Restoration of the Ouse Valley Viaduct

Ouse Valley Viaduct is located on the London to Brighton mainline in the parish of Balcombe, just north of Haywards Heath in West Sussex . It carries the two track railway across a valley and the River Ouse. The viaduct has 37 circular arches, is 492 yards in length and 92 feet high. It is known for its pierced piers, ornate limestone parapets and eight pavilions . The viaduct was designed by the London and Brighton Railway's Engineer. John Rastrick, who was one of the three judges at the Rainhill trials on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The ornamental parapets and pavilions are credited to the architect David Mocatta. Work on the viaduct started in 1839 and it opened for traffic in 1841 with one line in use and was completed with its parapets and pavilions in 1842. The limestone for the parapets and pavilions was shipped over from Caen in Normandy to Newhaven and then brought up the River Ouse in barges to a wharf in the vicinity of the viaduct.