Dudley Tunnel
The 948yd Dudley Railway Tunnel is located near to the former Dudley Railway Station in the West Midlands, It was opened in 1850 to allow the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton railway line between Stourbridge and Wolverhampton to pass for several hundred yards beneath Dudley which would have been difficult if not impossible to have constructed a railway through. At Dudley the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway and South Staffordshire Railway to Walsall met.
The tunnel was regularly used by passenger trains until 1964, when the town's station closed along with the remaining passenger stations on the line, although goods trains were still using the line. It finally closed to all trains on 19 March 1993, when the section of railway between Walsall and Brierley Hill was closed after some 150 years in use. A cable laying train passed through the tunnel on 1 July 1993 - nearly four months after the line was officially closed. Dudley Tunnel is constructed entirely in brick, the northern portal being particularly imposing with a face of 11 brick rings! Throughout the tunnel substantial accumulations of calcite & ochre are visible, the Tunnel was constructed by means of five shafts driven down from the surface these are all now hidden and only identifiable from the markings on the sidewalls, evidence of investigative work is visible from the boreholes in the crown.
The railway line through Dudley is scheduled to reopen in 2023 as part of an extension to the West Midlands Metro although the Metro route would not include the railway tunnel, it will be used for test purposes by the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre. The reutilised line will also be designed to carry freight trains.
Extremely easy explore this, Was told by a good friend who lived locally that contractors were to start removal of the existing tracks from within the tunnel imminently there had been a recent guided tour visit although that’s not really my scene , I managed to free up some time so made my way to the West Midlands, I parked up nearby the south end and walked through some woodlands avoiding various needles and broken bottles.. climbed down onto the track bed and made my way inside was nice to get out the rain! Such a worthwhile explore with the tracks in situ made for some interesting images, plenty of refuges throughout some nice colors too, I briefly stepped outside the northern end only to see a security cabin up top of the embankment so a couple quick shots and then back inside, Strange place to be alone all sorts of strange noises, nevertheless was a nice few hours recording history.. I’ve not ruled out another visit now the new tram tracks have been constructed...
Visited September 2020.
Thanks for looking !
The 948yd Dudley Railway Tunnel is located near to the former Dudley Railway Station in the West Midlands, It was opened in 1850 to allow the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton railway line between Stourbridge and Wolverhampton to pass for several hundred yards beneath Dudley which would have been difficult if not impossible to have constructed a railway through. At Dudley the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway and South Staffordshire Railway to Walsall met.
The tunnel was regularly used by passenger trains until 1964, when the town's station closed along with the remaining passenger stations on the line, although goods trains were still using the line. It finally closed to all trains on 19 March 1993, when the section of railway between Walsall and Brierley Hill was closed after some 150 years in use. A cable laying train passed through the tunnel on 1 July 1993 - nearly four months after the line was officially closed. Dudley Tunnel is constructed entirely in brick, the northern portal being particularly imposing with a face of 11 brick rings! Throughout the tunnel substantial accumulations of calcite & ochre are visible, the Tunnel was constructed by means of five shafts driven down from the surface these are all now hidden and only identifiable from the markings on the sidewalls, evidence of investigative work is visible from the boreholes in the crown.
The railway line through Dudley is scheduled to reopen in 2023 as part of an extension to the West Midlands Metro although the Metro route would not include the railway tunnel, it will be used for test purposes by the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre. The reutilised line will also be designed to carry freight trains.
Extremely easy explore this, Was told by a good friend who lived locally that contractors were to start removal of the existing tracks from within the tunnel imminently there had been a recent guided tour visit although that’s not really my scene , I managed to free up some time so made my way to the West Midlands, I parked up nearby the south end and walked through some woodlands avoiding various needles and broken bottles.. climbed down onto the track bed and made my way inside was nice to get out the rain! Such a worthwhile explore with the tracks in situ made for some interesting images, plenty of refuges throughout some nice colors too, I briefly stepped outside the northern end only to see a security cabin up top of the embankment so a couple quick shots and then back inside, Strange place to be alone all sorts of strange noises, nevertheless was a nice few hours recording history.. I’ve not ruled out another visit now the new tram tracks have been constructed...
Visited September 2020.
Thanks for looking !
:
and thanks these came out ok bit of a faff using multiple torches on your own !!
