Whitrope Culvert

Circa 1860 for the North British Railway. Former railway tunnel with round-arched entrance portals to N and S; skew-arch viaduct crossing road with reversed S-plan and diagonal wing walls and circular drainage culvert set within brick wing walls. Rock-faced ashlar wing walls with red engineering brick terraces to rear; brick lined tunnel. Red engineering brick viaduct and culvert inset into earth embankment.

TUNNEL:

S ELEVATION: to centre, arched tunnel entrance with ashlar voussoirs, projecting band course and plain spandrels, parapet inset into hillside. To right, vast abutment of red engineering brick (comprising of irregular terraces holding hillside back) and inset bricks laid to form sloped wall, all with rock-faced ashlar supporting wall to ground with pain coping. To left, lesser abutment of similar style to that on right.

N ELEVATION: to centre, arched tunnel entrance with ashlar voussoirs, projecting band course and plain spandrels, parapet inset into hillside. To left and right, small brick retaining abutments inset into hillside.

INTERIOR: brick lined tunnel with ballast base (sleepers and track removed); drainpipes for drainage system lead to under ballast drainage channel.

VIADUCT: single segmental-arched skewed viaduct set across road, each elevation identical (see below).

E AND W ELEVATIONS: to right, large curved retaining wall (with slightly projecting plain coping) advancing and descending in height. To centre, diagonally set arch with flush 4-brick banded voussoirs and slightly projecting parapet with a heightened straight section (following the line of the embankment) carrying track bed over arch. To left, further diagonally set retaining wall (with slightly projecting copes) advancing from embankment. Drainage holes (missing bricks at regular intervals in structure) ensure track and retaining wall stability. Open ironwork fence flanks former viaduct track bed.

CULVERT: to north, large round brick lined drainage pipe with flush 3-brick banded voussoirs with rock-faced band to exterior, all set within plain brick spandrelled wall with projecting sloped brick wing walls advancing at flanks; exiting on S side of railway embankment.