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[[File:Viaduct - geograph.org.uk - 499261.jpg | thumb|200px|right| Falling Sands Viaduct (Geograph)]]
'''Falling Sands Viaduct''' (Bridge 3) was designed by Edward Wilson, West Midlands Railway engineer, and was completed in 1877 as part of the [[Kidderminster Loop Line]]. <ref name="CT">[https://www.fallingsandsviaduct.org.uk/post/journey-to-the-finish-line-a-look-back-at-phase-2-by-nick-yarwood CVR Charitable Trust's Falling Sands Viaduct website] (Retrieved 20 November 2021)</ref> It carries the railway across the [[Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal]] Conservation Area and 64 feet above the [[River Stour]], about a mile from [[Kidderminster]].
==Construction and commercial history==
The [[Loop Line specification and contract]] of 1874 specified that the masonry of the viaduct should be "''...of the best quality of Red Sandstone of the district''". In May 1875 the contractor Charles Dickinson wrote to the GWR explaining his difficulty in obtaining suitable stone for the piers of the viaduct and requesting the difference in price for it to be built entirely of brick, to which the GWR agreed.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Marshall (1989)]] pp. 81-82.</ref> Accordingly the viaduct was built of red brick. It is 132 yards in length, with seven arches of 46ft span.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Marshall (1989)]] p. 92.</ref>
The Viaduct was also numbered as Bridge 3 during the BR era; the BR-era numbering plate, which may still be seen on the northern parapet, gives its location as [[Gradient profile and mileages#Mileages|135 miles 78 chains]].
During the early 1970s British Rail dismantled and rebuilt the parapets from the Bewdley end but stopping over half way across, between the canal and the river. This destroyed the stone-capped pilasters at the Bewdley end and the attractive blue brick bull-nosed corbelling running across the viaduct, which the original designers had provided to deflect water.<ref name="CT"/> It is believed that BR engineers were undertaking as much work as possible to the main structure within the budget, but were instructed 'decorative' work would be left off<ref group="note">The Charitable Trust's website refers to the 1980s. The SVR's consultant engineer, Jonathan Symonds, told Branch Lines in March 2020 that the Falling Sands Viaduct stonework was taken down by British Rail in the 1970s. A programme of replacement started but the project stalled half way across; the stonework being removed but never replaced. A reader, Allen Morgan, responded by email on 19 November 2021: "From mid 1969 to late 1972 I worked at the sugar beet factory. I was involved in the model railway exhibition circuit and the factory manager was also a rail enthusiast. During part of that time repair work was being carried out by BR on the viaduct. It was suggested to the manager, and passed to me, that as much as possible was being done to the main structure but within the budget some 'decorative' work would be left off. True or not I can't confirm, but I think likely"</ref>.
==Closure==
Repair work began at the very end of December 2019 with the lifting of the track by a team of volunteers and paid staff. External contractors then removed the ballast and fill from the viaduct. After the infill was removed, the contractors improved the drainage channels and added a waterproof membrane, before putting everything back together. These works were essentially complete when interrupted in March by [[2020 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic|coronavirus disease (COVID-19)]], although track was not joined and signalling not yet in place.
While the railway remained closed, the contractors began work on stage 2. Easing of lockdown restrictions allowed work on stage 1 to restart in the week of 19 June, with laying of rail completed on 25 June. The following day [[BR Class 50 50035 Ark Royal]] became the first train to cross the viaduct since December while delivering S&T equipment for the new [[Ground Frames at Foley Park|Foley Park ground frame]].<ref name="bljul20">[https://www.svrlive.com/bljul20 Branch Lines, July 2020]</ref> Discovery of roosting bats held up repairs while a licence was obtained from Natural England to allow work to be carried out.<ref name="bljul20"/> Work recommenced in August,<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/blsep20 Branch Lines newsletter, September 2020] (Retrieved 29 August 2020)</ref> and the civil engineering work was completed in mid-December with the final piece of corbelling being slotted into place. The contractors then left the site.<ref name=bljan21>[https://www.svrlive.com/bljan21 Branch Lines, January 2021]</ref> On 1 December 2021 the project was highly commended at the [[Awards|National Railway Heritage Awards]].<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/bldec21 Branch Lines, December 2021]</ref> In 2022 10 navvies who perished during the construction of the Severn Valley Railway were honoured with a commemorative blue plaque<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/bldec22 Branch Lines, December 2022]</ref>.
<gallery>
File:Falling Sands 2020 repairs 1.jpg | View of the viaduct in January 2020 with the infill removed.
</gallery>
==Note==
<references group="note"/>
== See also ==