History
Dinting viaduct was constructed in the early 1840s by The Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway, as the line was build from Manchester. Having reached Broadbottom by December 1842, the viaduct at Dinting took a further two years to be completed, with the first train passing over on 8 August 1844.
There were originally sixteen arches. Five of these were constructed of Baltic timbers each spanning 125 feet, with the rest built of stone. The wooden arches stood 121 feet from the river bed.
On 18 September 1855, a train had been halted on the viaduct by signals to let another train pass. This caused some of the passengers to think they had arrived at Hadfield station. Three passengers - two men and a woman - left the train, stepping on to the low parapet of the viaduct, and fell to their deaths. Two were killed instantly, and the third died within an hour.
By 1856, the level of rail traffic and the weight of the trains had increased so much that the existing timber viaducts were considered inadequate, and in 1859 wrought-iron girders were installed to replace the timber arches.
Over the next 60 years, the level of traffic increased yet further, partly due to the increased use of heavy coal trains, so that the 1859 works became insufficient to deal with the weight. Further strengthening took place between 1918 and 1920, with seven brick strengthening piers installed at irregular intervals (to avoid the road and river below) and some of the stone arches filled in with bricks for added support. This strengthening work cost over £41,000 (£2m in today's money).
In 2012/13, the viaduct was refurbished by Network Rail, with the girders strengthened, new bearings installed, and further repairs made. The repairs cost £6.4m, with the viaduct repainted olive green once the work was finished.
The cache
You are looking for a small clip-lock box. Please be careful, as there is a fairly steep slope down to the river here. You'll need to bring your own pen, as there isn't one in the cache, and you do need to sign the log to claim the find.