Penmanshiel Tunnel
Encyclopedia
Penmanshiel Tunnel is a now-disused railway tunnel
near Grantshouse
, Berwickshire
, in the Scottish Borders
region of Scotland
. It was formerly used as part of the East Coast Main Line
between Berwick-upon-Tweed
and Dunbar
.
The tunnel was constructed during 1845-46 by the contractors Ross and Mitchell, to a design by John Miller
, who was the Engineer to the North British Railway
. Upon completion, the tunnel was inspected by the Inspector-General of Railways, Major-General Charles Pasley
, on behalf of the Board of Trade
.
The tunnel consisted of a single bore, 244 metres long, containing two running lines.
During its 134-year existence, the tunnel was the location for two incident investigations by HM Railway Inspectorate
. The first of these was in 1949, when a serious fire destroyed two carriages of a south-bound express from Edinburgh. Seven passengers were injured, but there were no fatalities.
The second incident occurred on 17 March 1979 when, during improvement works, a length of the tunnel collapsed. Two workmen were killed, although 13 others managed to escape. Later it was determined that the ground was not stable enough to excavate and rebuild the tunnel, so it was sealed-up and a new alignment was made for the railway, in a cutting to the west of the hill.
The tunnel was also affected by the August 1948 floods. The damage caused by these floods led to the abandonment of much of the railway network in the south east of Scotland.
surged into the Eye Water towards Reston
, but this channel could not accommodate all of the water. The flood water then backed up the tunnel and flowed to sea in the opposite direction, towards Cockburnspath
. The tunnel was flooded to within two feet of the crown of the portal.
to King's Cross, about two and a half miles beyond Cockburnspath
. The train was stopped somewhere near the tunnel, within one and a quarter minutes of the fire starting, but the fire spread rapidly and with such extreme ferocity that, within seconds, the brake-composite carriage was engulfed and the fire had spread to the coach in front. Most passengers escaped by running to the guard's compartment or forwards along the corridor, but some were compelled to break the windows and jump down onto the track. One lady was seriously injured by doing this.
The train crew reacted quickly to the incident. The four coaches behind the two ablaze were uncoupled and pushed back, leaving them isolated up the line. Having drawn forward and uncoupled the two burning vehicles, the driver proceeded with the front eight coaches to Grantshouse station.
The cause of the fire was thought to be a cigarette end or lighted match
dropped against a partition in the corridor. However this did not explain the reason for its rapid spread...
Despite the severity of the blaze, which reduced the two carriages to their underframes, only seven passengers were injured, with no fatalities.
The next significant event to occur at the tunnel was also the last, as it led to its abandonment.
wagons. This was done by lowering the track, in a process involving removing the existing track and ballast
, digging out the floor of the tunnel and then laying new track set on a concrete base.
As the tunnel was on a very busy main line, and in order to minimise the disruption to passenger and freight services, it was decided that each of the two tracks through the tunnel would be renewed separately, with trains continuing to run on the adjacent open track.
Work was completed on the "Up" (southbound) track by 10 March 1979, and trains were then transferred to this track by the following day, to allow the "Down" (northbound) track to be modified.
. He decided that it would be wise to shore up the affected piece of the tunnel and was making his way towards the site office to make the appropriate arrangements when he heard the sound of the tunnel collapsing behind him.
It is estimated that approximately 20 metres of the tunnel arch collapsed, with the resultant rock fall filling 30 metres of the tunnel from floor to roof, totally enveloping a dumper truck and a JCB
. Thirteen of the people inside the tunnel at the time of the collapse escaped successfully, but the dumper truck and JCB operators could not be accounted for, and were determined to have been killed in the accident.
report was written by Lieutenant Colonel I.K.A. McNaughton, on 2 August 1983. The report concluded that it was impossible to be certain as to the cause of the collapse as access could not be gained to the collapsed portion of the tunnel.
The report did however suggest that the collapse was likely to be the result of over-stressing of the natural rock on which the brick arch rings were founded. It was likely to have happened at some time in any event and there was insufficient evidence to say whether or not it had been triggered by the excavation.
Finally the report stated that there were no grounds for finding any individual responsible for the accident. British Rail was however charged in the High Court
, in Edinburgh
, with health and safety offences; found guilty; and was fined £10,000.
to re-open the tunnel by removing the collapsed material and repairing the structure of the tunnel. However once the extent of the collapse became apparent, it was decided that this operation would be too difficult and dangerous, and that a more expedient and cost effective option would be to construct a new alignment for the railway.
This decision resulted in around one kilometre (1,100 yards) of existing railway (including the tunnel itself) being abandoned and replaced by a new section of line constructed in open cut, somewhat to the west of the original course. The operation to reopen the railway took five months of round-the-clock working. The portals of the collapsed tunnel were sealed to prevent unauthorised access.
