1. The History
Haddon Tunnel is located in the English county of Derbyshire. It was built by the Midland Railway in 1863 as an extension of its Buxton branch-line, into the Peaks, linking the afore-mentioned Buxton with Matlock. The line was born out of the Midland Railway’s rivalry with the London & North Western (LNW) to secure a strategic rail route between London and Manchester. The first section was the 15-mile extension of the Rowsley line into Buxton, authorised in May 1860. The 1,058-yard-long tunnel was constructed to hide the railway from the view of the Duke of Rutland where the line passed Haddon Hall. The tunnel is close to the surface and was, in the main, built by the 'cut and cover' method. So much so that towards its southern end, it is now possible to walk alongside the tunnel at track level, such is the shallowness of the fill and gradient of the slope. It included five ventilation shafts with one being the full width of the double-track tunnel. Shortly after the headings met on Tuesday 2nd July 1861, an arch collapsed killing three men and a boy, wounding another so seriously that he died the following day (see picture below). John Millington, George Buckley, James Bird, James Clarke and the young Alfred Plank are honoured by a simple memorial in the churchyard at Rowsley. The railway paid £100 (equivalent to £8,781 in 2016) compensation to each of their families.
Photo Credit: © The Rowsley Association
Unsurprisingly the 1963 Beeching Report saw the withdrawal of the local Matlock-Buxton/Manchester services. The line’s complete closure to through traffic was determined by a confidential 1964 study into ‘duplicate’ trans-Pennine routes (April 1966, saw the introduction of electric haulage for Manchester-Euston services on the West Coast Main Line). From October that year freight and parcels were diverted instead via the Hope Valley line. The announcement about the cessation of passenger expresses followed soon after and on Saturday 29th June 1968 the last passed through Haddon Tunnel. The Up line was lifted just a year later in June 1969 and the recovery of the Down line the following summer. Following closure, the track-bed and tunnel was reincorporated into the Haddon Estate.
A London-bound ‘Peak’ Class 45-hauled passenger train emerges from the southern tunnel portal in August 1961:
Photo credit: © J R Morten.
A long campaign by Peak Rail and others culminated in a feasibility study by Derbyshire County Council in 2004, however the Haddon Estate were a major opponent of the plan. Despite this, Peak Rail hoped plans to extend their heritage rail services via both Rowsley railway station and a proposed Haddon Halt towards Bakewell. This would require additional restoration of the old tunnel itself and both Rowsley and Coombes Road Viaducts, plus reinstating the Bakewell station site to its original condition by the year 2016.
Alternatively, its reopening could form part of the extension of Monsal Trail. Apparently, landowners are cooperative and open to this and surveys have been conducted. Currently though it is planning and financial issues that remain the hurdle.
2. The Explore
Sooo, over seven years since I did this place with @tarkovsky in November 2017. On that occasion we walked from Bakewell to the north portal. Now that is bricked up, I paid a visit to the southern portal last October only to find the iron door sealed. Shortly after, someone decided to rip the door off, so thought I’d take the opportunity for a solo visit. At one point it seemed like I was doing an old railway tunnel ever other month. Of recent, I’ve not done one for ages. As tunnels go, this is a bit of a cracker. It’s got air shafts (four in total), a lovely open section and some great mineralisation. So, a good way to reopen my tunnel account. Access is pretty straight forward and it makes for a relaxed explore. Wasn’t happy with my previous photos and these latest pics have come out a whole lot better. Not a lot else to say, so will get on with the photos.
