The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-12-25 00:00:00

OMPLETION OF THE STOCKPORT VIADUCT

" The ceremony of laying the stone forming the completion
of this stupendous viaduct, conveying the Manchester and
Birmingham Railway over the valley of the Mersey at Stock-
port, was performed on Monday last. Before detailing the
proceedings connected with this interesting occasion, an ac-
count and description of the viaduct, which is probably the
largest work of the kind ever constructed in the world, will
no doubt, be interesting to many of our readers. The ex-
treme length of the viaduct is 1786 feet. It has 22 semicir-
cular arches, each of 63 feet span, four of 20 feet span, and
two at each abutment. The height of the viaduct (to the
surface of the rails) is 111 feet above the bed of the river,
being six feet higher than the celebrated Menai Bridge. The
foundations of all the piers, except the two in the river, are
laid on the sandstone rock ; and the foundations of the river
piers are laid at a depth of six feet in the rock. The piers
are 10 feet thick, and formed with perpendicular sides
of them being thicker at the bottom than at the top

thi4ness of the river piers is 11 feet. The viaduct 'is built
of stone and brick, but principally of brick ; the foundation
of the piers, and to the height of nine feet above the ground,

rest brick-

and the parapets, being of stout,
The width of the road between the parapet
ing ample room for two lines of railway. _
laid. It is laid on longitudinal and transverse
era, which have undergone a process, by whii _ _
been completely saturated with creosote, every cubic foot of
the wood having been made to absorb a gallon of that liquid.
This process was first used, we believe, on this line ; Mr.
Buck, the engineer, considering that it renders the wood
much less liable to decay than the Kyanising process. The
foundation stone of the viaduct was laid on the 10th of March,

One line is already

1839, so that the time occupied in erecting and completinz
this immense structure (notwithstanding the hindrances
caused by the floods in the Mersey, by washing the centres
away two or three times at the commencement of the work)
has been only a year and nine months. This is a matter of
astonishment to all who have seen the work, and will not be
less so to others; when we state, that the quantity of stone
used in the erection is 400,000 cubic feet, and that the num-
ber of bricks is no fewer than eleven millions. The viaduct
has an appearance of great stability and firmness, and does
great credit both to the desigi►er, Mr. G. W. Buck, and the
contractors, Messrs. Tomkinson and. Holmes, of Liverpool.
The viaduct was originally intended to be built ten feet lower
than it at present is ; but, finding that, by elevating it to its
present height, a considerable saving t.
other parts of the line, the company obtained an
power them to effect that object, whereby a saving of
£50,000. in the construction of the whole line was effected.
The cost of the viaduct, we understand, is about £70,000.
The completion of such a work was of course. 0-
formation of the railway, and it wa, "--
stone should be set by P,--

light be e

rected in
:t to em-

Ashton,

ra in the
the last

of tlie-Uodil u

,:N.L•:-iiii.i:ii•tti'3,:i.

at the south end of the viaduct: wh

stone was to• be
uth-east end was

following inscrip-

December, 1840,

chairman of a