Ribblehead Viaduct
Ribblehead Viaduct
Coordinates	54°12′37″N2°22′13″W / 54.2104°N 2.3702°W /54.2104; -2.3702
Crosses	Batty Moss
Owner	Network Rail
Maintained by	Network Rail
Characteristics
Total length	440 yards (400 m)
Height	104 feet (32 m)
No. of spans	24
History
Designer	John Sydney Crossley
Construction start	12 October 1870
Opened	3 August 1875
Location
Interactive map of Ribblehead Viaduct

TheRibblehead Viaduct orBatty Moss Viaduct carries theSettle–Carlisle railway across Batty Moss in theRibble Valley atRibblehead, inNorth Yorkshire, England. Theviaduct, built by theMidland Railway, is 28 miles (45 km) north-west ofSkipton and 26 miles (42 km) south-east ofKendal. It is aGrade II* listed structure. Ribblehead Viaduct is the longest and the third tallest structure on the Settle–Carlisle line.

The viaduct was designed byJohn Sydney Crossley, chief engineer of the Midland Railway, who was responsible for the design and construction of all major structures along the line. The viaduct was necessitated by the challenging terrain of the route. Construction began in late 1869. It necessitated a large workforce, up to 2,300 men, most of whom lived inshanty towns set up near its base. Over 100 men lost their lives during its construction. The Settle to Carlisle line was the last main railway in Britain to be constructed primarily with manual labour.

By the end of 1874, the last stone of the structure had been laid; on 1 May 1876, the Settle–Carlisle line was opened for passenger services. During the 1980s,British Rail proposed closing the line. In 1989, after lobbying by the public against closure, it was announced that the line would be retained. Since the 1980s, the viaduct has had multiple repairs and restorations and the lines relaid as a single track. The land underneath and around the viaduct is ascheduled ancient monument; the remains of the construction camp andnavvy settlements (Batty Wife Hole, Sebastopol, and Belgravia) are located there.

v t e Settle–Carlisle line
Legend
WCML toGlasgow & Glasgow South Western Line toStranraer Carlisle WCML toPreston & Cumbrian Coast Line toBarrow-in-Furness Tyne Valley line toNewcastle Petteril Goods Scotby Cumwhinton Cotehill Armathwaite Armathwaite Tunnel 325 yd 297 m Baron Wood Tunnel No 2 251 yd 230 m Baron Wood Tunnel No 1 207 yd 189 m Lazonby & Kirkoswald Lazonby Tunnel 99 yd 91 m Little Salkeld Langwathby Waste Bank Tunnel 164 yd 150 m Culgaith Tunnel 661 yd 604 m Culgaith New Biggin British Gypsum Works,Kirkby Thore Long Marton Eden Valley Railway toClifton and Lowther Appleby Junctions Appleby East Appleby Eden Valley Railway Ormside Viaduct 200 yd 183 m Ormside Helm Tunnel 571 yd 522 m Crosby Garrett Crosby Garrett Tunnel 181 yd 166 m Eden Valley Railway Scandal Beck South Durham & Lancashire Union Rly toTebay Smardale Viaduct 237 yd 217 m Kirkby Stephen East South Durham & Lancashire Union Rly toDarlington Kirkby Stephen Birkett Tunnel 424 yd 388 m Ais Gill Summit 1169 ft 356.3 m Shotlock Hill Tunnel 106 yd 97 m Moorcock Tunnel 98 yd 90 m Dandry Mire/Moorcock Viaduct 227 yd 208 m Wensleydale Railway toHawes Garsdale Rise Hill Tunnel 1213 yd 1109 m Dent Arten Gill Viaduct 220 yd 201 m Dent Head Viaduct 199 yd 182 m Blea Moor Tunnel 2629 yd 2404 m Ribblehead Viaduct 440 yd 402 m Ribblehead Ribblehead siding Horton-in-Ribblesdale Horton Quarry Stone quarries, Arcow &Dry Rigg Stainforth Tunnel 120 yd 110 m Settle Leeds–Morecambe line toLancaster Settle Junction Leeds–Morecambe line toLeeds
[1][2][3][4]

