Hownes Gill Viaduct, Consett
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Visit websiteHownes Gill is a steep-sided gorge 49 m. (160 ft.) deep and 244 m. (267 yds) wide. The Stanhope and Tyne Railroad could not afford to cross it with a viaduct so they built two inclined planes, formidably steep, one at 1 in 2.5 and the other 1 in 3. Single wagons were carried sideways in cradles worked by a single stationary steam engine located at the bottom of the gorge.
When the railway was bought by the Stockton & Darlington Railway they replaced this astonishing arrangement with a graceful brick viaduct. It has twelve 15 m.(50 ft.) arches on slender piers, with arched recesses in three layers on each side.
The railway closed in 1968 and it is now a footpath.
By road: Off the A692 south of Consett.
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