Parkhead Viaduct
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Parkhead Viaduct is a viaduct located in Dudley, West Midlands, England. The original viaduct was a wooden structure erected in 1850 to carry the new Stourbridge to Walsall railway over Parkhead Locks near to the southern mouth of the Dudley Tunnel. The current brick viaduct was built in 1880 and it is believed that the original wooden structure is still incased within its successor.
The last passenger train crossed Parkhead Viaduct in 1964 but it remained open to goods trains until 1993, when the section of the railway between Walsall and Brierley Hill was closed. The section of track over Parkhead Viaduct was removed in 1999 due to the construction of a new road bridge over the line approximately 100 yards away, but the structure of the viaduct is still very much intact.
Parkhead Viaduct is a listed structure, so its distinctive arches are to be retained when the overhead deck is replaced in 2008 in preparation for the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill extension to the Midland Metro, which is planned to open in 2011.
