Boythorpe Viaduct

Boythorpe Viaduct was a railway viaduct in Chesterfield, England.

Boythorpe Viaduct
Coordinates53°13′56.3″N 1°25′44.77″W
CarriesEx-Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway
CrossesMidland Railway's Brampton Branch Line
LocaleChesterfield, Derbyshire
Characteristics
Design2 brick arches and 2 spans
WidthTwin Standard Gauge Rail
History
OpenedFebruary 1897
ClosedMarch 1957
Location

Description

The viaduct had two spans and two arches,[1] which carried the LD&ECR's Chesterfield Market Place to Lincoln Central double track main line over the Midland Railway's "Brampton Branch"[2] and the industrial "Boythorpe Railway"[3] a few hundred yards East of Chesterfield Market Place Station.

Photographs of the viaduct are rare and mentions in the literature even rarer, the clearest are collected on a DVD,[4] repeated by Booth.[5] An image taken between closure and demolition is on the internet.[6] The viaduct lay approximately one third of the way between the Park Road brick arch bridge[7] and Horns Bridge with embankments separating the three structures.

History

The viaduct was opened in 1897 along with the rest of the line.[8]

The section between Chesterfield and Langwith Junction (by then renamed Shirebrook North), was closed to passenger traffic by British Railways in December 1951, due to the unsafe condition of Bolsover Tunnel[9] and concerns over the safety of Doe Lea Viaduct, both of which were affected by colliery subsidence. Bolsover South and Scarcliffe were closed completely.

Boythorpe Viaduct remained in use until March 1957 when goods traffic to and from Chesterfield Market Place Station ceased. Tracks were lifted over the structure in the next two years.

No trace remains of the viaduct, or indeed of any of the massive LD&ECR presence to the West of the Midland Main Line at what is now the Horns Bridge roundabout. The Brampton Branch outlived the LD&ECR, but is now no more, as is the Boythorpe Railway.

References
  1. Cupit & Taylor 1984, p. 46.
  2. Kaye 1985, p. 35.
  3. Kaye 1988, p. 75.
  4. DVD 2005, 18 to 20 mins from start.
  5. Booth 2013, p. 14.
  6. Boythorpe Viaduct at track level
  7. Kaye 1986, p. 27.
  8. Cupit & Taylor 1984, p. 16.
  9. Cupit & Taylor 1984, p. 39.
  • Booth, Chris (2013). The Lancashire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire Railway A pictorial view of the "Dukeries Route" and branches. Blurb. 06715029.
  • Cupit, J.; Taylor, W. (1984) [1966]. The Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway. Oakwood Library of Railway History (2nd ed.). Headington: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-302-8. OL19.
  • DVD (2005). The Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway - Memories of a Lost Route. Chesterfield: Terminus Publications. DVD, stills with commentary.
  • Kaye, A.R. (1985). The Changing Face of Chesterfield, a Pictorial Then and Now Album. Chesterfield: Lowlander Publications. 271 of 1500.
  • Kaye, A.R. (1986). The Changing Face of Chesterfield, a Pictorial Then and Now Album, Volume 2. Chesterfield: Lowlander Publications.
  • Kaye, A.R. (1988). North Midland and Peak District Railways in the Steam Age, Volume 2. Chesterfield: Lowlander Publications. ISBN 0-946930-09-0.

Further reading
  • Dow, George (1965). Great Central, Volume Three: Fay Sets the Pace, 1900–1922. Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0263-0. OCLC 500447049.
  • Gilks, David (April 2002). Blakemore, Michael (ed.). "Mr. Arkwright's Railway". Back Track. Penryn: Atlantic Publishers. 16 (4).
  • Little, Lawson (1995). Langwith Junction, the Life and Times of a Railway Village. Newark: Vesper Publications. ISBN 0-9526171-0-2.
  • Ludlam, A.J. (March 2013). Kennedy, Rex (ed.). "The Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast Railway". Steam Days. Bournemouth: Redgauntlet 1993 Publications. 283. ISSN 0269-0020.
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