Hello there!
Sandsend tunnel is about 1 mile north of the rather lovely seaside village of Sandsend unsuprisingly, it formed part of the Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway. Building began in around 1871 although all work stopped in 1874 when the contractor went bust. It resumed under the finances and guidance of the North Eastern Railway, the tunnel was built because the orginal route was a tad too close to the cliff edge. The single bore tunnel was opened on 3rd December 1883. The tunnel is a little under a mile in length at 1,652 yards it is in the main a straight tunnel but for the last northern section where a curve means that you cannot see end to end. The railway closed for business on the 5th May 1953. Its very wet in places, definately a wellies job and clearly brickwork has fallen in recent years. The northern portal suffered a partial collapse in 2008.
The visit was conducted twice due to camera battery failure the first time round, today we finished off the explore, on with some photos from both explores.
Visited with Dobbo & Dave:
The south entrance approach, and a fecking high wall:
Enter the darkness:
The tunnel is a mixture of cut stone and brickwork such as this:
Wonderful calcium deposits cling to the wall surface:
Stalectites are forming, the tunnel is very wet in some places:
Beware the drain holes:
In parts a thin mist drizzled through the tunnel making photography a tad difficult! However here you can still see the grooves from where the sleepers once lay:
Tis I:
Refuge:
Air vent:
EVIL orange mud:
The curve of the tunnel very evident:
Collapse! My camera had fogged slightly giving the tunnel darkness a blue-ish tinge, but I quite like it!
Final one from me, one of the 2 debris disposal tunnels leading to the cliff edge:
cheers
Ian
Sandsend tunnel is about 1 mile north of the rather lovely seaside village of Sandsend unsuprisingly, it formed part of the Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway. Building began in around 1871 although all work stopped in 1874 when the contractor went bust. It resumed under the finances and guidance of the North Eastern Railway, the tunnel was built because the orginal route was a tad too close to the cliff edge. The single bore tunnel was opened on 3rd December 1883. The tunnel is a little under a mile in length at 1,652 yards it is in the main a straight tunnel but for the last northern section where a curve means that you cannot see end to end. The railway closed for business on the 5th May 1953. Its very wet in places, definately a wellies job and clearly brickwork has fallen in recent years. The northern portal suffered a partial collapse in 2008.
The visit was conducted twice due to camera battery failure the first time round, today we finished off the explore, on with some photos from both explores.
Visited with Dobbo & Dave:
The south entrance approach, and a fecking high wall:
Enter the darkness:
The tunnel is a mixture of cut stone and brickwork such as this:
Wonderful calcium deposits cling to the wall surface:
Stalectites are forming, the tunnel is very wet in some places:
Beware the drain holes:
In parts a thin mist drizzled through the tunnel making photography a tad difficult! However here you can still see the grooves from where the sleepers once lay:
Tis I:
Refuge:
Air vent:
EVIL orange mud:
The curve of the tunnel very evident:
Collapse! My camera had fogged slightly giving the tunnel darkness a blue-ish tinge, but I quite like it!
Final one from me, one of the 2 debris disposal tunnels leading to the cliff edge:
cheers
Ian
