Morley Tunnel
Encyclopedia
Morley Tunnel is a railway tunnel in West Yorkshire
, England
, that is situated between Morley railway station
and Batley railway station
on the Huddersfield Line
. From its northern end (53.7490°N 1.5927°W), it extends 4320 yards (3,950.2 m), passing beneath Morley
town centre, to its southern end (53.7260°N 1.6192°W).
end of the tunnel on Monday, 23 February 1846. On that day at 12 o'clock a procession arrived at the Batley end, consisting of the 69th Infantry Band followed by workmen involved with the project (each holding aloft a banner), the directors, the contractors and other interested parties. The first stone was laid by John Gott, Esq., chairman of the Leeds, Dewsbury and Manchester Railway, and he marked this occasion by addressing the crowd and handing over £50 to the workmen in the hope it would contribute to their enjoyment and the festivities of the day. The mallet and the trowel used to lay the first stone were engraved with the coat of arms of Mr. Gott, with the following inscription:
A brass plate was attached to the stone, with the inscription:
The tunnel was finally completed in 1848, when the last keystone was placed at the Morley end of the tunnel by Mr. Granger, the principal engineer. The completion of the tunnel created much excitement around the town, and a band marked this occasion when it played at the event. The completion of the tunnel provided a much needed rail link between Yorkshire
and Lancashire
. During construction, 23 working shafts were sunk in addition to the four permanent vent/construction shafts still in use today at Town End, Hopewell Farm, America Moor and Howley Park. At one time men worked at 48 different points along the length of the tunnel. This was made possible by using steam engines to lower men down the working shafts to the level of the tunnel and raising stone and clay to the surface.
Eleven powerful steam engines, 15 double horse gins, 2000 men and 350 horses were used during the construction of the tunnel, and the work caused a huge change to the then known landscape, particularly in the area where Morley Low station is situated, where a huge cutting had to be excavated and the valley stream had to be culverted. At its deepest point the tunnel is 400 feet below ground level. It is almost level throughout its length except for a slight gradient to allow for drainage. The tunnel is 26 feet (7.9 m) high and 26 feet wide to accommodate two tracks.
Along the course of the tunnel tons of sandstone
and clay
were excavated and raised to the surface via construction shafts and dumped on spoil heaps, two of which were by the Townend shaft on South Queen Street and Melbourne Street. St Pauls Church, which stands on South Queen Street, was known as "the church on the spoil heap", as the hill it stands on is not a natural hill but the spoil heap of Morley Railway Tunnel. Much of the sandstone which was brought to the surface was used as building material, and King Brickworks, which was located near to where The Fountain public house is today, produced bricks from the excavated sandstone. Much of the sandstone not suitable for this was used in road building.
and the long distance services between Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly by First TransPennine Express
.
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, that is situated between Morley railway station
Morley railway station
Morley railway station serves the town of Morley, West Yorkshire, England.The station is on Huddersfield Line, is operated by Northern Rail, and is south west of Leeds...
and Batley railway station
Batley railway station
Batley railway station serves the town of Batley in West Yorkshire, England. The station opened in 1848.The station is to the south west of Leeds...
on the Huddersfield Line
Huddersfield Line
The Huddersfield Line is the name given to one of the busiest rail services on the West Yorkshire MetroTrain network in northern England. Local services are operated by Northern Rail with longer distance services operated by TransPennine Express...
. From its northern end (53.7490°N 1.5927°W), it extends 4320 yards (3,950.2 m), passing beneath Morley
Morley, West Yorkshire
Morley is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies approximately south-west of Leeds city centre. Together with Drighlington, Gildersome, Churwell, Tingley and East/West Ardsley, the town had a population of 47,579 in...
town centre, to its southern end (53.7260°N 1.6192°W).
History
Work started on the tunnel in 1845, with the first stone being laid at the BatleyBatley
Batley is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It lies southeast of Bradford, southwest of Leeds and north of Dewsbury, near the M62 motorway. It has a population of 49,448 . Other nearby towns include Morley to the northeast, Ossett to the southeast...
end of the tunnel on Monday, 23 February 1846. On that day at 12 o'clock a procession arrived at the Batley end, consisting of the 69th Infantry Band followed by workmen involved with the project (each holding aloft a banner), the directors, the contractors and other interested parties. The first stone was laid by John Gott, Esq., chairman of the Leeds, Dewsbury and Manchester Railway, and he marked this occasion by addressing the crowd and handing over £50 to the workmen in the hope it would contribute to their enjoyment and the festivities of the day. The mallet and the trowel used to lay the first stone were engraved with the coat of arms of Mr. Gott, with the following inscription:
Presented by the contractors of the Morley tunnel to John Gott, Esq., chairman of the Leeds, Dewsbury, and Manchester Railway, on the occasion of laying the first stone of that work. Feb. 23rd, 1846.
A brass plate was attached to the stone, with the inscription:
This, the first stone of the Morley tunnel of the Leeds, Dewsbury, and Manchester Railway, was laid by the chairman, John Gott, Esq., of Armley, near Leeds, on Monday, 23rd February, 1846. Directors, Christopher Beckett, Thomas Benyon, Joseph Brook, William Brown, Thomas Cooke, James Garth Marshall, David William Nell, and Thomas Starkey. Thomas Granger, engineer. Jones and Pickering, contractors.
The tunnel was finally completed in 1848, when the last keystone was placed at the Morley end of the tunnel by Mr. Granger, the principal engineer. The completion of the tunnel created much excitement around the town, and a band marked this occasion when it played at the event. The completion of the tunnel provided a much needed rail link between Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. During construction, 23 working shafts were sunk in addition to the four permanent vent/construction shafts still in use today at Town End, Hopewell Farm, America Moor and Howley Park. At one time men worked at 48 different points along the length of the tunnel. This was made possible by using steam engines to lower men down the working shafts to the level of the tunnel and raising stone and clay to the surface.
Eleven powerful steam engines, 15 double horse gins, 2000 men and 350 horses were used during the construction of the tunnel, and the work caused a huge change to the then known landscape, particularly in the area where Morley Low station is situated, where a huge cutting had to be excavated and the valley stream had to be culverted. At its deepest point the tunnel is 400 feet below ground level. It is almost level throughout its length except for a slight gradient to allow for drainage. The tunnel is 26 feet (7.9 m) high and 26 feet wide to accommodate two tracks.
Along the course of the tunnel tons of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
were excavated and raised to the surface via construction shafts and dumped on spoil heaps, two of which were by the Townend shaft on South Queen Street and Melbourne Street. St Pauls Church, which stands on South Queen Street, was known as "the church on the spoil heap", as the hill it stands on is not a natural hill but the spoil heap of Morley Railway Tunnel. Much of the sandstone which was brought to the surface was used as building material, and King Brickworks, which was located near to where The Fountain public house is today, produced bricks from the excavated sandstone. Much of the sandstone not suitable for this was used in road building.
Today
Today the tunnel is used by the local services run by Northern RailNorthern Rail
Northern Rail is a British train operating company that has operated local passenger services in Northern England since 2004. Northern Rail's owner, Serco-Abellio, is a consortium formed of Abellio and Serco, an international operator of public transport systems...
and the long distance services between Leeds and Manchester Piccadilly by First TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express
First TransPennine Express is a British train operating company. It is a joint operation between First Group and Keolis . It operates regular passenger services in northern England, including services linking the west and east coasts across the Pennines...
.
