Thornton Viaduct

Thornton Viaduct
Thornton Viaduct
Coordinates53°47′22″N 1°51′23″W / 53.7894°N 1.8564°W / 53.7894; -1.8564
CarriesEx-Great Northern Railway
CrossesPinch Beck
LocaleWest Yorkshire
Maintained bySustrans
Characteristics
Designarch bridge
MaterialMasonry
Total length300 yards (270 m)
Widthdouble track
Height120 feet (37 m)
Longest span40 feet (12 m)
History
Opened1878
Closed1965
Location
Map

Thornton Viaduct is a disused railway viaduct crossing Pinch Beck valley at Thornton, in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is 300 yards (270 m) long and has 20 arches.[1] It was built in an S-shape to allow a smooth access to Thornton station. The viaduct was part of the GNR's Queensbury Lines running between Queensbury and Keighley. It stopped carrying passengers in 1955 but remained open to goods until the 1960s. At that time, the railway closed and the tracks were pulled up. The viaduct is now a Grade II listed building.[2]

The viaduct was reopened in 2008 as part of the Great Northern Railway Trail between Cullingworth and Queensbury along the track bed.[3]

This was the viaduct used in the episode of Last of the Summer Wine entitled "Three Men and a Mangle" where they hoisted the mangle up from the road.

  1. ^ "Thornton Viaduct". Forgotten Relics. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
  2. ^ Historic England. "Thornton Railway Viaduct (1151855)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 30 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Thornton viaduct set to open". Telegraph & Argus. 10 November 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2008.