Ribblehead Viaduct
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Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire is one of the longest, highest and most famous viaducts on the Settle-Carlisle Railway, a railway line passing through some spectacular British scenery. Ribblehead railway station is located just to the south of the viaduct.
The first stone was laid on 12 October 1870 and the last in 1874. It is 104 feet (32 m) high and spans 440 yards (402 m). It is made up of 24 arches. It is located at the foot of the mountain of Whernside.
About two thousand Navvies building the viaduct established shanty towns on the moors, named after victories of the Crimean War, sarcastically for posh districts of London, and Biblical names. There were smallpox epidemics and deaths from industrial accidents; the churchyard at Chapel-le-Dale had to be extended.
When British Rail attempted to close the Settle & Carlisle line in the 1980s, one of the cited reasons was that the structure was unsafe. The line over the viaduct was singled to prevent two trains crossing simultaneously. Fortunately, the line was saved and the viaduct is structurally sound.
