A viaduct is a structure designed to carry a road or railway over water or difficult terrain of some kind. The word comes from Latin and literally means "leading a way", or taking a road forward by the straightest or shortest path possible. The viaduct literally carries the road or railway straight over a feature in the landscape to save miles of detouring around. The road rides along the top of a number of regularly spaced arches that carry the weight evenly. This method is practical when there is no requirement for shipping or other forms of transport to pass under the road through a large open span. In such cases, engineers prefer to use bridges which can be more costly and complicated to construct.
Because they involve a large number of regularly spaced arches, viaducts can look extremely beautiful as they cross some spectacular feature in the scenery. For this reason, viaducts often feature in films. One of the most famous viaducts in Britain is at Ribblehead in Yorkshire. This is known to Harry Potter fans the world over as the viaduct that the Hogwarts train crosses on its way from London to Hogwarts. The 24 massive stone arches of the Ribblehead Viaduct have provided the backdrop for several hair-raising escapades for Harry and his friends as they literally fly above the floor of the valley 32 metres below!
The history behind the Ribblehead Viaduct is just as alarming as the role it plays in the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. So many workmen died during the construction of the Ribblehead Viaduct in the 19th century that the Settle Railroad company paid for an extension to the local graveyard to bury all the workers that died there! But not all workers died because of the dangers they faced during their building work high above the moorland. Many died as a result of illness, disease or injuries received during vicious bouts of fighting that occasionally sprang up in the labour camp.
Do you know the British words for these?
Elevator, cookie, apartment, trunk, parking lot, fries, potato chips, (baby) pacifier, garbage collector, main street, truck, math, sidewalk, gas, eraser.
1282 hits
Just English Sdn Bhd