Can’t Believe it’s Gone! Abandoned Bela Viaduct, Arnside - Sandside

Exploring the area of Arnside and Sandside looking at a great feat of Victorian ingenuity, with iconic pillars of Arnside's viaduct that has spanned the River Kent for more than 150 years. Connected the industrial port of Barrow to towns and major cities around.

Book reference: Lost Railways of Cumbria by Gordon Suggitt: https://amzn.to/328zGKs

This old structure underwent major repairs and refurbishment, including the complete replacement of the rail deck in 2011 and similar work was carried out on the nearby Leven Estuary viaduct in the spring of 2006.

From Arnside the was a short branch line to Sandside Station over Bela Viaduct to Haversham Station and Hincaster Junction on the West Coast Main Line once diverged from the line here, which carried a Grange-over-Sands to Kendal local service from its opening in 1876 until 1942.

In July 1922, a Furness Railway service ran five times per day in each direction on weekdays. The branch was also used by mineral trains from County Durham to the Barrow-in-Furness area, allowing them to avoid having to reverse direction at the busy junction at Carnforth.

The railway was also largely responsible for the growth of Sandside quarry, which provided significant employment in the parish. The limestone was sold for construction purposes throughout the UK, including the foundations for Blackpool Promenade.

Local freight traffic continued as far as Sandside until final closure of the line in 1972.

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