Doesn’t look real does it? The train going over Loftus viaduct is dumping shale from the mines to convert the viaduct into an embankment. The viaduct was seriously weakened by undermining from the ironstone mines, so these drastic measures were taken to fix the problem. Simon Chapman tells us: ”Messrs Bell Brothers wanted to mine ironstone from beneath the viaduct from their Carlin How Mine so arrangements were made to fill in the viaduct to support it from 1907. In January 1911 it was found that one of the piers had begun to crack because of unequal infilling so rail services were suspended for a fortnight to enable extra tipping to take place. Shale was tipped from Liverton and Loftus Mines and was completed by 1914.”
Image courtesy of the Pem Holliday Collection and thanks to Simon Chapman for that update.
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