The Ribblehead Viaduct

A freight train hauled by a Class 66 crossing the magnificent Ribblehead Viaduct with the train hauling many vehiches
One of the many freight trains crossing the viaduct

The Ribblehead Viaduct is on the astoundingly beautiful Settle and Carlisle line. The line travels through the Yorkshire Dales National Park navigating its way through the hills and valleys, and because of these large changes in elevation this viaduct, along with many others, are needed. The Ribblehead Viaduct is one of the largest railway viaducts in the UK, and will go down one spot when the Colne Valley viaduct opens as part of HS2. But the much older history of the Ribblehead Viaduct and that it was constructed from bricks constructed together one by one manually.

The 158 on the Ribblehead Viaduct is tiny compared to the size of the viaduct
A 158 on the viaduct

Opened on May 1st 1876 the Ribblehead Viaduct is a tourist attraction and one of the viaducts you must travel on or at least see if you have any fascination with trains or railways. Also, in my opinion, the Glenfinnan Viaduct (famous for being in Harry Potter) and the Welland Viaduct (the, currently, longest railway in the UK). The Ribblehead Viaduct is so rural that there are only 3 houses and a pub in the local area (with local being at least 2 miles) with no phone signal whatsoever (a bit of a problem when looking up train times), something unheard of for a Londoner. The Ribblehead Viaduct has Ribblehead station nearby with the few trains a day that use this line stopping there. The Settle and Carlisle line is one of the four train lines that go from northern England to Scotland. Because the West and East Coast main lines are busy with passenger traffic a lot of freight uses the Settle and Carlisle line instead to reduce congestion. And therefore freight trains are a common sight on the Ribblehead Viaduct.

The actual real height of the viaduct is only apparent when you are standing underneath
The scale of the viaduct is only apparent when close up

Because of the amazing landscapes and infrastructure travelled through on this line recently in school holidays special HSTs have been chartered to run along this line along with the normal Northern 158s. These chartered trains were done primarily for tourists and families to rediscover Great Britain. The HSTs have had differing levels of success in the two years it's been running. With 2020's high passenger numbers fuelled by the great staycation and the trains being featured on various major news channels. And a major slump in 2021 primarily, I think, because of the lack of advertising and lack of wider knowledge because of the lack of press coverage.

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