So how many arches did it really have and bizarrely did it have more on one side than the other?
The answers are revealed at the end but in the meantime here are a few clues...
The picture above is one of the only ones that shows all the arches in one shot. The "official" count (on Wikipedia) is 43 arches even though you can clearly count 45 on the picture above. Counting the arches is not as simple as you'd think as some of the arches go through skewed on an angle and disappear to nothing on the other side. You would expect the same number on each side but you may be surprised.
The picture below shows the Awsworth side of the viaduct and the road to Kimberley running under the first arch. Note that the filled in arch (with the windows) is the 8th.
Below, from the Kimberley side, shows the same road going under the same arch. The filled in arch (with the windows) is now the 9th. Where's that filled in arch by the road come from? It's not on the other side... So the Awsworth side has 45 arches, and the Kimberley side has 46!
Answer - so the answer is surprisingly "true". It does indeed have more arches on one side than the other. On the Kimberley side is an extra filled-in arch by the side of the road. As the road goes through on an angle the arch tapers out before the other side. So 46 on one side and 45 on the other. Purists may say that there are only 43 arches that go all the way through and they'd be right too. There are 2 other tapered or "skew" arches where the railway and canal went under the viaduct but their arches even each other up.
More about the 40 Bridges Viaduct
Before and After - 40 Bridges demolition in progress... April 1973 - The 2 red cranes are knocking down the brickwork arch by arch. You can still clearly see the line of the viaduct in the "after" picture. Awsworth Lane is in the foreground. The 2 small arches facing us in the distance are where the Nottingham Canal branch used to go under the viaduct and just in front of that is where the Shell petrol station now is near the A610 roundabout. You can see Ikea in the distance too on the new one to get your bearings.
Before and After - Both from the same location. My favourite painting of the Forty Bridges viaduct by M.Parnham (based on a picture from the 1950s) by the swing bridge over the Nottingham Canal and today after a walk along the River Erewash heading home to Kimberley... Open cast mining in the 1960s changed the whole area down there. That's probably why the railway embankment has gone and the canal is now a re-instated ditch.
Before and after - The "skew arch" taking the railway to Digby and Speedwell pits - the two pictures below show the same arch on a commemorative plate and being demolished in 1973. These "skew" arches went through on an angle so the filled in arch on the left of the railway tapers off to nothing on the other side. Likewise there's another filled in arch on the opposite side of the railway that tapers off to nothing on this side. That's why it looks a bit wider on the other side.
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| Commemorative plate - the arches around the top are not accurate! The train is coming under the skew arch going to Digby and Speedwell pits. The same arch below being demolished... |
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| The same skew arch as above being demolished |
Before and after - a ghostly 40 bridges viaduct reappears 50 years after it was demolished. The new road, Gin Close Way, exactly follows the track of the old steam train in the foreground coming from Digby pit. I wonder what the old boys on the right would have thought of the fuel prices at the garage?
And finally, click here to see this fantastic railway simulation of the Derby Friargate line as it goes past Kimberley and the 40 Bridges viaduct. It's well worth a watch as it really brings the railways and Erewash valley surroundings back to life. Lots of hard, dedicated work by all concerned. Thanks!
Notes and sources
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