A4 on the 16 ArchesGresley's Class A4 4-6-2 No.4498 Sir Nigel Gresley
speeds across The 16 Arches in Reddish,Stockport heading for Manchester Victoria. The train was a special from Sheffield via the Hope Valley Line in March 1984.
Picture added on 05 July 2009 at 07:27
The Stockport Viaduct is a Grade II* listed structure designed by George Watson Buck in Stockport, Greater Manchester. At 33.85 metres (111.1 ft) high, Stockport's railway viaduct is one of western Europe's biggest brick structures and represents a major feat of Victorian engineering. Completed in 1840, Stockport Railway Viaduct was the largest in the world at the time of its construction and a key pioneering structure of the early railway age. 11,000,000 bricks were used in its construction.
In around 1890 it was decided the viaduct should be expanded. This was because London and North Western Railway, formed in 1846, wanted to have several tracks on one route so that slower trains could be overtaken. To add more tracks to the viaduct would mean the need for expansion. The viaduct was expanded to accommodate four tracks instead of two. The viaduct has appeared in several of L.S. Lowry's works.
Added by Peter Langsdale on 05 July 2009.