Angarrack viaduct
Encyclopedia
Angarrack railway viaduct is situated at Angarrack
in west Cornwall
, United Kingdom
.
The eleven-arch granite-built viaduct carries the Cornish Main Line
railway across the steep-sided valley of the Angarrack River, a tributary of the River Hayle
, between the present day stations of and . The village extends up the valley and under the viaduct.
The original viaduct at Angarrack was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
for the west Cornwall Railway
and was "... built wholly of timber on stone footings". It was nearly 800 feet (243.8 m) long and 100 feet (30.5 m) high. The present viaduct of roughly the same dimensions was an entirely new replacement structure and opened by the Great Western Railway
in 1885. Its eleven stone arches each have a span of 56.5 feet (17.2 m).
The stone from the original Brunel footings was re-used to construct the sea wall on the approach to Penzance railway station
. Today, no evidence remains of Brunel's original structure.
Angarrack
Angarrack is a village in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the parish of Gwinear-Gwithian two miles east of Hayle....
in west Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The eleven-arch granite-built viaduct carries the Cornish Main Line
Cornish Main Line
The Cornish Main Line is a railway line in the United Kingdom, which forms the backbone for rail services in Cornwall, as well as providing a direct line to London.- History :...
railway across the steep-sided valley of the Angarrack River, a tributary of the River Hayle
River Hayle
The River Hayle is a small river in west Cornwall, UK which issues into St Ives Bay at Hayle on Cornwall's Atlantic coast.The River Hayle is approx 12 miles long and it rises south-west of Crowan village. Its course is west for approx 5 miles...
, between the present day stations of and . The village extends up the valley and under the viaduct.
The original viaduct at Angarrack was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
for the west Cornwall Railway
West Cornwall Railway
The West Cornwall Railway was a railway company in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, formed in 1846 to operate the existing Hayle Railway between Hayle and Redruth and extend the railway to Penzance and Truro....
and was "... built wholly of timber on stone footings". It was nearly 800 feet (243.8 m) long and 100 feet (30.5 m) high. The present viaduct of roughly the same dimensions was an entirely new replacement structure and opened by the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
in 1885. Its eleven stone arches each have a span of 56.5 feet (17.2 m).
The stone from the original Brunel footings was re-used to construct the sea wall on the approach to Penzance railway station
Penzance railway station
Penzance railway station serves the town of Penzance, Cornwall, UK. The station is the western terminus of the Cornish Main Line from London Paddington station. The current journey time to or from London is about five hours....
. Today, no evidence remains of Brunel's original structure.
See also
- Angarrack railway station
- Cornwall Railway viaductsCornwall Railway viaductsThe large number of Cornwall Railway viaducts were necessitated by the topography of Cornwall, United Kingdom, where hills and areas of high ground are separated by deep river valleys that generally run north or south...