Appersett Viaduct
Appersett Viaduct
The western end of the Wensleydale Railway, built by the Midland, involved a climb up to Garsdale Junction from the station at Hawes, necessitating more challenging engineering than the section eastwards along the valley floor.
To the south of Appersett village, the single track line curved to the north as it crossed Widdale Beck on a masonry viaduct of five arches. A product of J S Crossley, it is 108 yards long and 56 feet above the water at its highest point. The piers either side of the beck have cutwaters. The easternmost arch reaches across Lanacar Lane.
Opened in 1878, the structure saw its last train in 1959. Ten years later, it received a Grade II listing. Today it is used regularly by abseilers and hopes to bear the weight of trains again at some time in the future as part of a reborn Wensleydale Railway.
February 2011