Oaks viaduct

The Barnsley/Cudworth "Pull and Push" crossing the Dearne Valley via the Oaks viaduct

Oaks Viaduct was Britain's largest railway bridge that spanned the Dearne Valley, in South Yorkshire. The viaduct crossed Pontefract Road at Hoyle Mill, and spanned the Dearne Valley including the Dearne and Dove Canal and the Barnsley Coal Railway. It carried the Midland Railway's Cudworth-Barnsley branch, opened to goods traffic in 1869 and to passenger traffic in 1870. On the Barnsley side the line gave access to Barnsley Main Colliery. The line also served Monk Bretton Colliery and a stub at the Cudworth end is still used to deliver sand to Refearn's Glass Works at Monk Bretton.

The "Cudworth Flyer" local train from Barnsley, connecting with Midland line trains at Cudworth, passed over the viaduct.This service was withdrawn on 6 June 1958, although a goods train from Carlton Yard lingered on until closure of Court House Goods station.

In 1965, the bridge was deemed unsafe, leading to the withdrawal of all train services and the eventual demolition of the bridge. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

References

1. Railway Clearing House Maps
2. Ordnance Survey 7th Series 'Barnsley & Doncaster'
3. Wikipedia 'Barnsley Court House Station'
4. Withdrawal of Service notice, Barnsley-Cudworth, British Railways, 1958

Coordinates: 53°33′18″N 1°26′53″W / 53.555°N 1.448°W