Visited with Catullus. We started off with the western tunnel and rat hole (up empty carriage line). Catullus has since been back there and has found that the hatch down to the rat tunnel from the western horse tunnel has been padlocked.
After acquiring a dinghy, we decided to give the eastern horse tunnels (aka Camden Catacombs) a visit. It was a nice day and Camden was pretty busy so we got a few strange looks as we paddled down the canal.
There is currently work going on in the eastern horse tunnels. There was lighting and workers’ stuff down there and breeze block walls have been built between the horse tunnels and what looked like the basement of a neighbouring building.
History:
Tunnels were built under Camden Goods Yard in 1854-56 so that horses working in the goods yard could make their way safely beneath the tracks to and from their stables (this is the eastern horse tunnel). The eastern tunnel is Grade II listed. At 30 Oval Road the developer, Mandrake Properties, has had approval to demolish the staircase leading from the horse tunnel to ground level as part of a new office and housing development, and to block up the tunnels.
A second tunnel (the western tunnel) was built to connect with Allsop's stables. The western tunnel has shaft access to the rat hole (up empty carriage line). The up empty carriage line runs from just south of Primrose Hill Tunnel where it used to connect to the up slow Broad Street line which in turn connected to the up slow Euston line just prior to the Central Tunnel Mouth.
The Rat Hole Tunnel
The Eastern Horse Tunnels
After acquiring a dinghy, we decided to give the eastern horse tunnels (aka Camden Catacombs) a visit. It was a nice day and Camden was pretty busy so we got a few strange looks as we paddled down the canal.
There is currently work going on in the eastern horse tunnels. There was lighting and workers’ stuff down there and breeze block walls have been built between the horse tunnels and what looked like the basement of a neighbouring building.
History:
Tunnels were built under Camden Goods Yard in 1854-56 so that horses working in the goods yard could make their way safely beneath the tracks to and from their stables (this is the eastern horse tunnel). The eastern tunnel is Grade II listed. At 30 Oval Road the developer, Mandrake Properties, has had approval to demolish the staircase leading from the horse tunnel to ground level as part of a new office and housing development, and to block up the tunnels.
A second tunnel (the western tunnel) was built to connect with Allsop's stables. The western tunnel has shaft access to the rat hole (up empty carriage line). The up empty carriage line runs from just south of Primrose Hill Tunnel where it used to connect to the up slow Broad Street line which in turn connected to the up slow Euston line just prior to the Central Tunnel Mouth.
The Rat Hole Tunnel
The Eastern Horse Tunnels
