Icon of Lancashire's railways restored

Capernwray viaduct has been given a facelift

Capernwray viaduct has been strengthened as part of the Great North Rail Project to safeguard the 150 year old railway bridge.

The viaduct carries the railway over the river Keer on the Settle to Carnforth line near Capernwray.

So engineers could safely carry out the work on the riverbed and viaduct walls, the Keer was temporarily dammed and diverted through a pipe.

Teamsrescuing fish from the river Keer so refurbishment work could take place on Capernwray viaduct

Network Rail carefully 157 fish upstream, including 22 salmon and 13 brown trout to carry out the works.

Thomas Carrington, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said: “Over the years, Capernwray Viaduct has suffered damaged by the River Keer moving material that has eroded the foundations. We needed to divert the water to safely access the viaduct walls either side of the river bed to carry out repairs and install rock armour to protect the structure.

“We worked closely with the Environment Agency during the work, allowing us to bring the project forward to help minimise disruption to our lineside neighbours and the local environment.”

Work included restoring brickwork, strengthening 11 arches with special anchors and plates, and protecting the structure’s footings in the river from erosion.Years of built up dirt was also cleaned from the length of the viaduct.