THIS splendid print, believed to be 150 years old, is one of the stars of Saturday’s Darlington Book Fair. It shows Yarm Viaduct, which opened on May 15, 1852, and is the possessor of some remarkable statistics.

It has 43 arches, 41 of which are built of brick and two of which are of stone and are set at a 20 degree skew to cross the Tees. About 7.5m bricks and 139,000 cubic feet of stone were used in its £44,500 construction.

It is 2,280ft long (690 metres) and is 65ft above the river.

It was designed by Thomas Grainger, of Edinburgh, who was the chief engineer on the Leeds Northern Railway. The railway joined Leeds with Stockton via Harrogate and Thirsk.

The southern stretch was completed first, with Grainger responsible for the two-mile long Bramhope Tunnel, and the 21-arch Arthington Viaduct across the Wharfe Valley near Harrogate.

The print, which appears to have been made to commemorate the opening of the line, shows at least two of the three windmills that then dominated the skyline around Yarm.

Also visible is Bishop Walter Skirlaw’s bridge, built in 1400 which still carries traffic into the town.

As the boats on the river suggest, Yarm was once a thriving seaport – Skirlaw’s bridge marked the furthest reach of the tidal flow up the Tees.

The book fair is in Darlington Sixth Form College on Vane Terrace on Saturday from 10am until 4pm.