The contractor Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons Ltd
started work on the new alignment on 7 May 1979, and it was completed on 20 August of that year.
During the closure, some trains from King's Cross terminated at Berwick
, with onward services being provided by a fleet of buses, some towing trailers for luggage. The bus service went as far as Dunbar
, where a railway shuttle took over between Dunbar and Edinburgh
. Other East Coast Mainline Intercity 125
services to Edinburgh
were diverted via Newcastle, Carlisle
and Carstairs
.
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Since the tunnel was closed, the landscape has gradually 'returned to nature'. The southern portal has been covered by the hillside, and the only clues to the route of the old line are a dry-stone wall marking the railway boundary, and a disused bridge that used to carry the A1 main road over the line.
, who were killed when the tunnel collapsed. A three-sided obelisk
was erected over the point where the tunnel collapsed to act as a memorial. One face of the obelisk displays a cross, while each of the other two faces commemorates one of the men killed.
The memorial is adjacent to a road running over the hill and is clearly marked on 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 scale OS maps
, at grid ref: NT 797670 http://leisure.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/leisure/products.jsp?xvalue=380500&yvalue=667500&q=penmanshiel&zoomindex=3®ionkey=GB&minx=0&maxx=0&miny=0&maxy=0&placename=Penmanshiel&publisher=null. From the maps it is also possible to determine the abandoned section of the A1 road, but the original course of the railway is not visible.
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
near Grantshouse
Grantshouse
Grantshouse is a small village in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders of Scotland. It lies on the A1, and its nearest railway stations are Dunbar to the north and Berwick-upon-Tweed to the south.- External links :**]**...
, Berwickshire
Berwickshire
Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a lieutenancy area of Scotland, on the border with England. The town after which it is named—Berwick-upon-Tweed—was lost by Scotland to England in 1482...
, in the Scottish Borders
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...
region of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It was formerly used as part of the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
between Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
and Dunbar
Dunbar
Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....
.
The tunnel was constructed during 1845-46 by the contractors Ross and Mitchell, to a design by John Miller
John Miller (engineer)
John Miller was a civil engineer of the 19th century. He was born in Ayr and died in Edinburgh. He went into partnership with Thomas Grainger in 1825. The partnership was responsible for many of Scotland's great railway projects. Miller took the lead role in surveying the Edinburgh and Glasgow...
, who was the Engineer to the North British Railway
North British Railway
The North British Railway was a Scottish railway company that was absorbed into the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923.-History:...
. Upon completion, the tunnel was inspected by the Inspector-General of Railways, Major-General Charles Pasley
Charles Pasley
General Sir Charles William Pasley KCB was a British soldier and military engineer who wrote the defining text on the role of the post-American revolution British Empire: An Essay on the Military Policy and Institutions of the British Empire, published in 1810. This text changed how Britons...
, on behalf of the Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
.
The tunnel consisted of a single bore, 244 metres long, containing two running lines.
During its 134-year existence, the tunnel was the location for two incident investigations by HM Railway Inspectorate
HM Railway Inspectorate
Established in 1840, HM Railway Inspectorate was the British organisation responsible for overseeing safety on Britain's railways and tramways...
. The first of these was in 1949, when a serious fire destroyed two carriages of a south-bound express from Edinburgh. Seven passengers were injured, but there were no fatalities.
The second incident occurred on 17 March 1979 when, during improvement works, a length of the tunnel collapsed. Two workmen were killed, although 13 others managed to escape. Later it was determined that the ground was not stable enough to excavate and rebuild the tunnel, so it was sealed-up and a new alignment was made for the railway, in a cutting to the west of the hill.
The tunnel was also affected by the August 1948 floods. The damage caused by these floods led to the abandonment of much of the railway network in the south east of Scotland.
August 1948 floods
On 12 August 1948, some 6.25 inches (160 mm) of rain fell in the area; the total for the week being 10.5 inches (265 mm). Rain falling on the Lammermuir HillsLammermuir Hills
The Lammermuir Hills, usually simply called the Lammermuirs , in southern Scotland, form a natural boundary between Lothian and the Scottish Borders....
surged into the Eye Water towards Reston
Reston, Scottish Borders
Reston is a village located in the southeast of Scotland, in Berwickshire, Scottish Borders region. The village lies on the western bank of the Eye Water.- Location :...
, but this channel could not accommodate all of the water. The flood water then backed up the tunnel and flowed to sea in the opposite direction, towards Cockburnspath
Cockburnspath
Cockburnspath is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It lies near the North Sea coast between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh. It is at the eastern extremity of the Southern Upland Way, a long-distance footpath from the west to east coast of Scotland, and it is also the terminus...
. The tunnel was flooded to within two feet of the crown of the portal.
