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Report - - Kilton Culvert, May 2015 | UK Draining Forum | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Kilton Culvert, May 2015

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Mutagen

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
The history

Another relic of the East Cleveland love affair with ironstone, Kilton Culvert only came into being due to an engineering error and a fairly radical solution to said error in 1911.

Kilton Beck flows through the bottom of a steep-sided valley from the higher moors south of Skinningrove and, when the ironstone boom was at its peak, was spanned by a long, curved viaduct comprising eleven stone piers, thirteen iron spans and two buttresses at either end.

KiltonViaduct.jpg


This archive shot is looking south (the old spoil heaps of Liverton Mines are in the left background). This area was riddled with ironstone mines (some based on drifts, some on deep shafts) and as a result of some shallow mining in the vicinity of the viaduct, the viaduct began to suffer from subsidence in the first decade of the twentieth century. In 1911, a two-year project was begun to infill the viaduct with (allegedly) 720,000 tonnes of mining spoil from the surrounding mines and essentially bury the entire structure in shale and rock.

loftus(c1912)viaduct2.jpg


Thus began the burial. This didn't go well and uneven tipping caused further stress to the stone piers supporting the track - this caused further delays and the trackbed was eventually shifted from its original course once the infilling had been completed in 1913.

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzEJr9bN-d8nQSMLzO30dKaB_3snS-4zUXWu4ZHNFQWPDNBfTj.jpg


Having lived in this area since I was a kid, I knew of Kilton Viaduct but anyone passing who saw the huge embankment that now curves across the valley would be none the wiser.

Before the tipping could begin however, a culvert to contain Kilton Beck had to be constructed in the valley bottom:


scn_0211.jpg


The explore

There's not a huge amount to the culvert really - it's about the same length as Ravenscar Tunnel, reinforced concrete for the base of the southern half, bedrock for the base of the northern section and has a very slight dogleg between its two portals.

As you make your way down to the northern portal, you can see the iron-stained water leaching from the old mine workings:

IMG_9965.jpg

There is also some fairly recent flood barrier work downstream to protect the fragile bridges in Skinningrove:

IMG_9967.jpg

Northern portal:

IMG_9969.jpg


Inside towards the dogleg:

IMG_9975.jpg


The culvert is, for the most part, in damn good nick considering it's over a hundred years old, although there are sections where the rebar is coming through the concrete and another where water is pissing in through a fairly severe crack in the wall:

IMG_9980.jpg


IMG_9982.jpg


Looking back towards the northern portal:

IMG_9979.jpg


Another internal shot:

IMG_9986.jpg


Looking back at the south portal from Kilton Beck:

IMG_9988.jpg


Climbing back up the steep (steep!) spoil bank to the railway line, you can see the course of the old curved viaduct in the modern freight line:

IMG_9989_90_91_tonemapped.jpg


Nice quick hour's explore, five minutes from home! Thanks for reading.
 

ACID- REFLUX

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
:thumbWhat no fear of Death by suffocation or rock falls put have you lost your nerve lol

Nice report as per usual and good shots

Another nice one from the Ironstone eta loads more to come ;)
 

Mutagen

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
The scariest part was having to walk through the old Liverton Mines site with loads of feral kids and dodgy blokes doing unspeakable things to tethered ponies .... :eek:

It was nice to get something done that didn't leave me with the old 5p/50p starfish scenario.
 

ACID- REFLUX

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
The scariest part was having to walk through the old Liverton Mines site with loads of feral kids and dodgy blokes doing unspeakable things to tethered ponies .... :eek:

It was nice to get something done that didn't leave me with the old 5p/50p starfish scenario.

Yeah but you love the danger ....must do wanting Port Mulgrave lol
 

huey

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Proper nice report with a good history and cracking pics, great job, enjoyed this a lot.
 

dave

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Yet more memories of my time exploring this area it must be 25 years since I had a wander through the culvert. Thanks for posting this great pics and history too, unlike you I am not from the area though my home town is the Boro so it was almost on my door step mind like you though I also have a love affair with this fascinating region. Have you checked out the Ayton mines not sure if there still doable.
 

Mutagen

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Yet more memories of my time exploring this area it must be 25 years since I had a wander through the culvert. Thanks for posting this great pics and history too, unlike you I am not from the area though my home town is the Boro so it was almost on my door step mind like you though I also have a love affair with this fascinating region. Have you checked out the Ayton mines not sure if there still doable.
The Ayton mines plus Coate Moor are on my hitlist @dave - just need to find some time to get over there (and find the ways in!).
 
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