteer of Structures|edition=second|publisher=Ian Allan|location=Hersham, Surrey|year=2011|isbn=9780711034914|pages=370–371}} ==Description== The viaduct is comparatively low but lengthy. It separates the adjacent villages of [Brandon](/source/Brandon%2C_Warwickshire) and [Wolston](/source/Wolston), which are on either side of the railway. It crosses the [River Avon](/source/River_Avon%2C_Warwickshire) and its flood plain, also spanning the road between the two villages. It consists of fifteen arches—nine semi-elliptical arches spanning {{convert|24|ft|abbr=off}} and three {{convert|10|ft|abbr=off|adj=on|0}} span ancillary arches on each side. Two of the ancillary arches on the western side have been bricked up and are partially covered by an [embankment](/source/Embankment_(earthworks)).{{cite web |title=Avon Viaduct |url=https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/catalogue_her/avon-viaduct |publisher=Our Warwickshire |access-date=28 December 2022}}{{Cite book |last=McFetrich |first=David |title=An Encyclopaedia of British Bridges |date=2019 |publisher=Pen and Sword Books |isbn=9781526752956 |edition=Revised and extended |location=Barnsley |page=329}} The bridge was built from brick but faced with [sandstone](/source/sandstone). The arches have stepped [voussoir](/source/voussoir)s and an [ogee](/source/ogee)-moulded (serpentine) cornice with a brick [soffit](/source/soffit) projecting from below the parapet. The piers between each arch taper as they rise. The piers between the ancillary arches and the large ones are wider and terminate in octagonal caps. ==History== The bridge was built for the [London and Birmingham Railway](/source/London_and_Birmingham_Railway) (LBR's), whose chief engineer was [Robert Stephenson](/source/Robert_Stephenson). Construction began in 1835 and the bridge was complete in 1837 for the opening of the railway in 1838. It is still in use, now owned by [Network Rail](/source/Network_Rail) as part of the [Birmingham Loop](/source/Birmingham_Loop). The bridge is one of the scenes depicted in [John Cooke Bourne](/source/John_Cooke_Bourne)'s ''Series of Lithographic Drawings on the London and Birmingham Railway'', published in 1838. It was designated a grade II [listed building](/source/listed_building) on 25 August 1987 for its historical or architectural interest. A short distance to the west of the viaduct was the former [Brandon and Wolston railway station](/source/Brandon_and_Wolston_railway_station), which was opened in 1838, and closed in 1960.{{cite book|last=Labrum|first=EA|title=Civil Engineering Heritage: Eastern and Central England|year=1994|publisher=Thomas Telford|location=London|isbn=9780727719706|page=244}}{{cite web |title=Brandon & Wolston Station |url=https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/brandonwolston.htm |publisher=Warwickshire Railways |access-date=28 December 2022}} The bridge is of a similar design to [Wolverton Viaduct](/source/Wolverton_Viaduct), also built by the London and Birmingham, closer to London. Much of the LBR's route has been significantly altered in modernisation schemes but the three major viaducts between Rugby and Coventry—Brandon Viaduct, the [Sowe Viaduct](/source/Sowe_Viaduct), and the [Sherbourne Viaduct](/source/Sherbourne_Viaduct) (also depicted by Bourne)—remain largely as-built.{{cite book |last1=Biddle |first1=Gordon |title=Railways in the Landscape |date=2016 |publisher=Pen & Sword Transport |location=Barnsley |isbn=9781473862357|page=202}} The Avon viaduct on the London and Birmingham railway.jpg|Period drawing of the viaduct from 1839 Brandon Viaduct, Warwickshire 05.jpg|The viaduct crossing the road Brandon Viaduct, Warwickshire 10.jpg|The viaduct crossing the Avon. ==See also== *[Midland Counties Railway Viaduct, Rugby](/source/Midland_Counties_Railway_Viaduct%2C_Rugby), another viaduct over the same river in Warwickshire *[List of crossings of the River Avon, Warwickshire](/source/List_of_crossings_of_the_River_Avon%2C_Warwickshire) ==References== {{commonscat|Brandon Viaduct}} {{reflist}} Category:Grade II listed bridges in Warwickshire Category:Railway bridges in Worcestershire Category:Railway viaducts in England Category:Bridges completed in 1835 Category:London and Birmingham Railway --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Brandon Viaduct](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Viaduct) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Viaduct?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.