Willington, Willington Viaduct

Willington Viaduct, on the North Eastern Railway, Tynemouth Branch (HER ref. 1186), was ompleted for the Newcastle and North Shields Railway in 1839, by John and Benjamin Green of Newcastle. The viaduct was unusual in being of laminated timber arch construction. It has seven spans of up to 128 feet to the centers; the track height is 82 feet above the foundations. The original arches consisted of 14 layers of timber measuitng 22 feet x 3.5 feet held by trenails, the viaduct being built by Messrs Robson. The timber arches were replaced with iron in 1869, the contractors being the Weardale Iron and Coal Company. LISTED GRADE 2