High and delicate stone viaduct in a lonely wooded valley, now a nature reserve.
Healey Dell, Whitworth, Rochdale. OL12 6AZ
Bacup was initially connected by a railway up the Rossingdale Valley built by the East Lancashire Railway. In 1870 the Lancashire & Yorkshire built a line from Rochdale as far as Facit. This single line crossed the Healey Dell. In 1881 the line was extended to Bacup over a summit of 290 m (950 ft). It closed in 1947.
Healey Dell Viaduct consists of eight arches of only 9 m (30 ft) span but 32 m (105 ft) high. Built in rough gritstone, its height, the tapering piers and being only a single track wide make it an outstandingly graceful structure.
It is a Grade II Listed Building.
By road: Off A671, on Dell Road, south of Whitworth. It is best seen in winter as the valley is densely wooded.
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Forgotten Relics - Listed Bridges and Viaducts
Images of England - Healey Dell Viaduct
