HISTORY
The Standedge Tunnels are four parallel tunnels through the Pennine hills at the Standedge crossing between Marsden in West Yorkshire and Diggle in Greater Manchester in northern England. Before boundary changes in 1974, both ends of the tunnel were in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Three are railway tunnels and the other is a canal tunnel. The canal tunnel on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament on 4 April 1794. Construction of a 5,451-yard (4,984 m)-long tunnel began months later. Within two years, cost-saving measures pushed back its completion date and progress was slowed by the high levels of water which were much greater than had been expected. It proved difficult to secure skilled help, some tenders went unanswered and Benjamin Outram withdrew from the venture. In 1807, Thomas Telford drew up a new plan for its completion. In 1811, the tunnel opened. It is the longest and oldest of the four Standedge tunnels and is the longest and highest canal tunnel in the United Kingdom. Having been closed to all traffic in 1943, the canal tunnel was re-opened in May 2001. The first, single-track railway tunnel, built for the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) on its line between Huddersfield and Manchester, was completed in 1848. It proved to have insufficient capacity and a second, parallel, single-track tunnel was opened in 1871. The LNWR opened a third, double-track tunnel in 1894. All four tunnels are linked by cross-tunnels or adits at strategic intervals, which allowed the railway tunnels to be built without construction shafts, and allowed waste material to be removed by boat. Only the double-track tunnel is currently used for rail traffic.Three railway tunnels run parallel to each other and the canal tunnel. They are level for the whole length, which had the operational benefit of providing the only section of level track on the line where water troughs could be installed to provide steam locomotives with water without the requiring the train to stop.[citation needed] Both the single-track bores have ventilation shafts at Cote, Flint and Pule Hill and the double-track tunnel is ventilated via three shafts at Brunn Clough, Redbrook and Flint. Drainage adits interlink with one another, including the canal tunnel, into which water is discharged. In 1846, work commenced on a railway tunnel for the Huddersfield & Manchester Railway. It ran parallel to, and to south of the canal tunnel at a slightly higher level. From the canal tunnel, thirteen adits were driven to facilitate excavating the railway tunnel. The railway company had bought the canal company to provide access. Boats transferred excavated spoil and moved construction materials. Canal access increased the rate of construction, which took a little over two years; in comparison, the Woodhead Tunnel, which was slightly shorter took seven years to built despite the work being done by the same contractor, Thomas Nicholson. The eastern end of Standedge Tunnel The tunnel was driven and lined by up to 1,953 navvies working 36 faces. The tunnel advanced at up to 85 yards (78 m) per week. Nine men died during its construction. In 1848, the central single-track tunnel was completed by the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR), who had acquired the Huddersfield & Manchester Railway midway through its construction. Costing £201,608, the tunnel is 3 miles 57 yards (4,880 m) long. When opened, trains were accompanied through the tunnel by a pilot man or pilot engine and their re-emergence was communicated between signal boxes situated at either end by a telegraph system devised by Henry Highton. The 1848 tunnel soon became a bottleneck for rail traffic between Huddersfield and Manchester. Even before its completion, plans were in consideration for a second tunnel alongside it. When economic case became clear, Thomas Nelson, who built the first railway tunnel, was awarded the contract. As with the first tunnel, the canal tunnel was linked to the second by 21 adits which passed underneath Nicholson's tunnel, allowing spoil to be removed by boat. Construction was disrupted by strike action by tunnellers and bricklayers over disputes about payment and shift length. In February 1871, the 3-mile-57-yard-long (4,880 m) second rail tunnel, to the south of the first, was opened. Diggle portal of the 1894 tunnel Even two tunnels could not provide sufficient capacity to satisfy demand and in 1890, the L&NWR embarked on providing four tracks on most of the line which required constructing a twin-track tunnel. Construction was done under the guidance of AA MacGregor and carried out by 1,800 men who lived in the paper mills at Diggle and 54 wooden huts near the eastern side. Once again the tunnel was driven from adits, this time 13 adits were connected to the first railway tunnel. The canal tunnel was extended at the Diggle end to accommodate the third rail tunnel, which ran close past it. For most of its length, the new bore is to the north of the canal tunnel, but passes over the canal tunnel just inside each tunnel entrance. When the work was completed, the tunnel was 3 miles 60 yards (4,883 m) long. To speed the excavation, 40 breakups were opened using around 120 long tons (120 t) of gelignite. About 25 million bricks, which were mostly produced locally were used in the tunnel lining. One of the connecting passageways in Standedge tunnel A 26-foot (7.9 m) unlined section of tunnel collapsed in April 1894 blocking the tunnel for a week. On 1 August 1894, the new tunnel was passed for use by inspector Major Yorke. The opening of the double-track tunnel provided additional capacity for the L&NWR, allowing them to temporarily close the single bores for maintenance. As of 2018, the double-track bore is the fifth-longest rail tunnel in Britain, after the new High Speed 1 tunnels, the Severn Tunnel on the Great Western Main Line, and the Totley Tunnel on the Sheffield to Manchester route. Only the 1894 rail tunnel is in use for rail traffic, although all three rail tunnels are maintained. In 1966, the 1848 single-track rail tunnel was closed followed by the 1871 single-track tunnel in 1970. The 1848 tunnel provides an emergency escape route for the other tunnels and has been made accessible to road vehicles such as fire engines and ambulances.[citation needed] Both the 1848 and 1871 tunnel are used by maintenance personnel for access. During the 2000s, Network Rail proposed reinstating rail traffic through the 1848 and 1871 tunnels to increase capacity on the Leeds–Manchester Transpennine route, but after a reappraisal after the decision to electrify the Transpennine line, it was reported in 2012 that reinstatement was unnecessary.
