Milford Tunnel in Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

 is a twin track railway tunnel on the Midland Main Line

Midland Main Line

The Midland Main Line is a major railway route in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system.The present-day line links London St...

 which runs under a hill called the Chevin between Duffield

Duffield railway station

Duffield railway station is a railway station serving the village of Duffield in Derbyshire, England. The station is located on the Midland Main Line from Derby to Leeds...

 and Belper

Belper railway station

Belper railway station is a railway station serving the town of Belper in Derbyshire. The station is located on the Midland Main Line from Derby to Leeds.-Description:...

. It was built in 1840 by the Stephensons

Robert Stephenson

Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...

 for the North Midland Railway

North Midland Railway

The North Midland Railway was a British railway company, which opened its line from Derby to Rotherham and Leeds in 1840.At Derby it connected with the Birmingham and Derby Junction Railway and the Midland Counties Railway at what became known as the Tri Junct Station...

.

When finished, it was 855 yards (782 m) long.

The west side of the Derwent

River Derwent, Derbyshire

The Derwent is a river in the county of Derbyshire, England. It is 66 miles long and is a tributary of the River Trent which it joins south of Derby. For half its course, the river flows through the Peak District....

 valley has a number of gritstone outcrops, one being Burley Hill to the south of Duffield, another being Castle Hill in Duffield itself. The valley here however was too narrow, and already occupied by the village of Milford

Milford, Derbyshire

Milford is a village in Derbyshire, England, on the River Derwent, between Duffield and Belper on the A6 trunk road.Until the end of the 18th century it was no more than a few houses near the point, about a quarter of a mile further south, where a roman road from the Wirksworth lead mines forded...

 from which the tunnel gets its name, and one of Jedediah Strutt

Jedediah Strutt

Jedediah Strutt or Jedidiah Strutt – as he spelt it – was a hosier and cotton spinner from Belper, England.Strutt and his brother-in-law William Woollat developed an attachment to the stocking frame that allowed the production of ribbed stockings...

's cotton mills.

The name Chevin has Celtic origins, but the hill is often called Firestone Hill, for the spot on which the beacon fires were lighted to rouse the country when peril of invasion or other dangers were imminent.

At the summit of the hill there was built a substantial tower, which still exists, the purpose of which has been a matter for speculation. It has generally been thought that it was to check the alignment of the tunnel construction , and was equipped with a rotating telescope. It has been pointed out that such a facility appeared with no other tunnel of the time and there is an alternative theory that it was concerned with supervising the passage of trains through the tunnel. In effect an early experiment with a form of block working

British absolute block signalling

The principle of the British absolute block system of railway signalling is to ensure the safe operation of a railway by allowing only one train to occupy a defined section of track at a time...

, instead of the time interval system commonly used.

When the Midland Railway

Midland Railway

The Midland Railway was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 to 1922, when it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway....

 upgraded the line to four tracks south of the tunnel, a signal box was installed to control the junction of the goods and passenger lines, also providing warning distant signals at the north entrance.

For some reason the North Midland built very ornate portals at the northern ends of their tunnels, in this case a Saxon-inspired arch, while the southern ends were relatively plain. Both of these are grade 2 listed, being part of the Derwent Valley

Derwent Valley Mills

Derwent Valley Mills is a World Heritage Site along the River Derwent in Derbyshire, England, designated in December 2001. It is administered by the Derwent Valley Mills Partnership. The modern factory, or 'mill', system was born here in the 18th century to accommodate the new technology for...

 World Heritage site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

.

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