The section of line through Yarm to Eaglescliffe Junction was formally started in July 1847, but work on the viaduct did not commence until 1849. The structure opened up to traffic on 15 May 1852 and it was the last work completed by Grainger as he died two months later in a railway accident in Stockton-on-Tees. The viaduct is noted for its height above the town of Yarm and is variously described as being "towering", "very beautiful" and "great". One local writer described the viaduct as being "acknowledged as the finest in the kingdom". Due to its height and length, when viewing the town from afar the viaduct is a dominating structure across the town. The line that the viaduct is on carries passenger services for Grand Central and TransPennine Express as well as a variety of freight traffic to and from the north east. The structure was strengthened in some of its spans with extra bricks on the inside of the arches and stabilisation works undertaken in 2001 due to subsidence, lessened the vibrations felt by property owners below the viaduct either significantly or completely.
Structure
The viaduct extends for over in a north/south direction over the town of Yarm and across the River Tees. It consists of 43 arches; 41 of them are span and are constructed of 7.5 million red bricks. The other two arches are constructed from stone and are across with one pier standing in the river. The two spans across the river are composed of of stone and are skewed across the river by 20 degrees. On the downstream side of the viaduct is a large plaque set into the stone section of where the bridge spans the river. This commemorates the engineers and contractors on the project. Workers on the structure were paid £1 per day with the total cost of the bridge being £44,500 by its completion in 1852. A system of pulleys worked by teams of horses allowed the raw materials to be brought onto the site.
Incidents
In 1855, when Yarm railway station was at the northern end of the viaduct, a train travelling south overshot the station in the darkness and bad weather. A passenger alighted from a carriage and fell to his death.
In 1997, a train of ballast became partially derailed in Eaglescliffe as it was heading south. When it travelled over the viaduct, loose ballast from the derailed wagon was thrown onto the properties below the viaduct.
