Copley Railway Viaduct (The Lesser Known One)

Copley Railway Viaduct, its official title being MVN2/160 or Copley Bottom Bridge is a railway crossing over the River Calder. The bridge is hidden away at the bottom end of Old Rishworthians Sports Ground and North Dean Woods to the east side of the village of Copley, West Yorkshire.

Opened in August 1840 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway the bridge once carried the main railway traffic through the Calder Valley until the nearby lines at Milner Royd and Greetland Junctions were built to carry rail traffic in the direction of Halifax. The line over the bridge was subject to closure plans during the late 1970's after the removal of Brighouse (Closed 1970) and Elland (closed 1962) Stations, but continued as a diversionary route for passenger trains and carried freight only traffic during this period. until the reopening of Brighouse Station in 2000 saw passenger traffic crossing the bridge regularly again. The open nature of the North Dean Side of the viaduct allows great opportunities to photograph the steam trains that pass over the bridge quite often, but if seeking out this chance please remember to always keep a safe distance away from the tracks, I normally stay well within the tree line.

These pictures were taken using a Nikon d3300 SLR on the 25 February 2019. They can also be seen full size, resolution and un-watermarked on Clickasnap.

The Copley side of the viaduct

Taken on the North Dean side of the bridge, looking in the
direction of Copley.

The bridge again taken from the North Dean side.

Taken from the far end of Old Rishworthians sports ground.

The top of the bridge, the open nature of the track at the bottom of North
Dean Woods allows great access for taking pictures of trains passing.
Please be aware of a safety when near the lines, this is level with the tree
line which i consider a safe distance from the track. although when
trains are approaching I stand much further back than this.

The River Calder flows underneath the bridge,

The River Calder, taken looking towards Copley from underneath
the viaduct.

Again in the direction of Copley but from the other side of the bridge.

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All the pictures remain the copyright of Colin Green.