‘Ribblehead viaduct is built of stone from nearby quarries. Bricks were used for the twenty-four arches. They were made in nearby works. One and a half million bricks were needed for the viaduct. These local bricks were of poor quality and could not resist the freezing cold winters. They were replaced within forty years. It seems likely that the original builders cut corners to reduce costs. Water got inside the stone structure, eroding the mortar. This caused the huge stone blocks to move and crack under the enormous pressure. In 1983 British Railways decided to close the Settle – Carlisle Railway. One of the reasons given was the cost of repairing Ribblehead Viaduct. There was an outcry and a campaign started to save the railway. Campaigners believed the cost of repairs had been exaggerated. In 1989 parliament intervened for a second time. It said ‘no’ to closure. So work began to restore the viaduct. The final cost was £3million, a fraction of the original estimate. Today the Viaduct stands as a memorial to the nineteenth century navvies and the twentieth century engineers’. [Settle Folly Exhibition picture with Settle Station feature board caption 2023]
