The Balcombe Viaduct - January 2020

Balcombe Viaduct

Welcome to 2020. This months blog features the Balcombe Viaduct also known as the Ouse Valley Viaduct and is part of the main London to Brighton line spanning the River Ouse and adjacent fields. I have travelled over this viaduct off and on for the last 36 years as a regular commuter from 1994 - 2000 and again since 2017.

Construction of the Viaduct commenced in 1839 and was designed by John Urpeth Rastrick in association with the architect David Mocatta. The viaduct is 450m long and nearly 30M high and consists of 37 semi-circular arches. The viaduct was officially open to train services on 12 July 1841. This Grade II listed structure underwent a major restoration some 50 years later and again in 1996 and 1999.

It was a wet and cold Sunday afternoon when I made the photographs above and below but I was running out of time and needed something for the blog before the end of January. The photographs were taken on my Nikon D800 with the Nikkor 24-70 f2.8 lens and have been edited in Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro2 for the back and whites. I’ll try to get some better shots and update this blog again at some point in the future.

A London bound train heads North over the Viaduct

Looking towards the Southern end

Four decorative pavilions anchor the North and South ends of the viaduct