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[[File:Viaduct - geograph.org.uk - 499261.jpg | thumb|200px|right| Falling Sands Viaduct (Geograph)]]
'''Falling Sands Viaduct''' (Bridge 3) was completed in 1877 as part of the [[Kidderminster Loop Line]]. It carries the railway across the [[Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal]] Conservation Area and 64 feet above the [[River Stour]], about a mile from [[Kidderminster]]. It is 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 and . 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]].
==Closure==
===Passenger services===
The last scheduled passenger service over the Viaduct viaduct was the 19:20 DMU from Bewdley to Kidderminster on Saturday 3 January 1970, with passenger services between being formally withdrawn from 5 January 1970.<ref>[[Bibliography#Books|Marshall (1989)]] p. 164.</ref> When the SVR acquired the southern section of the line between [[Alveley Sidings]] and [[Foley Park]], the Viaduct remained in the section of the line still owned by BR. Following the SVR's reopening of Bewdley in 1974, BR ran a number of summer weekend DMU specials between their Kidderminster station and Bewdley. One of these was photographed on the Viaduct on 11 September 1982 during that year’s Enthusiasts Weekend.<ref>SVR News 66,67</ref> The last passengers to cross the Viaduct under BR ownership were on the “Severn Valley Enterprise” rail tour from Bewdley to Paddington and back on 8 October 1983.
===Freight services===
==Preservation==
The line between Foley Park and Kidderminster, including the Viaductviaduct, was acquired from BR in 1984, with passenger services commencing on 30 July 1984.
===Repairs===By The all-brick construction of the viaduct meant that historically it had required relatively little structural maintenance when compared with the sandstone viaducts at [[Wribbenhall Viaduct|Wribbenhall]] and elsewhere. However by around 2015 it had been determined that extensive repairs were needed to secure the Viaduct. Water had seeped into the structure causing cracks and erosion, and a speed restriction became necessary.
===2016 HLF bid rejected===
In June 2017 the Trust secured £71,800 of HLF financial backing to develop a bid seeking £927,000 from the HLF for a large part of the quoted £1.324 million total project cost. The SVR met the challenge of raising matched funding of £397,000 (originally £275,000) for which the Trust co-ordinated efforts through a campaign entitled "'''Helping hands for Falling Sands'''". Preliminary structural investigations in Summer 2018 had revealed two gas mains, one live, which increased the cost and SVR's contribution.
The Trust submitted its bid on 26 October 2018 and on 25 March 2019 announced the award of a further £853,800 grant from The [[:Category:Lottery funding#National_Lottery_Heritage_Fund|National Lottery Heritage Fund]] which together with the earlier grant took the total amount of its funding to £925,600. The grant, along with other funds raised, will be was used to restore Falling Sands the Viaduct and to launch an exciting a programme of community engagement and exhibitions that will explore the Railway’s early history. In August 2019 the Trust unveiled a large donation wall at [[The Engine House]] acknowledging the individuals, organisations and businesses who had donated to the "Helping Hands for Falling Sands" appeal, and in 2020 an exhibition was held there. [[LMS 2886 Six-wheel Passenger Brake (later 32919)|LMS six-wheel Passenger Brake 2886]] was adapted to host a mobile exhibition.
===2019-20 repair work===
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]].<refname="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>.
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