The seven wonders of railways of the British Isles

[whole diary]

[grahame]

I was thinking that there can't be locations on the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) passenger rail network similarly afflicted, and then reminded myself of the last bit of the Looe branch and also, er, Dovey Junction... but perhaps those two are dependent on a bit of fresh from the river as well as a spring tide to back the water up.

I have segwayed from one topic to another ... and Mark has made me think about extreme railway engineering, and the severn wonders of the railways of the British Isles.

I provisionally nominate (in no particular order)
* Bray Head (see (here))
* Forth Bridge [and/or] Barmouth Bridge [and/or] Royal Albert Bridge
* Severn Tunnel [and/or] Box Tunnel
* Wemyss Bay Station [and/or] St Pancras Station

[Oxonhutch]

I have segwayed from one topic to another ...

On a point of grammar, the word root you are looking for is 'segue', from the musical term and Italian 'there follows'. The pronunciation is however the same as the two wheeled, self-stabilising vehicle with the trade name of Segway.

[stuving]

By coincidence, I was recently looking for an answer to the question "are there expansion joints in the Forth Bridge?", and came across the answer to that and every other question you have ever had about the engineering of that bridge. It's a digitised book on Wikisource, reprinted from very detailed descriptions in "Engineering" in 1890. Lots of diagrams as well as (very Victorian) words.

The answer to my question was yes - at the two ends of the central (Inchgarvie) cantilever there are sliding joints, where the expansion allowed was two feet. The relevant pages start here.

[Red Squirrel]

On the assumption that the original title of this topic was not a pun, I have removed the extraneous 'r' from 'severn'

[bobm]

Bit of a fan of viaducts.  So I nominate Glenfinnan, Ribblehead and Balcombe.

Can supply photographic evidence if required.   

[grahame]

On the assumption that the original title of this topic was not a pun, I have removed the extraneous 'r' from 'severn'

Oh ... perhaps two wrongs make a right.  The Severn Wonders

Lynton to Lynmouth Railway
Retractable Bridge at Barry Docks
Severn Tunnel
Lydney Cliff Face / Half cutting
Victoria Bridge between Arley and Bewdley
Severn Bridge Junction Signal Box, Shrewsbury
Welshpool (Old) Stations Buildings

[eightonedee]

The big problem is trying to shortlist them. It is easy to find candidates - so here are seven more-

1 - The line between Dawlish and Teignmouth
2 - The Cornish mainline
3 - One unfairly overlooked - the viaduct into tunnel under the Thames Estuary on HS1^▸ (High Speed line 1 - St Pancras to Channel Tunnel). The only place you get some idea of it is if you glance over when on the Queen Elizabeth Bridge on the Dartford Crossing and see the viaduct loop gracefully down towards its tunnel.
4 -  The line from Strachcarron to Kyle of Lochalsh.
5 - The Maidenhead railway bridge
6 - The Cumbrian Coast line (Carnforth to Carlisle via Barrow).
7 - Killiecrankie Viaduct, and Highland mainline through the Killiecrankie Pass.

[Witham Bobby]

1 - Ribblehead Viaduct
2 - Severn Tunnel
3 - Paddington Station roof
4 - St Pancras Station, hotel and roof
5 - Barrow in Furness to Carlisle
6 - Exeter to Newton Abbot
7 - Baker Street Met station

[eightf48544]

Are we talking individual items or whole route.

I note Grahame listed Retractable Bridge at Barry Docks which I didn't know about until I looked it up on Wkipedia where I found.

"It is one of over 1,450 movable bridges that I have recorded for my historical website www.movablebridges.org.uk. There were at one time two of these bridges in Barry Docks, plus a swingbridge and a submersible bridge (floatable caisson), the latter to seal off the drydock parallel with the Lady Windsor lock."

So to continue the theme

Keadby Slide Bridge

This which is still in use. I have been past it slid back on a boat  and been trapped in in Scunthorpe yard on a railtour (Hertfordshire railtour Roxby music 23 jul 1994) when they couldn't get the FPLs^▸ (Facing Point Lock) locked (there are 4, 2 each end), after opening it one hot afternoon. The geometry is interesting It pulls back at rightangle to the canal but the tracks are skewed

Could add Severn Bridge Signal Box Shrewsbury.

How about cuttings Twyford, Tring and Edge Hill come to mind.

It seems I may be back.

[Jamsdad]

I still have my old Dads two volume "Railway Wonders of the World" books.Inspirational stuff from the 1930s.Sadly many of those wonders are long gone, but my list of current and surviving British wonders would certainly include:
Forth Bridge
Royal Albert Bridge Saltash;
Box Tunnel
St Pancras Station
The Elizabeth Line central section
The Post Office Underground Railway Mount Pleasant
Ribbleshead Viaduct

[JayMac]

Bit of a fan of viaducts.  So I nominate Glenfinnan, Ribblehead and Balcombe.

Can supply photographic evidence if required.   

+1 for Ribblehead.

[Mark A]

My nominations, in order:

1) The viaduct immediately north of Ravensfoot Junction
2) The viaduct once crossed by trains between Newton St Boswells and Earlston
3) The railway bridge crossing the Tweed upstream of Melrose
4) The rail viaduct immediately downstream of Drygrange bridge
5) The viaduct alongside the site of Trimontium
6) Drygrange viaduct
7) Leaderfoot viaduct

Mark

[grahame]

My nominations, in order:

Me thinks I have walked in to a Borders Railway campaign for re-oprning Tweedbank to Carlisle.   There are some magnificent viaducts.  But then listing them reminds us of all the heavy engineering to reinstate the line.

[CyclingSid]

How about cuttings Twyford, Tring and Edge Hill come to mind.

This reminded me of the engravings of JC Bourne https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cooke_Bourne who you could say recorded "The seven wonders of railways of the British Isles" in the Victorian era.

[Mark A]

Apologies, I was attempting to be arch, those seven are all the same viaduct, and luckily it's not one that the borders railway will need to reuse for its future through route.

Mark