EXPLORE
The tunnels had been on my list for a good year before i managed to get around to doing them, Mainly because id not done much underground nor many tunnel related explores, And also because some of my mates were not really digging the idea of exploring a dirty railway tunnel over some derped out abandoned building. Well we found ourselves chatting to another explorer friend who mentioned the tunnels were still open and that they would be more than up for another visit. So February of this year was to be one of my favourite explores of 2020, We met bright and early and with two mates in tow, one of which sat it out and waited in the car we ventured down the embankment and into the foreboding shadow of the standedge tunnel portal. Little did i know that tunnel 4 was still running live, Carrying the Pennine express train at around 80-90 mph which created a weird sense that the tunnels were live , I swear i had to look around everytime i heard a train approach as it sounded literally right behind me every time. Anyway some of the features to see were excellent travelling through the tunnels at will from one to another then into the canal tunnel that runs parallel to the two abandoned we could call it tunnel 3. When we got to the open air duct that ran about 558 feet up to the surface of the moors above we noticed it bridged the canal and opened up into the live rail, we stood for a moment watching the water drip down and create a water fall of sorts then the air changed. We could hear the trans Pennine approaching and as it pushed its way into the tunnel it forced the air around it out into the abandoned tunnels right where we stood, it was like being hit by a blast of cool wind and it rocked me on my feet and took my breath with it. What a rush and very exhilarating it also pushed the dripping water out with it and with the light turned off it was such a sensory experience and one i really want to happen again.
The Standedge Tunnels are four parallel tunnels through the Pennine hills at the Standedge crossing between Marsden in West Yorkshire and Diggle in Greater Manchester in northern England. Before boundary changes in 1974, both ends of the tunnel were in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Three are railway tunnels and the other is a canal tunnel. The canal tunnel on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament on 4 April 1794. Construction of a 5,451-yard (4,984 m)-long tunnel began months later. Within two years, cost-saving measures pushed back its completion date and progress was slowed by the high levels of water which were much greater than had been expected. It proved difficult to secure skilled help, some tenders went unanswered and Benjamin Outram withdrew from the venture. In 1807, Thomas Telford drew up a new plan for its completion. In 1811, the tunnel opened. It is the longest and oldest of the four Standedge tunnels and is the longest and highest canal tunnel in the United Kingdom. Having been closed to all traffic in 1943, the canal tunnel was re-opened in May 2001. The first, single-track railway tunnel, built for the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) on its line between Huddersfield and Manchester, was completed in 1848. It proved to have insufficient capacity and a second, parallel, single-track tunnel was opened in 1871. The LNWR opened a third, double-track tunnel in 1894. All four tunnels are linked by cross-tunnels or adits at strategic intervals, which allowed the railway tunnels to be built without construction shafts, and allowed waste material to be removed by boat. Only the double-track tunnel is currently used for rail traffic.Three railway tunnels run parallel to each other and the canal tunnel. They are level for the whole length, which had the operational benefit of providing the only section of level track on the line where water troughs could be installed to provide steam locomotives with water without the requiring the train to stop.[citation needed] Both the single-track bores have ventilation shafts at Cote, Flint and Pule Hill and the double-track tunnel is ventilated via three shafts at Brunn Clough, Redbrook and Flint. Drainage adits interlink with one another, including the canal tunnel, into which water is discharged. In 1846, work commenced on a railway tunnel for the Huddersfield & Manchester Railway. It ran parallel to, and to south of the canal tunnel at a slightly higher level. From the canal tunnel, thirteen adits were driven to facilitate excavating the railway tunnel. The railway company had bought the canal company to provide access. Boats transferred excavated spoil and moved construction materials. Canal access increased the rate of construction, which took a little over two years; in comparison, the Woodhead Tunnel, which was slightly shorter took seven years to built despite the work being done by the same contractor, Thomas Nicholson. The eastern end of Standedge Tunnel The tunnel was driven and lined by up to 1,953 navvies working 36 faces. The tunnel advanced at up to 85 yards (78 m) per week. Nine men died during its construction. In 1848, the central single-track tunnel was completed by the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR), who had acquired the Huddersfield & Manchester Railway midway through