Linslade Tunnel is a railway tunnel in
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
, England, on the
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
about north of
Leighton Buzzard railway station
Leighton Buzzard railway station serves the towns of Leighton Buzzard and Linslade in the county of Bedfordshire and nearby areas of Buckinghamshire. Actually situated in Linslade, the station is north west of London Euston and is served by Lo ...
and built under Linslade Woods. Consisting of three individual bores, the tunnel is somewhat unusual as there is a slight bend in its alignment.
The first bore was constructed during the 1830s, the engineering of which having been performed by the pioneering railway builder
George Stephenson
George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...
. The only of the three bores to accommodate double track, it was first opened to traffic during 1837. During 1857, the eastern bore was opened to serve a branch line from
Leighton Buzzard
Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is northwes ...
to
Dunstable
Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...
; this has since been closed. In 1876, the western bore was completed, being noticeably narrower than its predecessors. During the 1960s, Linslade Tunnel was outfitted with
overhead electrification as part of a wider scheme to introduce electric traction on the West Coast Main Line. In the 1970s, the tunnel portals on either side of the tunnel were recognised as
Grade II
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
s due to their connection to early railway engineering history. During the 2010s, remedial engineering works were performed in the tunnel.
History
Construction
A total of three bores have been constructed to date, the first of these being the central bore. This is the tallest of the three, and the only one that carries twin tracks. It was also the first tunnel on the site to be constructed, an individual contract for its construction on behalf of the
London and Birmingham Railway
The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, in operation from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR).
The railway line which the company opened in 1838, betw ...
being issued around 1834, shortly after the purchasing of land along the route was authorised by an
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
in 1833.
The engineering work was performed by the pioneering railway builder
George Stephenson
George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...
. The local geology largely consisted of
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
and
iron sand
Ironsand, also known as iron-sand or iron sand, is a type of sand with heavy concentrations of iron. It is typically dark grey or blackish in colour.
It is composed mainly of magnetite, Fe3O4, and also contains small amounts of titanium, silic ...
.
[Osborne 1840, p. 135.] Possessing a length of and a depth of roughly , its excavation involved the removal of 20,433 cubic yards of
spoil
Spoil or spoils:
*Plunder taken from an enemy or victim
*Material (such as rock, earth or other overburden) removed during:
**excavation
**mining
**dredging
Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons f ...
.
Atypically, the bore has a slight curvature or bend along its length.
This first bore was completed during 1837, and services commenced running through it thereafter. Contemporary accounts around the time of its opening described the original Linslade Tunnel as being relatively spacious.
[Freeling 1838, p. 107.]
During 1859, the eastern bore became the second to open, carrying a single track to serve a branch line from
Leighton Buzzard
Leighton Buzzard ( ) is a market town in Bedfordshire, England, in the southwest of the county and close to the Buckinghamshire border. It lies between Aylesbury, Tring, Luton/Dunstable and Milton Keynes, near the Chiltern Hills. It is northwes ...
to
Dunstable
Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...
, which has since been permanently closed. In 1876, the single track western bore was the third to open, it is the narrowest tunnel of the three. The northern portals were finished with a brick
castellated
A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...
retaining wall that incorporated all three of the horseshoe-shaped arches.
On 1 May 1975, the northern portals were recognised as a
grade II
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, the listing text observing that it is "an interesting example of early railway architecture". The southern entrance has also been listed despite being noticeably less ornamental than its northern counterpart.
Architecture
The tower facade is only on one side of the tunnel. This is as it is the side passengers would be travelling towards London from.
Activity and services
![Linslade with Up express emerging from the Tunnel geograph-2741714-by-Ben-Brooksbank](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Linslade_with_Up_express_emerging_from_the_Tunnel_geograph-2741714-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg)
During the 1960s, Linslade Tunnel, along with the majority of the
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
, had
overhead electrification apparatus installed, which facilitated the line's transition to using electric traction.
On 9 December 1982, during the
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
era, a fatal incident occurred at Linslade Tunnel, an inadequately secured load that had fallen from one train was struck by the next train passing through the tunnel, causing its
derailment
In rail transport, a derailment occurs when a rail vehicle such as a train comes off its rails. Although many derailments are minor, all result in temporary disruption of the proper operation of the railway system and they are a potentially ...
and the death of its driver.
During the late 2010s, deteriorated parts of the brickwork within Linslade Tunnel were repaired. In early 2020, the tunnel was again subject to engineering works, largely focused upon a comprehensive track renewal, to improve service reliability.
The eastern bore and the eastern side of the central bore are used by goods traffic and
West Midlands Trains
West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...
services to and from
London Euston
Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...
respectively to mainly local stations including traffic using the
Northampton Loop Line connecting to and from
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
,
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
, as well as several stations further to the north. The current maximum speed on these lines between Euston and Northampton for passenger traffic is . The western side of the central bore and the western single bore are used mainly by
Avanti West Coast
Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise.
During November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the Inter ...
services to and from London Euston respectively services, at up to .
See also
*
List of tunnels in the United Kingdom
This is a list of road, railway, waterway, and other tunnels in the United Kingdom.
A tunnel is an underground passageway with no defined minimum length, though it may be considered to be at least twice as long as wide. Some government bodies ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
* E.C. and W. Osborne
"Osborne's London & Birmingham railway guide."E.C. & W. Osborne, 1840.
* Freeling, Arthur
"The railway companion, from London to Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester."Whittaker & Co, 1838.
{{refend
External links
Period Linslade Tunnel drawing by John Cooke Bourne via sciencemuseumgroup.org.ukImage of the approach to Linslade Tunnel via avantiwestcoast.co.ukVentilation shaft details via mapio.net
Railway tunnels in England
Rail transport in Bedfordshire
Tunnels in Bedfordshire
Grade II listed buildings in Bedfordshire