The bridge to carry the Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway over the valley at Staithes was originally built in 1875 but didn’t open to traffic until 1883. Extra braces were added in light of the Tay Bridge disaster in 1879.
A bell was installed on the bridge to warn of high winds when trains could not cross.
The viaduct was demolished in 1960 following the closure of the line, the northern abutment can still be seen.
As I have said before, it was a shame that the viaducts on the Loftus to Whitby line (5 in total) were all made of tubular steel. If they had been made of stone, like the ones at Larpool and Slapewath, they would undoubetdly be still standing today.
It would be fun riding these old routes
It’s funny you mention the bell over the Staithes viaduct as a good friend of mine who is an antique dealer.had the sign for sale in his shop he offered it to meand asked if I wanted to buy it I said no. He told me the story behind the ringing of bells when high winds this was earlier this year he’s a local chap not to far from the area
Does he still have it Chris? I would definitely be interested.