LNER C7 4-4-2 (?) approaching Woodhead Tunnel with a train
The Woodhead Tunnels are three parallel trans-Pennine 3-mile long railway tunnels on the Woodhead Line, a former major rail link from Manchester to Sheffield in Northern England. The western portals of the tunnels are at Woodhead in Derbyshire and the eastern portals are at Dunford Bridge, near Penistone, South Yorkshire. Woodhead 1 was one of the world's longest railway tunnels when it opened in 1845. Woodhead 2 was completed in 1853 and Woodhead 3 opened almost exactly 100 years later in 1953. Passenger services ended in 1970 and the last train passed through in 1981. The tunnels are currently owned by National Grid plc who initially used Woodhead 1 and 2 to carry power cables and in 2008 started to install new cables in Woodhead 3. The use of Woodhead 3 for power cables was controversial as it would make it very much more difficult to restart rail services on the line, and it was resisted by a sizeable campaign. The first of the earlier twin tunnels (Woodhead 1 and 2) was completed by the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway in 1845, engineered by Charles Vignoles and Joseph Locke. At the time of its completion in 1845, Woodhead 1 was one of the world's longest railway tunnels at a length of 3 miles 13 yards The second bore was completed by the later Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1852. The twin tunnels saw heavy use by steam trains (250 trains a day each way), and this traffic had a huge effect on the economy of the route well into the 1950s. They had a reputation for having a very poor operating environment with high maintenance needs, since such heavy usage had never been envisaged by their original constructors. The tunnels were known to train crews as the "hell holes" as they were a very narrow bore and became claustrophobic and sooty as trains passed through. A third tunnel opened in 1953 and the earlier tunnels closed
Size: 2798px × 1703px
Location: Woodhead Tunnel Yorkshire
Photo credit: © Digbydachshund / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 4-4-2, c7, lner, locomotive, panoramic, passenger, railway, smoke, speed, steam, tower, train, tunnel, water, woodhead