In the 1860s, theMidland Railway, keen to capitalise on the growth in rail traffic between England and Scotland, proposed building a line betweenSettle andCarlisle.^[5] The line was intended to join the Midland line betweenSkipton andCarnforth to the city of Carlisle. On 16 July 1866, the Midland Railway (Settle to Carlisle) Act was passed byParliament, authorising the company "to construct Railways from Settle to Hawes, Appleby, and Carlisle; and for other Purposes".^[5]

After the Act passed, the Midland Railway came to an agreement with theLondon & North Western Railway, to run services on the LNWR line viaShap.^[5] The company applied for a bill of abandonment for its original plan but Parliament rejected the bill on 16 April 1869 and the Midland Railway was compelled to build the Settle to Carlisle line.^[5]

The line passed through difficult terrain that necessitated building several substantial structures.^[5] The company's chief engineer,John Sydney Crossley and its general manager,James Joseph Allport, surveyed the line. Crossley was responsible for the design and construction of the major works, including Ribblehead Viaduct.^[6][5]

On 6 November 1869, a contract to construct the Settle Junction (SD813606) toDent Head Viaduct section including Ribblehead Viaduct was awarded to contractor John Ashwell. The estimated cost was £343,318 and completion was expected by May 1873.^[5] Work commenced at the southern end of the 72-mile (116 km) line.^[5]

By July 1870, work had started on the foundations for Ribblehead Viaduct.^[5] On 12 October 1870, contractor's agent William Henry Ashwell laid the first stone. Financial difficulties came to greatly trouble John Ashwell; on 26 October 1871, his contract was cancelled by mutual agreement.^[5] From this date, the viaduct was constructed by the Midland Railway who worked on a semi-contractual basis overseen by William Ashwell.^[5]

The viaduct was built by a workforce of up to 2,300 men.^[5] They lived, often with their families, in temporary camps, namedBatty Wife Hole,Sebastopol, andBelgravia on adjacent land.^[7][8] More than a hundred workers lost their lives in construction-related accidents, fighting, or from outbreaks ofsmallpox.^[5] According toChurch of England records, there are around 200 burials of men, women, and children in the graveyard atChapel-le-Dale and the church has a memorial to the railway workers.^[9][10][11]

In December 1872, the design for Ribblehead Viaduct was changed from 18 arches to 24, each spanning 45 feet (13.7 m).^[5] By August 1874, the arches had been keyed and the last stone was laid by the end of the year.^[12] A single track was laid over the viaduct and on 6 September 1874 the first train carrying passengers was hauled across by the locomotiveDiamond. On 3 August 1875, the viaduct was opened for freight traffic and on 1 May 1876, the whole line opened for passenger services, following approval by ColonelF. H. Rich from theBoard of Trade.^[13][5]

Ribblehead Viaduct is 440 yards (400 m) long, and 104 feet (32 m) above the valley floor at its highest point,^[12] it was designed to carry a pair of tracks aligned over the sleeper walls.^[5] The viaduct has 24 arches of 45 feet (14 m) span, the foundations of which are 25 feet (7.6 m) deep. The piers aretapered, roughly 13 feet (4 m) across at the base and 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 m) thick near the arches and have loosely-packed rubble-filled cores.^[5] Every sixth pier is 50 per cent thicker, a mitigating measure against collapse should any of the piers fail. The north end is 13 feet (4 m) higher in elevation than the south, a gradient of 1:100.^[8]

The viaduct is faced withlimestonemasonry set in hydraulic limemortar and the near-semicircular arches are red brick, constructed in five separate rings, with stone voussoirs.^[5] Sleeper walls rise from the arches to support the stone slabs of the viaduct's deck and hollow spandrels support plain solid parapet walls. In total, 1.5 million bricks were used; some of the limestone blocks weigh eight tons.^[14][5]

Ribblehead Viaduct is 980 feet (300 m) above sea level onmoorland exposed to the prevailing westerly wind. Its height, from foundation to rails is 55 yards (50.3 m). It is 442.7 yards (404.8 m) long on a lateral curve with a radius of 0.85 miles (1.37 km).^[5]

