Description and History of Site:-
Yarm Viaduct. When built by the Leeds Northern Railway between 1849 and 1852 it was one of the largest in the country. With a length of 700 metres and with a height of 22m above the river it dominates the town. The spandrel over the river carries a fine inscription recording the builders and engineers.
This viaduct carried the Leeds Northern Railway along the full length of Yarm, a distance of 760 yards (695 m), on 43 arches. The arches and piers are built of brick, with stone facings, except for the two arches over the River Tees which are of stone. On the spandrel between the two arches over the river is carved the inscription:-
Engineers Thos Grainger and John Bourne
Superintendent Joseph Dixon
Contractors Trowsdale, Jackson & Garbutt 1849
The total cost of the viaduct was £44,500. Henry Pease once observed "whatever else it may or may not boast, Yarm may be proud of two things: it was the pioneer of modern railways, and, in its stupendous viaduct, possesses one of the finest works of the kind in the kingdom."
Yarm Viaduct was visited as part of the survey by Jane Hatcher on 06/06/1975 who noted that:- Inscription on viaduct where crosses Tees naming the Engineers etc not wholly legible from distance. According to plaque 43 arches and 7 million bricks and half a mile in length. The viaduct was designed by Thomas Grainger.
This railway viaduct which was completed in 1849 has 43 arches and runs from one end of the small town to the other All but 2 of the arches are brick the exceptions are of stone and span the river itself. The masonry section bears a lengthy inscription commemorating the engineers superintendent and the contractorsViaduct was built between 1849 and 1852 by the Leeds Northern Railway to carry their Northallerton to Stockton line. It has forty one small arches either side of the river and two large ones crossing the river making a total of 43 arches. The viaduct was constructed 760 yards long 24 feet in width and carries two tracks. It is hard to imagine the impact this must have had on the inhabitants of Yarm with the great number of labourers brought in to construct this great monument. The amount of materials needed for the task was of course also huge with 7500000 bricks in total for the 41 arches of bricks and 134000 cubic feet of stone for the two river arches.The viaduct was designed by Thomas Grainger and John Bourne. This information is recorded on a stone tablet between the two 167 foot high arches spanning the river. Viaduct on the Leeds Northern Railway across the Tees at Yarm. Engineer Thomas Grainer Resident Engineer John Bourne Contractor xxxx Built 1848 - 1852 Opened May 1852 Viaduct is some 760 yards long and comprises of 41 land and 2 skewed river arches. Original design envisaged a single river span of 125ft but this was replaced with 2 smaller cast iron spans of 67ft rising to 65ft above the river. Built 24ft wide to take a double track the viaduct consumed some 7.5 million Bricks and 139 cubic ft of stone from quarries near Osmotherly
Viaduct on the Leeds Northern Railway across the Tees at Yarm. Engineer Thomas Grainer Resident Engineer John Bourne Contractor xxxx Built 1848 - 1852 Opened May 1852 Viaduct is some 760 yards long and comprises of 41 land and 2 skewed river arches. Original design envisaged a single river span of 125ft but this was replaced with 2 smaller cast iron spans of 67ft rising to 65ft above the river. Built 24ft wide to take a double track the viaduct consumed some 7.5 million Bricks and 139 cubic ft of stone from quarries near Osmotherly HEW 581 Behind the small town of Yarm runs a long viaduct of forty-three arches completed in 1849. These are all brick except the two which span the river: there two arches and three piers are of stone. Above the central pier in midstream is what must surely be one of the largest of inscriptions commemorating such work. This vast carved inscription reads; 'ENGINEERS / Thomas Grainger & John Bourne / SUPERINTENDENT/ Joseph Dixon / C0NTRACTORS / J Trowsdale Jackson / and/ Garbutt / 1849 (Atkinson) This railway viaduct which was completed in 1849 has 43 arches and runs from one end of the small town to the other. All but 2 of the arches are brick the exceptions are of stone and span the river itself. The masonry section bears a lengthy inscription commemorating the engineers superintendent and the contractorsHEW 581Behind the small town of Yarm runs a long viaduct of forty-three arches completed in 1849. These are all brick except the two which span the river: there two arches and three piers are of stone. Above the central pier in midstream is what must surely be one of the largest of inscriptions commemorating such work. This vast carved inscription reads; 'ENGINEERS! Thomas Grainger & John Bourne/SUPERINTENDENT/ Joseph Dixon/C0NTRACT/ R S J Trowsdale Jackson/and/Garbutt/1849'

An arched brick and stone viaduct that carries the (then) Leeds Northern railway line across the Tees to Stockton and the Durham coalfields. Nearly half a mile long it features 41 land brick arches and two skewed masonry river arches. The latter span 67ft and rise 65ft above the river. Grainger's original design for the viaduct had only one river arch with a span of 125ft. The Leeds & Thirsk Railway reached Thirsk in 1845. It was renamed Leeds Northern in 1851 and extended on to Stockton. Yarm Viaduct forms part of this extension while Knaresbrook Viaduct also by Grainger forms part of the original stretch. Contractor: Trowsdale Jackson & Garbutt Dominating the town is the railway viaduct. Engineered by Thomas Grainger and completed in 1851 it comprises 43 arches and is some 695 metres in length. The two arches spanning the river are of stone which was quarried in Osmotherley and hauled to Yarm by cart. Over seven million local bricks were used to construct the other arches. This viaduct still carries east coast rail traffic to Northallerton were it joins the main line.

Further Reading and References:-
Morris C.H. 2000. Bridges over the Tees. Cleveland Industrial Archaeologist Society. Research Report No 7.
YAS - Hatcher Card Index. Research funded by the Yorkshire Arts Association 1972.
Hatcher J, The Industrial Architecture of Yorkshire,1985
Civil Engineering Heritage Northern England MF Barbey Thomas Telford 1981
Guide to Englands Industrial Heritage Keith Falconer 1980
AIndustrial Archaeology of North East England Volume 2 The Sites Frank Atkinson 1974

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Key Words :- viaduct river tees railway inscription

Viewing the Site :- Visible from anywhere in the Yarm town center

Address :- Yarm, North Yorkshire, TS15 9BY
Grid Ref :- NZ 41730 13130
Co-ordinates :- Lat 54.511766 , Long -1.356977
Local Authority :- Stockton B C
Pre 1974 County :- Yorkshire North Riding
Site Status :- Listed - Grade II
Site Condition :- Operational site, in use for original purpose
Site Dates :- 1849 -
Record Date :- 1 July 2015

Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Charles Morris