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The Oxendon Tunnels are disused railway
Northampton & Lamport Railway
Buildings and structures in Northamptonshire Rail transport in Northamptonshire Railway tunnels in England Pedestrian tunnels in the United Kingdom Tunnels in Northamptonshire Tunnels completed in 1859 Footpaths in Northamptonshire {{Northamptonshire-struct-stub
The Oxendon Tunnels are disused railway tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
s in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, England. The Northampton to Market Harborough line
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
opened in 1859 and had tunnels at Oxendon and nearby at Kelmarsh
Kelmarsh is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The population (including Haselbech) of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 208. The village is on the A508, close to its junction with the A14 about south of Mark ...
.
The original tunnel was single-track, and when the line was doubled a second single-track tunnel was built. The "up" line tunnel is long while the "down" line is . Due to the small bore, the tunnels were known as "the rat-holes" by train drivers.
The former "up" line tunnel at Oxendon is open as part of the Brampton Valley Way
The Brampton Valley Way is a rail trail built on the way of the former Northampton to Market Harborough line, Northampton to Market Harborough Railway in Northamptonshire, England. It forms what trail managers, Northamptonshire County Council, ...
, a linear park which runs from Boughton level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...
on the outskirts of Northampton to Little Bowden near Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire.
Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the admi ...
, on the former railway trackbed.
See also
*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 ...
External links
Northampton & Lamport Railway
Buildings and structures in Northamptonshire Rail transport in Northamptonshire Railway tunnels in England Pedestrian tunnels in the United Kingdom Tunnels in Northamptonshire Tunnels completed in 1859 Footpaths in Northamptonshire {{Northamptonshire-struct-stub