Camps Viaduct

About

The Almondell Viaduct, also known as the Camps Viaduct, is a viaduct spanning the gorge of the River Almond in East Calder, West Lothian, Scotland. It also crosses the Almond Feeder which takes water from the River Almond to supply the Union Canal at Lin's Mill near Ratho. The viaduct is built on nine high segmental brick arches atop rock-faced snecked rubble piers, and features rounded cut-waters in the river below.

History: This famous local landmark was built circa 1865-66 by J. & A. GRANGER, Esqs, Railway Contractors. It opened to rail traffic in 1867, and remained in operation until 1959 as a single track Mineral Railway bridge on the Camps Branch of the North British Railway. Its purpose was to supply the now-closed Coltness Iron Works with limestone from the Raw Camps and East Camps Quarries in East Calder, where extensive quarries, brickworks and limekilns were once located. It also supplied James "Paraffin" Young's Paraffin Light & Mineral Oil Company at Pumpherston with Oil Shale for processing into Paraffin. On the 13th February 1880, the viaduct was the site of a significant railway accident when an axle broke on one of the rear wagons, derailing two wagons and the...