3. The Pictures
Here we go…
The first of a couple of track-side huts. This is in OK nick:
This one has seen better days:
And here she is:
On to the first of two openings:
Love the greenery on this refuge in the natural light:
Out into the light again:
And an air hole nearby:
On we push:
Water intrusion here has caused the bricks to degrade:
One solitary sleeper still in situ:
Water still flowing through the tunnel’s central drainage channel:
Leaching on the walls:
Nice calcification:
Haddon Tunnel is located in the English county of Derbyshire. It was built by the Midland Railway in 1863 as an extension of its Buxton branch-line, into the Peaks, linking the afore-mentioned Buxton with Matlock. The line was born out of the Midland Railway’s rivalry with the London & North Western (LNW) to secure a strategic rail route between London and Manchester. The first section was the 15-mile extension of the Rowsley line into Buxton, authorised in May 1860. The 1,058-yard-long tunnel was constructed to hide the railway from the view of the Duke of Rutland where the line passed Haddon Hall. The tunnel is close to the surface and was, in the main, built by the 'cut and cover' method. So much so that towards its southern end, it is now possible to walk alongside the tunnel at track level, such is the shallowness of the fill and gradient of the slope. It included five ventilation shafts with one being the full width of the double-track tunnel. Shortly after the headings met on Tuesday 2nd July 1861, an arch collapsed killing three men and a boy, wounding another so seriously that he died the following day (see picture below). John Millington, George Buckley, James Bird, James Clarke and the young Alfred Plank are honoured by a simple memorial in the churchyard at Rowsley. The railway paid £100 (equivalent to £8,781 in 2016) compensation to each of their families.
Photo Credit: © The Rowsley Association
Unsurprisingly the 1963 Beeching Report saw the withdrawal of the local Matlock-Buxton/Manchester services. The line’s complete closure to through traffic was determined by a confidential 1964 study into ‘duplicate’ trans-Pennine routes (April 1966, saw the introduction of electric haulage for Manchester-Euston services on the West Coast Main Line). From October that year freight and parcels were diverted instead via the Hope Valley line. The announcement about the cessation of passenger expresses followed soon after and on Saturday 29th June 1968 the last passed through Haddon Tunnel. The Up line was lifted just a year later in June 1969 and the recovery of the Down line the following summer. Following closure, the track-bed and tunnel was reincorporated into the Haddon Estate.
A London-bound ‘Peak’ Class 45-hauled passenger train emerges from the southern tunnel portal in August 1961:
Photo credit: © J R Morten.
A long campaign by Peak Rail and others culminated in a feasibility study by Derbyshire County Council in 2004, however the Haddon Estate were a major opponent of the plan. Despite this, Peak Rail hoped plans to extend their heritage rail services via both Rowsley railway station and a proposed Haddon Halt towards Bakewell. This would require additional restoration of the old tunnel itself and both Rowsley and Coombes Road Viaducts, plus reinstating the Bakewell station site to its original condition by the year 2016.
Alternatively, its reopening could form part of the extension of Monsal Trail. Apparently, landowners are cooperative and open to this and surveys have been conducted. Currently though it is planning and financial issues that remain the hurdle.
2. The Explore
Sooo, over seven years since I did this place with @tarkovsky in November 2017. On that occasion we walked from Bakewell to the north portal. Now that is bricked up, I paid a visit to the southern portal last October only to find the iron door sealed. Shortly after, someone decided to rip the door off, so thought I’d take the opportunity for a solo visit. At one point it seemed like I was doing an old railway tunnel ever other month. Of recent, I’ve not done one for ages. As tunnels go, this is a bit of a cracker. It’s got air shafts (four in total), a lovely open section and some great mineralisation. So, a good way to reopen my tunnel account. Access is pretty straight forward and it makes for a relaxed explore. Wasn’t happy with my previous photos and these latest pics have come out a whole lot better. Not a lot else to say, so will get on with the photos.
3. The Pictures
Here we go…
The first of a couple of track-side huts. This is in OK nick:
This one has seen better days:
And here she is:
On to the first of two openings:
Love the greenery on this refuge in the natural light:
Out into the light again:
And an air hole nearby:
On we push:
Water intrusion here has caused the bricks to degrade:
One solitary sleeper still in situ:
Water still flowing through the tunnel’s central drainage channel:
Leaching on the walls:
Nice calcification:
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