1978 sunny summer day view, looking west from the A628 car-park above the Woodhead Tunnels, of the trans-Pennine Woodhead Railway Line, opened in 1845 and closed in 1981, followed by a 400 kV electricity transmission line dating to 1963, Woodhead, Peak District National Park, North Derbyshire, UK
The Woodhead Raiklway Line linked Sheffield, Penistone and Manchester. A key feature were the Woodhead Tunnels under the moorlands of the Northern Peak District, between Woodhead in the west and Dunford Bridge, near Penistone, in the east. The line opened in 1845, being built by the 'Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway Company'. Ownership passed to the 'London and North Eastern Railway Company' (LNER) in 1923, then British Railways Eastern Region in 1948. Electrification of the line, using overhead wires, was completed in 1955. The line closed to passenger traffic 5 January 1970. The trans-Pennine section, between Hadfield, in the west, and Penistone, closed 17 July 1981. The tracks were removed in the mid-1980s and the section between Hadfield and the Woodhead Tunnels (seen here in 1978) was turned into the Longdendale Trail for walkers and cyclists. An electricity transmission line (also seen in the shot) follows the Woodhead Line. Since 1963, the North Woodhead Tunnel, opened in 1852, has been used to carry the trans-Pennine 400 kV electricity line below ground under the Peak District National Park. In 2008 the National Grid, which currently owns the Woodhead Tunnels, planned to re-locate new cabling through the rail tunnel opened in 1953. By 2012, the new cabling was in place. The Woodhead Reservoir, built 1847-1877, is seen in the background of the shot. The reservoir is part of the Longdendale chain supplying water from the River Etherow to Greater Manchester. A 1978 view, looking west from the car-park to the side of the trans-Pennine A628, above the Woodhead Tunnels.
Size: 1638px × 1069px
Location: Woodhead Railway Line, looking west from A628 car-park above Woodhead Tunnels, North Derbyshire, UK
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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