With
the dawn of the railway age, a new era of construction began.
This viaduct was constructed in 1852 and contains about
seven million bricks. It's purpose was to carry railway
traffic across the River Tees at Yarm and in it's time,
was one of the greatest engineering works ever constructed.
Incidentally, did you know that Yarm holds a place in history
for being the birthplace of public railways? A meeting was
held in the George and Dragon Pub there in 1820, which led
to the first public railway in the world, between the towns
of Stockton and Darlington.
In
the background can be seen Yarm bridge, which dates from
1400, at one time the lowest bridging point of the River
Tees and the limit of the tidal section. Beyond that, you
can see Egglescliffe Church
on the hill.