The Ribblehead Viaduct or Batty Moss Viaduct carries the Settle–Carlisle Railway across Batty Moss in the valley of the River Ribble at Ribblehead, in North Yorkshire, England.
The viaduct was built by the Midland Railway between1869 and 1876. Work was performed by a large workforce of up to 2,300 men, the majority of whom lived onsite in shanty towns set up near its base. Over 100 men lost their lives during the construction process. The Settle to Carlisle line holds the destinction of being the last main railway in Britain to be constructed primarily via manual labour.
During the 1980s, British Rail, the viaduct’s then owner, proposed the closure of the Settle to Carlisle line. Following substancial lobbying against the line's closure, it was announced that the route would be retained.
Since the 1980s, Ribblehead Viaduct has been subject to multiple repair programmes and restoration efforts, during which the lines across it were relaid as a single track. The land underneath and around the viaduct is a scheduled ancient monument; the remains of the construction camp and navvy settlements (Batty Wife Hole, Sebastopol, and Belgravia) are located there.
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Date: 15/05/2018
Location: Ribblehead, North Yorkshire
Photographer: Ron Leggat ARPS