Clifton Viaduct

{{Short description|Railway viaduct in Greater Manchester, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}} {{Use British English|date=February 2018}} [[File:Clifton viaduct looking north.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The viaduct looking in a northerly direction with the Irwell and canal out of frame on the right]] '''Clifton Viaduct''', known locally as '''The Thirteen Arches''', is a disused railway viaduct near [[Clifton, Greater Manchester|Clifton]] in [[Greater Manchester]], north-west England. Built in 1846, it closed with the line in 1966 and is now severed from the rest of the route by the [[M62 motorway]] and other subsequent development.

==Design== The viaduct consists of 13 stone arches with another five approach spans. It was built to carry the railway on a curve over the [[River Irwell]], its valley, and the [[Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal]]. The spans are of equal size except for the arches over the river and canal, which are larger. The river arch reaches {{convert|96|ft|abbr=off}} in height and is {{convert|80|ft|abbr=off}} above the water. The arches are all [[segmental arch|segmental]]. They have stepped [[voussoir]]s and brick [[soffit]]s with [[batter (walls)|battered]] (sloping) piers which are connected to the arches via [[impost (architecture)|impost]]s. The terminating piers are square. The arch over the river uniquely has no imposts and rises straight straight from the ground using flat piers. The [[parapet]] is in [[coping stone|coped stone]] and runs the length of the structure above a continuous stone [[course (architecture)|course]].<ref name="biddle">{{cite book|last=Biddle|first=Gordon|title=Britain's Historic Railway Buildings: A Gazetteer of Structures|edition=second|publisher=Ian Allan|location=Hersham|year=2011|isbn=9780711034914|page=531}}</ref><ref name="NHLE">{{National Heritage List for England |num=1067511 |desc=Clifton Viaduct (The Thirteen Arches) |accessdate=2 April 2025}}</ref>

==History== The viaduct was constructed in 1846 to carry trains from [[Manchester]] to [[Rossendale Valley|Rossendale]] along the [[Manchester, Bury and Rossendale Railway]] (MBRR; later amalgamated into the [[East Lancashire Railway (1844–1859)|East Lancashire Railway]] Company and then the [[Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway]]). It was designed by the MBRR's resident engineer, [[Charles Edward Cawley]] and possibly built by [[John Hawkshaw]].<ref name="biddle" /><ref name="NHLE" />

The line was closed in 1966 as part of the [[Beeching cuts]] and the viaduct was closed. The bridge deck is not accessible to the public, though the underside can be reached by footpaths. Its approach embankments were severed by later industrial development and bisected by the [[M62 motorway]]. [[Clifton Aqueduct]], built to carry the same canal crossed by the railway viaduct and also disused, is nearby.<ref name="biddle" />

The viaduct is a Grade II [[listed building]], a status which provides legal protection. It was first listed on 2 September 1987.<ref name="NHLE" />

==See also== {{portal|Greater Manchester}} * [[Listed buildings in Swinton and Pendlebury]] * [[List of railway bridges and viaducts in the United Kingdom]] * [[Philips Park, Whitefield]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/epw044417 Historical aerial photograph of the viaduct]

[[Category:Grade II listed bridges in Greater Manchester]] [[Category:Bridges completed in 1846]] [[Category:Irwell Valley]] [[Category:Viaducts in England]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in the City of Salford]] [[Category:Former railway bridges in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Bridges across the River Irwell]]