Heritage railway appeal to restore historic viaduct

A heritage railway has launched a fundraising appeal to restore an 11-arch viaduct in Nottinghamshire.

The Great Central Railway Nottingham (GCRN) said the Stanford Viaduct, which carries a line 100ft (30m) above the River Soar at the Nottinghamshire/Leicestershire border, had been vandalised in recent years.

The volunteer-run charity said bricks had been knocked down and stolen, heavy coping stones pushed into the valley and there was "graffiti all over".

Chairman Andy Fillingham said they hoped to raise £49,000 to repair and clean the bridge, using money from its Forward Fund scheme - where people donate small regular contributions for its projects.

The Great Central Main Line was closed by British Rail in the 1960s, but the stretch between Ruddington, in Nottinghamshire, and Loughborough, in Leicestershire, was restored by volunteers in the 1990s and now operates as a heritage railway.

The viaduct, located between Rushcliffe Halt and Loughborough Junction stations, was built in the late 1890s and opened in 1899.

Fillingham said: "We had a full survey carried out on the viaduct last year.

"The good news is, it's fundamentally sound.

"There are some repairs we want to carry out, the biggest of which is rebuilding a wall which was demolished by vandals.

"Not only were bricks stolen, huge coping stones were pushed into the valley below.

"This means that there's now a speed restriction on the viaduct to 10 miles an hour."

He said it was also important to remove graffiti from the structure, adding: "We want to make it spick and span for passengers and spectators, because it defines the local landscape.

"We want to make sure it gives good service for the next century."

Last month, the world-famous Flying Scotsman returned to the railway line, after more than 70 years, to haul passenger services.

Fillingham said: "The visit of Flying Scotsman has proved a catalyst.

"We know the viaduct is a scenic high point of our 20-mile return journey.

"Already we've raised thousands of pounds towards the work, thanks to the incredible interest we've had from the locomotive visiting."

He said a repair programme had been devised and people could donate through the railway's charity, East Midlands Transport Heritage Trust.

"We need to raise £49,000, but we'll use our Forward Fund," he said.

"People give regular contributions for matters on the main line and the appeal at the moment will focus on raising money for the viaduct."

"Once we've got the money, we can get the work completed by the end of this year," he added.

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