Denby Dale Railway Viaduct in Denby Dale, England

The Denby Dale Railway Viaduct in northern England began as a cautionary tale in timber, according to Atlas Obscura. Completed in eighteen forty-seven to cross the River Dearne valley, the wooden trestle structure was so unstable that during construction a January storm toppled twenty-seven of its forty upright supports. The viaduct wobbled so severely with passing trains that water buckets placed on the bridge to guard against fire had to be refilled daily—water sloshed out from the movement alone. The timber, rarely maintained, started to decay within years. Local residents grew so afraid of crossing the structure that many chose to travel fifteen miles by poor roads to Wakefield rather than risk the journey south by rail. The company was eventually pressured, reportedly after an inspection by the famous engineer Robert Stephenson, to replace it. Work began in eighteen seventy-seven on a twenty-one arch stone viaduct, completed in eighteen eighty-four. The new bridge still stands today—a lasting reminder that not all shortcuts pay off.

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