Ouseburn Viaduct
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The Ouseburn Viaduct (and the similar Willington Viaduct) was constructed on the Newcastle & North Shields Railway in 1839, designed by John and Benjamin Green.
Both were originally constructed of timber arches mounted on stone piers but, in 1869, the timber was replaced with almost identically intricate wrought iron bracing. When built, the use of laminated timber for the arches was something of a novelty.
The railway was extended as the Newcastle & Berwick which was opened in 1847. The original terminus of the railway in Newcastle was Carliol Square, 300 m to the west of Manors Station which was built to serve the junction with the Blythe & Tyne as it extended from Newcastle (now Central) Station.
Ouseburn consists of five spans of 35 m. (116 ft.), and two stone approach arches either end, and is 33 m. (108 ft.) high, while Willington is lower but also has five arches, the central one being 39 m. (128 ft.) wide. Ouseburn has subsequently been widened to accommodate four tracks. It is now part of the East Coast Main line.
The structure is Listed II*.
By Road: Best seen from the Byker Bridge on A193 or from below in Shieldfield, from Newington Road or Stepney Road
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Hoole, K., Railway Stations of the North East, David & Charles, ISBN-10: 07153852 5 (1985)
Hoole, K., A Regional History of the Railways of Britain: North East, David & Charles, ISBN-10: 0715364391 (1974)
Rennison, R. W., Civil Engineering Heritage, Northern England, Thomas Telford Ltd for Institution of Civil Engineers, ISBN 07277 2518 1 (1981)
Smith, Martin, British Railway Bridges and Viaducts, Ian Allan, ISBN-10: 0711022739 (1994)
Tomlinson, W. W., The North Eastern Railway, David & Charles, ISBN-10: 0715390023 (1987)
Bing Maps - Ouseburn Viaduct
Forgotten Relics - Listed Bridges and Viaducts