When the Settle & Carlisle line was being built, the traversing of Dandry Mire was to have been by use of an embankment, but the bog swallowed all of the material poured into it, so a trench was dug instead, and a viaduct constructed.

[2][3] In 1873, it was reported that over 250,000 cubic yards (190,000 m3) of material had been poured into the bog, which had just swallowed it all up, displacing the peat, so much so, that it formed ridges either side of the proposed embankment to a height of nearly 15 feet (4.6 m).

[5] John Sanders, the main architect for the structures on the line, designed a viaduct, and J S Crossley was the chief engineer during the build period.

[24][8] The south side of the A684 road by Moorcock Inn is the site of the Dandry Mire camp, where stone-masons and navvies associated with constructing the viaduct (and other structures on this stretch of line) were housed.

[29][30] The viaduct was grade II listed in June 1984,[19] and is recognised as being a prominent landmark at the head of Garsdale, where the watershed divides between the Rivers Clough, Eden and Ure.