Report - Haddon Tunnel, Bakewell - Sept 2013

[paulpowers]

My new torch arrived on Friday and I was itching to get out and test it

Saturday was a no go because CBA set in.

Sunday morning greeted me with no hangover so I decided to head over to Bakewell to visit the tunnel, I was thinking about Holme Bank Chirt mine but I wanted something bigger to actually try the new torch out in.

Last time I visited the tunnel there was a waterfall pouring over the entrance, this time I could have worn my trainers it was so dry.

Although the line closed in 1967, it has historic interest, for it was on the Midland Railway (and LMS) main line from London to Manchester, and there are ambitious plans by Peak Rail to reopen it as part of its extension to Bakewell.

It had been constructed entirely to hide it from the view of the Duke of Rutland where the line passed Haddon Hall. It is 1,058 yards (967 m) long and, being close to the surface, it was mostly built by the 'cut and cover' method. There were five ventilation shafts, one being the full width of the double-track tunnel, the deepest being only 12 feet (3.7 m).

Shortly after the headings met, part of it collapsed, killing four workers outright, and wounding another so seriously that he died the following day. The railway paid £100 compensation to each of their families.

Following closure, the trackbed and tunnel was reincorporated into the Haddon Estate. The long campaign by Peak Rail and others culminated in a feasibility study by Derbyshire County Council in 2004, the Haddon Estate being a major opponent of the plan.

Yay shotgun shells, just what I like seeing in a tunnel