Rectory Junction Viaduct

Rectory Junction Viaduct
Coordinates	52°57′04″N 1°03′15″W / 52.9511°N 1.0541°W / 52.9511; -1.0541Coordinates: 52°57′04″N 1°03′15″W / 52.9511°N 1.0541°W / 52.9511; -1.0541
Carries	Nottingham-Grantham Line
Crosses	River Trent
Other name(s)	Radcliffe Viaduct
Characteristics
Material	cast iron
Longest span	110 feet (34 m)
Clearance below	24 feet (7.3 m)
History
Opened	1850

Nottingham-Grantham Line
Legend Midland Main Line Nottingham Nottingham to Lincoln Line Netherfield To Gedling Colliery Rectory Junction River Trent To Cotgrave Colliery Radcliffe To Melton Mowbray Bingham Aslockton Elton and Orston Bottesford West Junction Newark on Trent to Melton Mowbray line Bottesford Poacher LineAllington Junction East Coast Main Line Grantham East Coast Main Line

Rectory Junction Viaduct, also known as the Radcliffe Viaduct, ^[1] crosses the River Trent between Netherfield and Radcliffe on Trent near Nottingham.

History

The bridge was built in 1850 by Clayton & Shuttleworth of Lincoln on the Nottingham-Grantham Line for the Ambergate, Nottingham, Boston and Eastern Junction Railway.

The Trent Navigation Company demanded a minimum clear span of 100 feet (30 m), so the railway company built a 110 feet (34 m) cast iron arch. The clearance above the water is 24 feet (7.3 m). The iron arch was formed of six ribs, constructed in eight segments.

The approach viaduct, originally constructed in timber and comprising 32 spans,^[2] was rebuilt in brick in 1909-1910 by Alexander Ross. The brick viaduct comprises 28 spans, eighteen are 24 ft 11 ins, and ten are 25 ft 7 ins.^[3]

The internal cast iron ribs were encased in concrete by British Rail in 1981 to increase the strength of the bridge, but the original cast iron ribs on the exterior were left exposed, leaving the bridge appearance little changed.^[4]

References