Trans Pennine Trail at Thurgoland Tunnel - geograph

Thurgoland Tunnel is a double-bore abandoned railway tunnel between

Penistone Penistone ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 22,909 at the 2011 census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is west of Barnsley, n ...

and Wortley. Its total length is . The original tunnel, a single bore carrying two tracks, was opened in 1845 on the

Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway was an early British railway company which opened in stages between 1841 and 1845 between Sheffield and Manchester via Ashton-under-Lyne. The Peak District formed a formidable barrier, and ...

between Manchester Store Street and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

. It is characterised by a curve of radius on a falling gradient of 1 in 131. Due to the difficulties in laying the original tunnel out, it consists of a series of straight sections in a series of erratic curves varying in radius from . Maximum clearance was only obtained by reducing the normal six-foot spacing between the tracks. Because of the clearance problems the original construction caused for the planned

LNER LNER may refer to: * London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947 * London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018 * Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a typ ...

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

, and because opening-out was deemed too expensive, in 1948 a second single-line tunnel was built for the up line and the old tunnel was converted to carry only the down line. As this project was begun in 1947 just before railway nationalisation ( British Railways), each of the up tunnel portals host twin dates, with "LNER 1947" inscribed in the central parapet panel at the top of the portals and "BR 1948" below in the keystone. Due to the anticipated interim period of steam working before the new electric Woodhead 3 tunnel was completed, a cast-iron smokeplate lined the roof of the tunnel to protect the concrete lining.Johnson, E M (2001). Woodhead, The Electric Railway. Stockport: Foxline. p. 18-20. . Electric working commenced in 1954 and ceased in 1981. The tunnels ceased to carry trains in 1983 when the local Sheffield–

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

train service was diverted via Barnsley. The up tunnel, being much newer, has been re-utilised for a walking trail, whilst the down bore has been blocked off.http://www.thewoodheadsite.org.uk/Trt/MapC/MapC.htm File C071L.jpg

References

External links

Photo showing dual dates on one portal
{{Tunnels in Yorkshire Railway tunnels in England Woodhead Line Tunnels completed in 1845 Tunnels in South Yorkshire Thurgoland

See also

References

External links