Last week was the first time that I’ve visited Stockport and I was rather impressed with this viaduct which carries the West Coast mainline. The Stockport Viaduct stands as something of a testament to the ambition and ingenuity of the early railway age as this was a massive project to have undertaken and to have secured financing for. Constructed between 1839 and 1840, it was at the time of its completion the largest viaduct in the world. Designed by George Watson Buck in consultation with architect John Lowe, the viaduct was built for the rather entreprenuial Manchester and Birmingham Railway. The construction contract was awarded to John Tomkinson and Samuel & John Holme, with W. Adams & W.H. Perkins serving as resident engineers. The construction process was a significant undertaking, employing roughly 600 workers in shifts, day and night. Despite facing challenges such as flooding from the River Mersey, which washed away the supporting structures on several occasions (rather sub-optimal), the viaduct was completed in December 1840.
Built primarily of brick, the viaduct is an impressive example of brickwork construction. Approximately 11 million bricks were used in its construction, along with 11,300 cubic meters of stone. The viaduct’s design features 22 semi-circular arches, each with a span of 19.2 meters, flanked by two smaller abutment arches. In the late 1880s, the viaduct underwent a significant expansion to accommodate the growing volume of railway traffic. A second viaduct was constructed alongside the original, effectively doubling the width of the structure and allowing for four railway tracks instead of the initial two. This expansion involved the use of an estimated 10 to 12 million additional bricks, further solidifying the viaduct’s status as one of the world’s largest brick structures.
The original tender document, which must have been something of an intimidating challenge for any company interested in bidding. By March 1839, the newspapers were reporting that the first stones had been placed and work was well underway. In June 1839, the debate started about the plan to save money by reducing the Congleton viaduct by 20 feet and raising the Stockport viaduct by 13 feet at one end, which was opposed by some but ultimately permitted. By November 1839, eight of the twenty-two arches had been completed and the ninth, crossing Heaton Lane, was about to be finished. Just a few weeks later, the flood mentioned earlier caused massive damage to some of the works, but they soon replaced all the damaged wooden support scaffolding. The local media were proud of the project and reported frequently on how works was progressing. By September 1840, the Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser, reported that:
“This gigantic and most wonderful piece of workmanship is steadily approaching to completion, and assumes now an appearance of the most interesting kind. Already are the coping and ornamental top stones laid along about one-half of its length, with work completed by the latter end of October.”
It cost over £100,000 to complete, something around £7 million in today’s money. I’m fairly confident in saying that the project today would be considerably more than that in cost. The final stone was put in its place on 21 December 1840 by Thomas Ashton, the chairman of the company directors. If only there was the same excitement and pride in modern-day rail projects….
