Waverley Route Structures

['CHARD]

I alluded to this thread when I did the Group Launch, I think. After doing a bit of work on the section south of Longtown, prompted by Dave's recent field trips, I've decided to export the detail-heavy topic into its own specific thread. It won't be to eveyone's tastes, although it fires mine like 60813 converted to an oil-burner and fed Birmingham's finest vindaloo with green chillis before taking a car train over Whitrope... Anyway, for the structures fans amongst you, here's the bricks and mortar, wreckin' ball and 40-plus years of mother nature induced entropy, side of the Waverley Route.

 

What follows is the launch post, exported from Photo Links & Discussion:

 

Now I realise there's a structures list somewhere, and no doubt one of our regular contributors can put their hands straight on it, however, being of Geography bent, red-brick taught, and hungry for Waverley research, I've been busy on the usual satellite websites to try and fill in Dave's gaps. And I must say, with some inconclusivity.

 

• I'm taking as my datum, bridge 251 that I assume to be the Esk Viaduct at Longtown, demolished.
• Immediately south, the line passed over the lane continuation of Esk Street, I'm assuming, on demolished underbridge 252
• A minor road passes over the line near to the Arthuret Church, as recorded by Dave and Abi, and labelled clearly BRB ETC 253 on the parapet
• A short distance south is a private farm access which I assume had a user-worked occupation crossing at one time, then
• There's a culvert east of Arthuret Road which appears to be extant - could this be 254?
• Next we reach Fauldmoor L/C which appears to have a brick and conrete-built hut and its original keeper's cottage intact and in a delightful state of upkeep
• The footpath/ fisherman's span over the abutments of the Lyne Viaduct is presumably the former bridge 255
• Lyneside (station) L/C switch room and spacious station house every inch a des-res
• A substantial culvert south of here may be bridge 256
• A private farm access intersects on its way west from the A7, another user-worked crossing maybe
• A minor road crosses bridge 257 (no BRB ETC markings visible - Dave did you definitely record this as 258, because...)
• A substantial breach in the P-way yawns where it's bisected by a fulsome tributary of the Lyne flowing west, at what was bridge 258 I'd reckon
• Harker - still appeared in the W/T/T in 1968 - when it was presided over by bridge 259 as today
• Parkhouse old A74 bridge 260, shame the adjacent pub's no longer consecrated, start or finish point for many a recce
• Bridge 261 Kingmoor Road
• Bridge 262 the WCML Caley hump
• Kingmoor/ Cargo Road Culvert 263
• Stainton L/C
• Bridge 264 Stainton occupation bridge
• ETC 265 Eden Viaduct

So, was 265 the highest numbered Waverley structure? And what's the truth about these bridges between 253 and 259? Did all culverts warrant a number, for instance?

[Bernard Lamb]

Who is correct?

http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/bridges/gallery/eden.html

 

They refer to Eden as 265.

Bernard

[Guest Max Stafford]

In this case, It's possible that a culvert existed between 262 and Stainton crossing, more obvious in the days before the building of the yard spur. There does appear to be some kind of water feature in the field below the spur embankment on the side facing the back-road from Stainton up to Cargo Road and a glance of my OS map confirms the existence of a burn passing beneath the railway here. I suspect this originates in the field adjacent to Kingmoor shed.

Therefore the balance of probabilities suggests at this time that 263 is indeed a culvert with Stainton Occupation bridge and the Eden viaduct being 264 & 5 respectively.

 

Dave.

['CHARD]

O/P now edited to reflect new information. Thanks Gents.

['CHARD]

Working my way northwards as though in the throes of revising for a Final Exam, I'd reached 210 when the Golden Bridge (ETC 200) hove into view. So, that's ten missing between 250 and 200, my guess is culverts and the stone occupation overbridges account for the difference, north from Hermitage viaduct and especially north of Steele Road. The bridge number of the minor road underbridge at Steele Road appears in several of the published photos, if anyone can locate one. My structure count estimate is 221 but I think it's going to be a few out, so probably 226 ish.

 

At the Heritage Centre I reset my baseline at 199 and listed to within a couple of entries, everything between Whitrope and the minor road bridge over the line, ETC 170, north of Hawick, leading to the B6359 from the Burnfoot road. ETC 170 sighting being based on the Google Streetview image of its asset register data panel. Now knowing how these can distort with Google's bugeye lens, if any local can verify this bridge, that would be great.

 

Further north across the arable section of the route, the road overbridge at Standhill Creamery looks like ETC 165, with the same Googly Eye disclaimer. Now this gives me a real headache because there looks to be about a dozen intermediate structures to 170, not five, so maybe 170 actually reads 179?

