Railway viaduct that carried the Halesowen to Longbridge railway until it was dismantled in 1964
Dowery Dell ViaductDowery Dell Viaduct showing one pierDowery Dell Viaduct with steam train passing towards Longbridge
Dowery Dell, between Rubery and Halesowen in Worcestershire, was a 234 yards (214 m), nine span lattice steel, single-track railway viaduct that carried the Halesowen to Longbridge railway. A 10 mph speed limit was in operation.[1] The line opened in 1883. Trains ran until 1964 and the viaduct was dismantled in 1965.[2]
Similar structures
The viaduct was remarkable in being a rare example of a lattice girder supported on trestles, a combination of which there may have been only one other example in Britain, at Bennerley Viaduct (extant), though in that instance the trestles are not as high.
On other well-known trestle-supported viaducts, such as Meldon, Belah, and Crumlin, the superstructure is not a lattice, being typically a Warren truss; and other lattice girders are low structures supported typically on iron caissons, such as Kew Railway Bridge.
Remains
A walk along the footpath that follows the railway route reveals the brick pillar bases that remain in the dell.
References
^Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2007). Stourbridge to Wolverhampton. Midhurst, West Sussex: Middleton Press. pp. 61–62. ISBN9781906008161.