its construction. Costing £201,608, the tunnel is 3 miles 57 yards (4,880 m) long. When opened, trains were accompanied through the tunnel by a pilot man or pilot engine and their re-emergence was communicated between signal boxes situated at either end by a telegraph system devised by Henry Highton. The 1848 tunnel soon became a bottleneck for rail traffic between Huddersfield and Manchester. Even before its completion, plans were in consideration for a second tunnel alongside it. When economic case became clear, Thomas Nelson, who built the first railway tunnel, was awarded the contract. As with the first tunnel, the canal tunnel was linked to the second by 21 adits which passed underneath Nicholson's tunnel, allowing spoil to be removed by boat. Construction was disrupted by strike action by tunnellers and bricklayers over disputes about payment and shift length. In February 1871, the 3-mile-57-yard-long (4,880 m) second rail tunnel, to the south of the first, was opened. Diggle portal of the 1894 tunnel Even two tunnels could not provide sufficient capacity to satisfy demand and in 1890, the L&NWR embarked on providing four tracks on most of the line which required constructing a twin-track tunnel. Construction was done under the guidance of AA MacGregor and carried out by 1,800 men who lived in the paper mills at Diggle and 54 wooden huts near the eastern side. Once again the tunnel was driven from adits, this time 13 adits were connected to the first railway tunnel. The canal tunnel was extended at the Diggle end to accommodate the third rail tunnel, which ran close past it. For most of its length, the new bore is to the north of the canal tunnel, but passes over the canal tunnel just inside each tunnel entrance. When the work was completed, the tunnel was 3 miles 60 yards (4,883 m) long. To speed the excavation, 40 breakups were opened using around 120 long tons (120 t) of gelignite. About 25 million bricks, which were mostly produced locally were used in the tunnel lining. One of the connecting passageways in Standedge tunnel A 26-foot (7.9 m) unlined section of tunnel collapsed in April 1894 blocking the tunnel for a week. On 1 August 1894, the new tunnel was passed for use by inspector Major Yorke. The opening of the double-track tunnel provided additional capacity for the L&NWR, allowing them to temporarily close the single bores for maintenance. As of 2018, the double-track bore is the fifth-longest rail tunnel in Britain, after the new High Speed 1 tunnels, the Severn Tunnel on the Great Western Main Line, and the Totley Tunnel on the Sheffield to Manchester route. Only the 1894 rail tunnel is in use for rail traffic, although all three rail tunnels are maintained. In 1966, the 1848 single-track rail tunnel was closed followed by the 1871 single-track tunnel in 1970. The 1848 tunnel provides an emergency escape route for the other tunnels and has been made accessible to road vehicles such as fire engines and ambulances.[citation needed] Both the 1848 and 1871 tunnel are used by maintenance personnel for access. During the 2000s, Network Rail proposed reinstating rail traffic through the 1848 and 1871 tunnels to increase capacity on the Leeds–Manchester Transpennine route, but after a reappraisal after the decision to electrify the Transpennine line, it was reported in 2012 that reinstatement was unnecessary.
EXPLORE
The tunnels had been on my list for a good year before i managed to get around to doing them, Mainly because id not done much underground nor many tunnel related explores, And also because some of my mates were not really digging the idea of exploring a dirty railway tunnel over some derped out abandoned building. Well we found ourselves chatting to another explorer friend who mentioned the tunnels were still open and that they would be more than up for another visit. So February of this year was to be one of my favourite explores of 2020, We met bright and early and with two mates in tow, one of which sat it out and waited in the car we ventured down the embankment and into the foreboding shadow of the standedge tunnel portal. Little did i know that tunnel 4 was still running live, Carrying the Pennine express train at around 80-90 mph which created a weird sense that the tunnels were live , I swear i had to look around everytime i heard a train approach as it sounded literally right behind me every time. Anyway some of the features to see were excellent travelling through the tunnels at will from one to another then into the canal tunnel that runs parallel to the two abandoned we could call it tunnel 3. When we got to the open air duct that ran about 558 feet up to the surface of the moors above we noticed it bridged the canal and opened up into the live rail, we stood for a moment watching the water drip down and create a water fall of sorts then the air changed. We could hear the trans Pennine approaching and as it pushed its way into the tunnel it forced the air around it out into the abandoned tunnels right where we stood, it was like being hit by a blast of cool wind and it rocked me on my feet and took my breath with it. What a rush and very exhilarating it also pushed the dripping water out with it and with the light turned off it was such a sensory experience and one i really want to happen again.