 

In order to reset the clock again, does anyone have a station shot of Newtown St Boswells to hand, showing the bridge plate on the parapet on the down side? I've done a structure count up as far as here but need extra data for the stretch beyond, as the A68 and 6091 between them obliterate all trace of the line.

 

To kick off the next session, again is anyone familiar with the bridge number for Station Brae in Gala?

[37175]

I'll dig out my copy of the Scott-Wilson report ... that lists every single numbered structure, location & condition.

['CHARD]

Good man, Matt.

 

I too did a major structure based summary, but for the declared Borders Railway only, and mine is based on grid refs. To be able to compare and merge the two would be a huge step forward in understanding the civils of the line.

 

No matter what, I reckon lesser culverts weren't recorded in the central section, at least not in the conventional way.

['CHARD]

Had a quick look through Siviter last night and this sets a couple more datums (data?) on the central-southern section.

 

Hermitage/ Sandholm viaduct is Bridge 226, which causes a problem in the count so far. At Roan Farm culvert just north of Newcastleton I reckoned I'd counted back to 235, leaving eight structures unnacounted for, which I suspect are culverts hidden from view in the heavily wooded Liddesdale stretch of the line.

 

One of the infamous flimsy looking occupation overbridges on the southern approach to Riccarton is no.206 - again as featured in Siviter, and I think the only gaps in the count between 226 and the Golden Bridge 200, are accounted for by similar missing overbridges whose piers have disappeared. Steele Road underbridge is by my calculation no.215. The bridge plate appears in a shot of Claytons approaching on a freight but I can't recall what book that photo's in.

 

199 pops up in a shot of Whitrope Siding box, which is presumably Whitrope Culvert, and in answer to the conundrum of structure 263, railings can be seen alongside down departing freights climbing the grade to 262, as though a culvert here has been modified to suit the widened formation for Kingmoor Yard, and the railings left in place adjacent to the running lines.

[37175]

199 pops up in a shot of Whitrope Siding box, which is presumably Whitrope Culvert

Whitrope Culvert is south of Bridge 200, and prior to Bridge 201 (overbridge) ... but in all the photos I've ever seen of that one spot I don't recall once seeing an ID plate. Whether it was 200B or somesuch ID, I'd have to consult Scott-Wilson.

 

199 is for Black Sike, more of an underbridge than a culvert.

[Guest Max Stafford]

Is that the blue brick two-holer that lies close to the crossing then, Matt?

 

Dave.

['CHARD]

Whitrope Culvert is south of Bridge 200, and prior to Bridge 201 (overbridge) ... but in all the photos I've ever seen of that one spot I don't recall once seeing an ID plate. Whether it was 200B or somesuch ID, I'd have to consult Scott-Wilson.

 

199 is for Black Sike, more of an underbridge than a culvert.

 

My mistake, Matt, that and lousy description. 199 complete with plate can be seen to the left of Whitrope Box looking north. Whitrope Culvert IIRC from the legend of the Golden Bridge, is considered part of structure 200. That's the first time I've heard the name Black Sike, and indeed, now I think on, it's much more an underbridge than a culvert.

[37175]

Is that the blue brick two-holer that lies close to the crossing then, Matt?

 

Dave.

No, it's the one adjacent (just to the south) to what is now Signal Box Cottage.

 

The one you talk about doesn't (IIRC) have a number .. but again, will have to check on S-W and see what they say. Isn't that the one that goes under the road as well, into Whitrope Burn? At the foot of the embankment next to the road there's a small inspection point for it that used to fire up like a fountain in torrential downpours!

 

This is all testing my memory somewhat!

['CHARD]

In this case, It's possible that a culvert existed between 262 and Stainton crossing, more obvious in the days before the building of the yard spur. There does appear to be some kind of water feature in the field below the spur embankment on the side facing the back-road from Stainton up to Cargo Road and a glance of my OS map confirms the existence of a burn passing beneath the railway here. I suspect this originates in the field adjacent to Kingmoor shed.

Therefore the balance of probabilities suggests at this time that 263 is indeed a culvert with Stainton Occupation bridge and the Eden viaduct being 264 & 5 respectively.

 

Dave.

 

If you study the old OS map of 26power's link http://nls.tileserver.com/?lat=55.83&lng=-3.03&zoom=14%22%20width=%22500%22%20height=%22300 you can clearly see the watercourse for bridge 263.

[fegguk]

Not sure if this is on topic. However, it is an interview with Jim Hall who recounts his work as PW ganger on the Jedburgh branch up to closure. So it is about structure but it is oral rather than photographic history. I am sure you you find it interesting piece of social history of the people who worked on and live by the line.

 

The bit about his work on the ralway is in the second half of the interview.

