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North Yorkshire Moors Railway bridge work firmly on track
A £650,000 project to restore an historic bridge is now on track after a major part of the 36-tonne structure was lowered into place.
The brand new 28m long steel girder which will form the main structure of Bridge 30 on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) between Goathland and Grosmont, was lifted into place by a crane on Thursday afternoon.
Nigel Trotter, the civil engineer overseeing the task to restore the bridge, together with workmen and railway enthusiasts, waited with baited breath for it to be lowered onto its new beams.
The steel for it was made by Corus in Scotland and the new bridge was produced in Chepstow before finally being transported to the site by rail.
Due to its difficult location in the North York Moors National Park, access was extremely restricted and it was a painstaking process getting the new bridge to the track level.
The old crossing was constructed in 1865 and at 145 years old, it was becoming unsafe for working use, meaning the railway could not run trains over it.
The old wrought-iron and cast-iron structure has been sold for scrap to TJ Thompson of Stockton, the company that made the Princess Diana Memorial Gates, situated in London.
The cost of the new bridge is close to almost 750,000 with North Yorkshire County Council giving 300,000 to the campaign.
More funds were raised with the help of the NYMR's 1m Bridge and Wheels Appeal.
Mr Trotter told the Whitby Gazette: "In theory, it is a perfect fit. One end will be lowered into place first, then the other end can be slotted in.
"The bearings do have some slack in them at this point so there is a margin for error.
"Once final adjustments have been made, 27 concrete units will be placed on top of the steel and joined together with more concrete. Then we can re-lay the track and hopefully have trains running by 27 March."
Phil Bustard, marketing and external affairs manager for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, added: "The first stage of this process went off without a hitch and the project is on track."
Both Mr Trotter and Mr Bustard are extremely pleased with the progress of the construction of the bridge and look forward to re-opening the popular tourist railway for the summer season.
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Weather for Whitby
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -5 C to 6 C
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Wind direction: South east
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