Extra repairs needed at Ribblehead
SPECIALISTS RESTORING one of the country’s most treasured railway structures have found it needs some extra TLC to secure its future for passengers and tourists. On February 15 Network Rail released progress pictures of work taking place as part of a £2.1m investment into Ribblehead Viaduct. Stone blockwork and drainage is being upgraded on the historic structure, which carries the picturesque Settle to Carlisle railway 400m across the Ribble Valley in Yorkshire. Detailed laser and drone surveys have mapped every inch of the Grade II* listed viaduct for the first time, and huge scaffolding towers have been built for the repairs to take place.
This has given rare access for a much closer inspection of the 145-year-old railway link’s condition. While the expected repairs have been progressing well, further minor faults in the masonry have been found that need fixing. Some of the blockwork on the viaduct’s supports is cracked. When water gets inside and freezes in cold weather it turns to ice and expands, making the damage worse. Plans have been submitted to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority to carry out the extra repairs required as soon as possible. Marc Vipham, Principal Engineer, Structures at Network Rail, said: “Being up close, restoring Ribblehead Viaduct for several months now, we have found deeper issues that need attention to protect this amazing feat of Victorian engineering for the future. As with any heritage project of this kind, when plans need to change it is standard procedure to submit further planning applications to adapt our work. Carrying out these extra repairs now, when the experts are in place and the scaffolding is already up, will save a huge amount of taxpayers’ money and stop us needing to come back all over again.”