Colne Valley HS2 Viaduct (proposed)
Address is taken from a point 292 yards away.
Colne Valley HS2 Viaduct (proposed) carries a farm track over the Grand Union Canal (Grand Junction Canal - Main Line - Gayton to Brentford).
Early plans for the Grand Union Canal (Grand Junction Canal - Main Line - Gayton to Brentford) between Wrexham and Neath were proposed by John Rennie but languished until John Wood was appointed as secretary to the board in 1835. Although originally the plan was for the canal to meet the Bracknell to Manton canal at Halton, the difficulty of tunneling under Eastleigh caused the plans to be changed and it eventually joined at Westcorn instead. Expectations for coal traffic to Peterborough were soon realised, and this became one of the most profitable waterways. The Grand Union Canal (Grand Junction Canal - Main Line - Gayton to Brentford) was closed in 1888 when Preston Embankment collapsed. Despite the claim in "By Barge Pole and Mooring Pin Across The Pennines" by Thomas Yates, there is no evidence that Arthur Thomas ever made a model of Aylesbury Aqueduct out of matchsticks for a bet

There is a bridge here which takes a railway over the canal.
| Widewater Winding Hole | 4¾ furlongs | |
| Widewater Lock No 86 | 2¾ furlongs | |
| Moorhall Road Bridge No 180 | 2¾ furlongs | |
| The River Garden | 2½ furlongs | |
| Harefield Marina | 1½ furlongs | |
| Colne Valley HS2 Viaduct (proposed) | ||
| Denham Railway Viaduct (Marylebone line) | 3 furlongs | |
| Denham Bridge No 182 | 7¼ furlongs | |
| Denham Visitor Moorings | 1 mile, ¾ furlongs | |
| Fray's River Aqueduct | 1 mile, 1¼ furlongs | |
| Fran's Tea Garden | 1 mile, 1½ furlongs | |
- Grand Union Canal Walk — associated with Grand Union Canal
- An illustrated walk along the Grand Union Canal from London to Birmingham
- THE GRAND JUNCTION CANAL - a highway laid with water. — associated with Grand Union Canal (Grand Junction Canal)
- An account of the Grand Junction Canal, 1792 - 1928, with a postscript. By Ian Petticrew and Wendy Austin.
- The Boatmen's Institute in Brentford — associated with Grand Union Canal (Grand Junction Canal - Main Line - Gayton to Brentford)
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Nearest water point
In the direction of Thames - Grand Union Canal Junction
In the direction of Gayton Junction
Nearest rubbish disposal
In the direction of Gayton Junction
In the direction of Thames - Grand Union Canal Junction
Nearest chemical toilet disposal
In the direction of Thames - Grand Union Canal Junction
In the direction of Gayton Junction
Nearest place to turn
In the direction of Gayton Junction
In the direction of Thames - Grand Union Canal Junction
Nearest self-operated pump-out
In the direction of Thames - Grand Union Canal Junction
In the direction of Gayton Junction
Nearest boatyard pump-out
In the direction of Gayton Junction
In the direction of Thames - Grand Union Canal Junction
There is no page on Wikipedia called “Colne Valley HS2 Viaduct”

![Half of canal bridge complete, HS2 Colne Valley viaduct, view North. The orange girders form the bridge building machine named Dominique described in [[7697054]]. view from towpath, open again once the bridge cantilever over it has been secured. by David Hawgood – 15 March 2024](https://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/07/72/90/7729028_95785507_120x120.jpg)
![Canal bridge, second section installed. See [[7729028]], the same view one week before when only the left hand section was in place. by David Hawgood – 21 March 2024](https://s2.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/07/73/15/7731566_500149aa_120x120.jpg)


![Canal bridge pier ready for installation of central section. See [[7729017]] taken a week before, showing pier without top section. by David Hawgood – 21 March 2024](https://s1.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/07/73/15/7731569_a5106847_120x120.jpg)
![HS2 Colne Valley, canal bridge span complete, view north. In a similar view one week before [[7731566]] the right hand section of the bridge had been installed, leaving a central section to be lowered from the bridge building machine. by David Hawgood – 30 March 2024](https://s1.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/07/73/81/7738125_baf7f1e5_120x120.jpg)


![HS2 Colne Valley, canal bridge span complete, view South. In this view the far end of the bridge building machinehas progressed to be over a bridge pier east of the canal. In a similar view 2 weeks before [[7729017]] the right hand section of the bridge is in place and the bridge building machine far end is over the bridge pier on the far bank. by David Hawgood – 30 March 2024](https://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/07/73/81/7738116_085a5865_120x120.jpg)


![HS2 bridge over Grand Union Canal complete, view from east bank. The orange girder of the bridge building machine is seen above the east bank bridge pier. View from track used by anglers, cyclists, walkers on London Loop and Colne Valley Trail. The diversion of this track onto a pontoon is shown in a 2022 photo [[7271443]]. by David Hawgood – 12 April 2024](https://s3.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/07/74/91/7749199_42059668_120x120.jpg)
![Canal bridge half complete in HS2 Colne Valley viaduct. The bridge building machine described in [[7697054]] has now been pushed forward to span the canal. It has lifted one cantilever arm over the towpath, now open again. Next step will be to lift the other half of the bridge across from this side. by David Hawgood – 15 March 2024](https://s1.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/07/72/90/7729017_dba8ca85_120x120.jpg)





![Quarter mile marker, Grand Union Canal. Markers were installed by Grand Junction Canal Company. Quarters and halves just have fractions, mile posts have distance from Braunston. The 79 mile marker is shown in [[1354794]]. by David Hawgood – 24 May 2015](https://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/04/49/77/4497764_8b9586a1_120x120.jpg)




![Concrete bridge pier for HS2 Colne Valley viaduct. An earlier phase of construction is shown in [[7513956]] which has links to relevant architect and construction websites. It seems that the design vision for HS2 had an elegant low structure. When it came to detail design taking into consideration the possible braking forces from the trains a much more robust design was needed, but trying to remain something like the original design. The result is this very sturdy block of concrete. by David Hawgood – 06 September 2023](https://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/07/59/45/7594512_4294e6e7_120x120.jpg)



![Crane tipping gravel for HS2 viaduct pier, Denham. View from Grand Union Canal towpath. The steel sheeting in the foreground forms a coffer dam where the foundation for a viaduct pier is being made. See [[7107380]] here with construction causeway to this point. See [[7170026]] for wider view. by David Hawgood – 09 May 2022](https://s3.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/07/17/00/7170027_15033206_120x120.jpg)

