Keighley & Worth Valley Railway: Stretch of much-loved heritage railway to close for three weeks for major £1.25m civil engineering project

The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, one of Britain’s leading heritage steam railways and one of Yorkshire’s top tourist attractions, will close part of their five-mile line for three weeks later this month to complete a major £1.25m civil engineering project.

It is being hailed as the railway’s biggest volunteer-led project.

The one-mile Haworth to Oxenhope section closed on Monday and will remain shut until Friday, September 20.

It involves the replacement of the 135-year-old Bridge 27. The bridge carries the KWVR over Bridgehouse Beck, one of the River Worth’s main tributaries.

Work on Bridge 27 was enabled when the K&WVR was awarded £1m from the Government’s Community Ownership Fund, which is part of the Levelling Up programme.

The current bridge was built in 1889 as part of a reconstruction of a previous bridge erected in 1867 for the opening of the line.

The existing bridge is two separate structures, but they both use the same foundations. One carries the line into Haworth Yard: this span received significant work in the late 1970s and is not part of the scheme.

The other structure that carries the K&WVR’s main line needed renewal due to the poor condition of the supporting abutments, mid-stream pier and its iron girders.

James Barlow, the Keighley & Worth Valley’s Chief Civil Engineer, said: “We had the replacement of Bridge 27 on our radar for more than10 years and have planned its renewal since around 2015.

“Our regular inspections picked up the deterioration that has to be expected in a structure of its age. Its replacement is the culmination of nearly 10 years of effort by our volunteer engineering team, supported by specialist designers and contractors.

“We have been working on the replacement design since 2019 with our designers Cass Hayward and our main contractor Beaver Bridges since July 2023.”

On September 1 the existing bridge was dismantled. The new 50-ton steel bridge deck has been fabricated by Beaver Bridges at their Wigan facility. The deck is now in Scunthorpe being painted in preparation for being lifted into position by a 450- ton Ainscough Crane on Saturday, September 14. Volunteers will then reinstate the track around the structure.

This is by far the largest civil engineering project ever undertaken by the K&WVR, with volunteers leading the project and undertaking a significant amount of the site works supported by our designers, contractors and equipment suppliers.

On Saturday, September 21 the railway will reopen with steam services operating along the full length of the line between Keighley and Oxenhope.