The viaduct is the longest structure on the Settle–Carlisle Railway which has two taller viaducts,Smardale Viaduct at 131 feet (40 m) nearCrosby Garrett, andArten Gill at 117 feet (36 m).Ribblehead railway station is less than half a mile to the south and to the north isBlea Moor Tunnel, the longest on the line, near the foot ofWhernside.^[15]

During 1964, severalHumbercars were blown off their wagons while being carried over the viaduct on a freight train.^[8]

By 1980, the viaduct was in disrepair and many of its piers had been weakened by water ingress.^[5] Between 1981 and 1984, repairs were undertaken as a cost of roughly £100,000. Repairs included strengthening the piers by the addition of steel rails and concrete cladding. For safety reasons, the line was reduced to single track across the viaduct to avoid the simultaneous loading from two trains crossing, and a 30 mph speed limit was imposed.^{[speed verification needed][5]} During 1988, minor repairs were carried out and trial bores were made into several piers. In 1989, a waterproof membrane was installed.^[5]

In the 1980s,British Rail proposed closing the line, citing the high cost of repairs to its major structures.^[5] Vigorous campaigning by the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line, formed during 1981, garnered and mobilised public support against the plan. In 1989, the line was saved from closure.^[5] According toMichael Portillo, who took the decision in his capacity asMinister of State forTransport, the economic arguments for closing it had been weakened by a spike in passenger numbers, and further studies by engineers had determined that restoration work would not be nearly as costly as estimated.^[16]

In November 1988, Ribblehead Viaduct was Grade II* listed. The surrounding land where the remains of its construction camps are located has been recognised as ascheduled monument.^[6][5]

Between 1990 and 1992, Ribblehead Viaduct underwent major restoration.^[5] Between September 1999 and March 2001, a programme of improvements was implemented involving renewal of track, replacement of ballast and the installation of new drainage. Restoration has allowed for increased levels of freight traffic assuring the line's viability.^[5]

The Settle–Carlisle Line is one of three north–south main lines, along with theWest Coast Main Line throughPenrith and theEast Coast Main Line viaNewcastle.^[17] During 2016, the line carried seven passenger trains from Leeds to Carlisle per day in each direction,^[18] and long-distance excursions, many hauled by preservedsteam locomotives.^[19]

Regular heavy freight trains use the route avoiding congestion on theWest Coast Main Line. Timber trains, and stone from Ingleton quarry, pass over the viaduct when they depart from the yard oppositeRibblehead railway station. The stone from Ingleton is ferried to the terminal at Ribblehead by road.^[20] Limestone aggregate trains from Arcow quarry sidings (nearHorton-in-Ribblesdale) run to various stone terminals in the Leeds andManchester areas on different days – these trains reverse in the goods loop at Blea Moor signal box because the connection from the quarry sidings faces north.^[21] Sidings at Horton quarry, also facing north, opened in May 2025.

Major restoration work started in November 2020 as a £2.1 million project to re-point mortar joints and replace broken stones got underway. Network Rail released a timelapse video of the works in June 2021.^[22][23]

Building the viaduct was the inspiration behind theITV period drama seriesJericho.^[24] The viaduct appears in the 1970 filmNo Blade of Grass and also in the 2012 filmSightseers.^[25][26] A number of other films and television programmes have also included the viaduct.^[27]

• Grade II* listed buildings in North Yorkshire (district)
• Listed buildings in Ingleton, North Yorkshire
• Glenfinnan Viaduct

Wikimedia Commons has media related toRibblehead Viaduct.

• Pictures of the viaduct at the BBC
• Ribblehead Viaduct on the Settle-Carlisle line
• "Tasmanian who played an important role in the early history of Settle-Carlisle railway".Craven Herald and Pioneer. 5 January 2013.
• Historic England."Grade II* (1132228)".National Heritage List for England.
• "Search for photos including the Ribblehead Viaduct".Geograph project.

• Ribblesdale
• Railway viaducts in North Yorkshire
• Bridges completed in 1875
• Grade II* listed buildings in North Yorkshire
• Grade II* listed railway bridges and viaducts
• Viaducts in England

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