The iconic Giltbrook Viaduct, locally nicknamed "40 Bridges", used to dominate the Erewash valley between Awsworth and Kimberley. Built to serve the Pinxton branch line of the Great Northern Railway it was sadly demolished in 1973. But its nickname was always disputed.
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, along with some facts and figures about the viaduct, 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.
For example, the picture below shows the Awsworth side of the viaduct and the road to Kimberley running under the first arch. From this side, that filled in arch (with the windows) is the 8th one along but count from the other side and it is the 9th!
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.
The fancy-looking segmental arch shown here was for the Nottingham Canal.
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.
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...
The same skew arch as above being demolished. Demolition started on a misty morning March 11th 1973. You can just see the crane that got crushed when it failed to move out of the way of the falling arches.
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?
The arch that refused to be blown up!
The old colourised picture below shows Awsworth Lane going under the special skewed arch discussed above and this one proved to be built of stern stuff. Local school kids remember being taken to watch the explosive demolition but the arch did not fall much to the embarrassment of the engineers who were staying in a Kimberley pub.
c.1900 The Gate Inn and the viaduct. Colourised by P Brelsford
Harry H Burton from the Nelson and Railway pub in Kimberley says... "It would have made a great circular walk incorporating the Bennerley viaduct, incidentally the explosive expert who supervised its demolition stayed with us at the Nelson & Railway and got a lot of ribbing when the first efforts to drop the final arch failed!"
Another local posted this memory of the same day on a railway buff website... "28/12/2010 from Paddy, location: Giltbrook Viaduct. I Played as a young boy on this viaduct in the late 60s/early 70s.I still live in Awsworth and have some photos of it. The last arch to demolished was the the one over the old Kimberley to Awsworth road on a Sunday afternoon which I watch with my father from the Gate Inn Pub which is still open and just out of the picture to the left. There is a video on y-tube entitled The ex-GN branch from Nottingham Victoria to Derby Friargate showing a train from Kimberley entering Awsworth station and in the back ground you can see the viaduct about 1964."
It eventually had to be manually knocked down by demolition cranes and bulldozers as these splendid pictures show...
The last arch took a while to demolish. It took place on one Sunday in April 1973
Effect of the first explosions is shown here. The small amount of brickwork removed is probably due to the vaulting inside the abutment and the first pillar. Note the heaps of earth to protect underground pipes.
The earth protection did not work, one of the water pipes sprang a leak and cut off the supply to Awsworth for a few days.
12 noon - Locals wander up to inspect the 2nd attempted explosive demolition of the first arch of the 40 Bridges, taken from Awsworth Lane. Source: A Henshaw
Picture series sourced from Alf Henshaw and Facebook.
I have lost the original FB poster's name so apologies. I will remove if necessary.
Facts and Figures
The viaduct was built of six million red common bricks used to create 43 regular arched spans, 3 skew span arches and a segmental arch.
All the 45 "arches" painted by A Barrandell c.1970
Construction of the Giltbrook Viaduct commenced in May 1873 under a contract awarded to Joseph Firbank by the Great Northern Railway, with the project spanning approximately 2.5 years until its completion in November 1875, to a design by Richard Johnson, the GNR’s Chief Civil Engineer. Samuel Abbott acted as its resident engineer. Firbank's team employed traditional brick arch construction techniques, erecting clusters of 30-foot arches separated by king piers, while incorporating single skew spans to accommodate crossings over roads, railways, and waterways.
1940 blacked out bus with the viaduct in the background. Looking from the bottom of Maws Lane, Kimberley
The viaduct was S-shaped and built in four sections:
- The first section consisted of a single 27 feet (8.2 m) long skew span arch crossing Awsworth Lane followed by 13 arches each spanning 30 feet (9.1 m).
- The second section consisted of one 27 feet (8.2 m) skew span arch over the Midland Railway's Bulwell to Bennerley branch line followed by 15 arches each spanning 30 feet (9.1 m).
- The third section started with a 27 feet (8.2 m) long skew span arch, skewed in the opposite direction, crossing the Midland Railway's line to Digby Colliery which was immediately to the East of the viaduct followed by 3 arched spans of 30 feet (9.1 m).
- The fourth section started with a 45 feet (14 m) long segmental arch which crossed the Greasley arm of the Nottingham Canal followed by 8 arched spans 30 feet (9.1 m) long.
Each section was separated by stop piers.
The skew arches were very complex works of bricklaying art with hollow sections, internal buttressing and state-of-the-art, geometrically planned, helical-radiating brickwork courses.
Total length - 1,716 ft (523 m)
Height - 60 ft (18 m)
Construction start - May 1873
Construction end - November 1875
Demolished - April 1973
The viaduct was built to serve the relatively short Great Northern line extension to Pinxton. It begs the question why build a huge viaduct for such a short extension? The answer was to serve the Ironville ironworks and the collieries in the area and to compete with GNR's fierce rival the Midland Railway. The Midland Railway had obstructed the GNR in its attempts to secure a share of the lucrative business of transporting coal from the area, and in frustration the GNR built the line.
Passenger traffic was an afterthought and was never very profitable. Locals called it the "ghost line". It closed to passenger traffic in January 1963 and was demolished for the Kimberley to Eastwood A610 bypass in April 1973. The rubble was used as the base for the A610. The 8th arch from Awsworth Lane had rooms built for the construction teams.
The s-shape of the viaduct is clear in this unusual wide shot of the Giltbrook valley.
1970 - Engineer's Report on the general condition of the viaduct
"Personally, I think this viaduct is a fine piece of engineering, and I should like to see it preserved. When inspecting the details of construction, I tried to see what the engineer's design problems were and how he solved them. The result, translated into bricks and mortar, is what we see today. The design and construction of such large brick structures is now a lost art, so let us keep this example, the best in this area, of that art.
M.D.P. Hammond
3rd May 1970"
The accommodation arches
Two of the arches were filled in and converted into rudimentary accommodation, probably for the teams of navvies shipped into the area to construct the viaduct. The engineer's report says...
"Besides these arches there are two of the 'standard' arches which have been built up at sometime, probably at the time the viaduct was built.
They are divided into four rooms on each of four floors. The rooms have plastered walls and ceilings, and the upper floors had timber floors.
Fireplaces in each room discharged into a common flue at each corner of the area covered by the arch. The flues were carried up through the thickness of the arch and into hollow piers on the parapets. The rooms are said to have been used as cottages and school rooms.
Rather steep and narrow timber staircases ran from floor to floor. The rooms are now completely derelict. Nearly all the woodwork has gone, and a little remains of the upper floors. Much of the plaster has fallen away, and the chimneys are choked with debris. There is evidence of water damage in one of the arches."
Cine film of the demolition
Thanks to Mr Weldon of Kimberley and daughter Kerry who posted this on YouTube...
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
Alf Henshaw - Great Northern Railway in the East Midlands.
'A Practical Treatise on the Construction of Oblique Arches' by John Hart, a Mason. 3rd Edition, 1858
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