| RUTLAND, NENE VALLEY, & WELLAND VALLEY RAILWAYS. |
| RAILWAYS IN RUTLAND: (That ran along the River Welland and River Nene Valleys). The River Welland west of Stamford runs through a valley which is comparatively flat compared with the surrounding countryside, and was an ideal location to build railway lines in 1844. The original Railway line was to Leicester, via Melton Mowbray and Oakham which left the Welland Valley at South Luffenham (Midland Railway) and had to rise up to get over the hills, although it then ran along the River Chatter Valley, which further downstream joins the Welland. A spur branched off at North Luffenham (LNWR) which was built in 1844, and continued along the Welland Valley to Rugby (now disused). North of Harringworth, a line was later built that went across the Harringworth Viaduct and across the Welland Valley and through a tunnel at Glaston and joined Oakham with Corby. There was also a Railway Line that followed the Nene Valley this was the Northampton to Peterborough Railway Line, now only the line nearer Peterborough exists, and is owned by NVR (Nene Valley Railway), now terminating at Yarwell. Later, it became apparent that the two river valley railway lines would need to be linked together, to form an alternative and quicker route to Peterborough. The LNWR built and opened this line via Wakeley and Barrowden, which opened in 1859, and went across the Welland on a stone bridge called 'Eight Arches'. A further link was constructed to take the Stamford line to Corby, and was undertaken by constructing the Harringworth Viaduct (Still in existence - see also below). The line over the viaduct went to Corby, and the Peterborough line travelled via Wakeley, Kings Cliffe and Nassington to Wansford.(although this railway line is now disused, there is still evidence of cuttings and embankments to the west of Nassington). Another railway line was constructed prior to 1876 from beside the Welland at Stamford (now no longer in use)to a location near the Nene at Wansford where it joined the Northampton Line from Peterborough at Wansford Station (now owned by NVR). When it left Stamford in ran in tandem with the current Stamford to Peterborough line and the River Welland, crossing over the current line south of Uffington and then heading beside Barnack to Wansford. The Manton Tunnel was constructed between 1946 and 1947, by 'Navvies' (Railway Construction Engineers, and remained as a goods line only until 1848, when it became a passenger line. |
| HARRINGWORTH VIADUCT. One of the great engineering achievements of the day was the construction of the Viaduct across the Welland Valley, and the Glaston Tunnel just to the north (See picture of Viaduct over the Welland) The viaduct at 1286 feet long is regarded as being the longest viaduct in the United Kingdom. It has 82 arches constructed of brick, and is 40 feet between the arches. It is 24 feet wide, and at it's highest point it is 69 feet tall. The viaduct's construction was commenced in 1876. 20,000 tons of concrete were used in the foundations, and its construction involved 19,000 cubit feet of stone, and 16,000,000 bricks, and was completed in 1878. It employed many Railway Construction Engineers, who were called 'Navvies', who were housed in a camp known as 'Cyprus'. The construction of the tunnel was also a great engineering achievement, and both claimed many lives during their construction. It is recorded that three of the fatalities were Levi Spencer, John Stone and John Pickwick, who fell in separate incidents down air shafts in the tunnel a drop of 140 feet (twice the height of the viaduct) |
| STAMFORD TO ESSENDINE LINE This commenced at Stamford and went through the village of Ryhall, and joined the GNR Kings Cross to York Line at Essendine, before continuing to Bourne (in Lincolnshire) and beyond. This line was used by the S and E R railway company. It was originally intended that the GNR route would go through Stamford, as the route was more populous. but eventually it skirted the western edge of the Fens and went through Peterborough. Once this route was decided, their was controversy as to whether the Stamford link should run from Tallington, or Essendine, and it was decided that Essendine was the better alternative, as it was closer to Stamford, than Tallington. The GNR line was known as the 'Fen Line', and the Stamford link from Bourne was known as the 'Town Line'. The GNR line was completed in 1911. |
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| C. HAMILTON ELLIS Ellis was one of the great artists of the steam era, and there are books of his illustrations. Below is a ode to Ellis. (See copy of Ellis's signature) Hail! Poet-Artist of the Age of Steam! Engines and gaslit stations are your theme. You living landscapes answer to the thrills. Of Long-drawn monsters winding thought the hills - By John Betjeman |