Works on a historic viaduct earned a railway company a spot as a finalist for a national award.

Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) was shortlisted for the restoration works on Stanway Viaduct at the New Civil Engineer (NCE) awards on Monday, July 8 in London.

The railway earned its nomination in the 'Historic Bridges' category in competition after being shortlisted from a whopping 135 entries.

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The award ceremony, celebrating a range of top civil engineering achievements, commended GWSR's efforts on Phase One of the viaduct's deck waterproofing project.

This operation, also involving the emergency stabilisation of the viaduct's parapets, cost under £1 million, starkly contrasting some other similar projects, like the Barmouth Railway Bridge renewal that reached an impressive £30 million.

The main contractors for the project were Walsh Construction and consultant David Symonds Associates.

The winner of this award category, however, was the £10.5 million restoration of the Union Chain Bridge over the River Tweed near Berwick-upon-Tweed.

This structure, first constructed in 1820, held the title of being the longest wrought iron suspension bridge on the planet.

Dr Graham Plant, the GWSR's civil engineering director, said: "It was a real honour to attend the NCE Awards ceremony in London at the invitation of our contractor.

“I believe we were shortlisted given the imaginative way we tackled the unexpected failure of the parapets and I’m deeply grateful for the collaborative way we all worked together.

"I think we did very well to be finalists given that most of the other entries were multi-million pound projects.

"The winning entry was, in my view, very well deserved and I offer them my sincere congratulations."

Dr Plant added: “We have completed phase one of the historic Stanway Viaduct project.

"This involved waterproofing the deck and stabilising the parapets, which were discovered to have failed while the waterproofing work was underway.

"Phase two involves repairing brickwork damaged by water ingress and is planned to start next year, subject to funding and taking up to three years to complete.”

The judging panel commented: "This project showcased the agile skill set of the full team involved and is a really effective example of the power of good project management.”