Shankend Viaduct
Shankend Viaduct
Shankend, a 15-span masonry viaduct, is arguably the Waverley line’s defining structure, standing in bleak countryside to the south of Hawick. Built from locally quarried sandstone and engineering brick, it carried the line for 199 yards over a tributary of the Slitrig.
The line closed amidst anger and controversy in January 1969 – the major trunk route to succumb to Beeching’s cuts.
Four years earlier on 29th September 1965, Shankend had witnessed a crash involving the 0222 southbound freight service which struck a stationary vehicle and derailed, demolishing an overbridge.
Today the structure is Grade B listed. Repairs to an arch at the southern end, spanning a minor road, were carried out in 2000. During 2007, a larger scale refurbishment saw the deck waterproofed and attention paid to the other arches and piers.