 

 

http://www.memorybank.org.uk/search/viewtranscripttext.asp?TranscriptId=3557&SearchTerm=railway

['CHARD]

That is a super personal account, and what's touching is that the railwayman in question wasn't a career railwayman as such. Working on the Waverley branches was taken in his stride as just part of a career, providing for a young family. As if we needed any more evidence of what Closure ripped out of the Borders community...

 

In other news, I've been perusing the landscape format Robotham standard text, and the underbridge bisecting St Boswells station is bridge 132.

 

As Matt has mentioned, bridge 201 is a classic occupation bridge, and I'd forgotten it's in plain sight (or was) of the Golden Bridge 200.

[37175]

In case it's not been posted before, Tom Pyemont at Hassendean has a website dedicated to the old station & footbridge, although the comment about it being the only remaining one of its type is slightly incorrect as Stobs still has its NBR bridge as well, though rather dilapidated.

http://www.hassendeanstation.com/

 

Funny to see some of my own words from the WRHA Travelogue on one of the pages

[Steele Road]

Does anybody know of any photographs taken of the bridge south of Newcastleton where the B6357 crossed the Waverley Route showing the course of the road in relation to the line prior to it being straightened and realigned on the old trackbed.

I found this 1964 shot of it taken by K.A. Gray but would be interested to see it from the other direction where the road ran alongside the railway http://www.railbrit....e2.php?id=29084

 

A map from the early 80s on the Old Maps website shows the bridge still in place so when was it actually demolished?

Surely someone must have photographed it prior to demolition!

[Guest Max Stafford]

Lovely photo!

There's a shot from the bridge in RH Leslie's 'Steam on the Waverley Route' (B&B, 1978).

It's actually one of my all time favourite train images with a D49 4-4-0 on a very mixed goods in 1957!

 

Dave.

[62440]

And another from the bridge.

 

 

Presumably in view of the heavy use and huge number of trains, single line working was out of the question?

 

Bruce

[Guest Max Stafford]

Thanks for posting this, Bruce. I've heard of this sort of thing elsewhere and the conspiracist in me strongly suspects that all this largesse was merely cynical 'budget skewing' on the part of the Closerati at Buchanan House. One thinks they were hiding behind that mask of 'safety considerations' when one considers the blatant neglect exercised by their Euston counterparts on the Waverley's companion route a decade and a half later...

By the way, I'll give you a call after tea tomorrow!

 

Dave.

[Durranhill]

A bit of movement this evening at bridge 261 at Kingmoor , an Eddie Stobart driver tried to take his 14ft 3in+ trailer under the 13ft 9in bridge with the usual result - it won't go under .

Police on the scene as i passed at 5pm together with others who were inspecting the bridge & trailer .

 

Stewart .

[Guest Max Stafford]

I must have just missed the fun - I went under there on my bike ride round about that time!

 

Dave.

['CHARD]

Occasionally a grail picture comes out of nowhere. 'Chard's B&W highlight of the day.

 

http://canmore.rcahm...railway+bridge/

 

The minor road to Darnick village, with its own possibly unique style of bridge seen on April 8th 1974. Surely this is in the swathe of Route swept away between Tweedbank and Melrose (doh! - map on same page shows exactly where it is and the bypass now crosses here), I don't believe I ever saw it in pre-bypass days. There's no structure number but I'm guessing it's around 130. Somewhere in the recesses of my brain a voice is saying Shank Bridge looked similar to this, maybe that's wishful thinking. Something also tells me this is the nearest we're going to get to footage of Darnick siding.

 

EDIT: Chiefswood Road, now leading to the Borders District Hospital. Google Streetview from the A6091 looks down at the space where this once stood, the line's formation is slightly to the north of the parallel road and in use as a footpath. The burn also crossed by the original structure can be clearly seen running along the western side of the lane.

[37175]

Now that's a beauty, 'Chard ... I've never seen that bridge before. Ta!

['CHARD]

She's a beauty hey! If you search RCAHMS there's a similar one captured at Longniddry, which presumably stands a chance of being extant.

 

Moving on, I've now found a suite of pictures of what has eluded me until now, and that's the colossal structure that takes Old Dalkeith Road and a crossroads over the line, said structure being Bridge 11, and listed as Sheriffhall Bridge.

 

http://canmore.rcahm...e+bridge+no+11/

 

The 6th-8th photos in particular scream 'Model Me,' and I confess I've only ever driven past the site, so to get these at track level is a right winner.

 

However, can anyone enlighten me as to what the span shown in the first couple of pictures is? It took me completely aback, it's obviously not Bridge 11, and that trackbed, if that's what it is, is now host to a surface-running watercourse.

 

EDIT: the small arch is Dalkeith Tramway in origin, okay. Relative position I haven't sussed. Reminder to self: link to NG and Light Railways subtopic.

Edited June 9, 2011 by 'CHARD
To expose my own ignorance