Train fire (1949)
On the evening of 23 June 1949 a fire broke out in the tenth coach of an express passenger train from EdinburghEdinburgh Waverley railway station
Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Covering an area of over 25 acres in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being...
to King's Cross, about two and a half miles beyond Cockburnspath
Cockburnspath
Cockburnspath is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It lies near the North Sea coast between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh. It is at the eastern extremity of the Southern Upland Way, a long-distance footpath from the west to east coast of Scotland, and it is also the terminus...
. The train was stopped somewhere near the tunnel, within one and a quarter minutes of the fire starting, but the fire spread rapidly and with such extreme ferocity that, within seconds, the brake-composite carriage was engulfed and the fire had spread to the coach in front. Most passengers escaped by running to the guard's compartment or forwards along the corridor, but some were compelled to break the windows and jump down onto the track. One lady was seriously injured by doing this.
The train crew reacted quickly to the incident. The four coaches behind the two ablaze were uncoupled and pushed back, leaving them isolated up the line. Having drawn forward and uncoupled the two burning vehicles, the driver proceeded with the front eight coaches to Grantshouse station.
The cause of the fire was thought to be a cigarette end or lighted match
Match
A match is a tool for starting a fire under controlled conditions. A typical modern match is made of a small wooden stick or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by frictional heat generated by striking the match against a suitable surface...
dropped against a partition in the corridor. However this did not explain the reason for its rapid spread...
Despite the severity of the blaze, which reduced the two carriages to their underframes, only seven passengers were injured, with no fatalities.
Tunnel collapse (1979)
Upgrading work
Work was being carried out to increase the internal dimension of the tunnel to allow 8 in 6 in (2.59 m) high containers to travel through it on freightlinerFreightliner (UK)
Freightliner Group Limited is a rail freight and logistics company, founded in 1995 and now operating in the United Kingdom, Poland, and Australia. It is the second largest rail freight operator in the UK, after DB Schenker Rail .- History :...
wagons. This was done by lowering the track, in a process involving removing the existing track and ballast
Track ballast
Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railway sleepers or railroad ties are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to facilitate drainage of water, to distribute the load from the railroad ties, and also to keep down vegetation that might interfere with the track...
, digging out the floor of the tunnel and then laying new track set on a concrete base.
As the tunnel was on a very busy main line, and in order to minimise the disruption to passenger and freight services, it was decided that each of the two tracks through the tunnel would be renewed separately, with trains continuing to run on the adjacent open track.
Work was completed on the "Up" (southbound) track by 10 March 1979, and trains were then transferred to this track by the following day, to allow the "Down" (northbound) track to be modified.
Tunnel collapse
At the time the tunnel collapsed there were a total of 15 people and 5 items of plant inside. According to the Railway Inspectorate report, shortly before 3:45am the duty Railway Works Inspector noticed some small pieces of rock flaking away from the tunnel wall, approximately 90 metres from the southern portalPortal (architecture)
Portal is a general term describing an opening in the walls of a building, gate or fortification, and especially a grand entrance to an important structure. Doors, metal gates or portcullis in the opening can be used to control entry or exit. The surface surrounding the opening may be made of...
. He decided that it would be wise to shore up the affected piece of the tunnel and was making his way towards the site office to make the appropriate arrangements when he heard the sound of the tunnel collapsing behind him.
It is estimated that approximately 20 metres of the tunnel arch collapsed, with the resultant rock fall filling 30 metres of the tunnel from floor to roof, totally enveloping a dumper truck and a JCB
Backhoe loader
A backhoe loader, also called a loader backhoe, digger, or colloquially shortened to backhoe, is a heavy equipment vehicle that consists of a tractor fitted with a shovel/bucket on the front and a small backhoe on the back...
. Thirteen of the people inside the tunnel at the time of the collapse escaped successfully, but the dumper truck and JCB operators could not be accounted for, and were determined to have been killed in the accident.
Official report
An official HM Railway InspectorateHM Railway Inspectorate
Established in 1840, HM Railway Inspectorate was the British organisation responsible for overseeing safety on Britain's railways and tramways...
report was written by Lieutenant Colonel I.K.A. McNaughton, on 2 August 1983. The report concluded that it was impossible to be certain as to the cause of the collapse as access could not be gained to the collapsed portion of the tunnel.
The report did however suggest that the collapse was likely to be the result of over-stressing of the natural rock on which the brick arch rings were founded. It was likely to have happened at some time in any event and there was insufficient evidence to say whether or not it had been triggered by the excavation.
Finally the report stated that there were no grounds for finding any individual responsible for the accident. British Rail was however charged in the High Court
High Court of Justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court of Scotland.The High Court is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal. As a court of first instance, the High Court sits mainly in Parliament House, or in the former Sheriff Court building, in Edinburgh, but also sits from time...
, in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, with health and safety offences; found guilty; and was fined £10,000.
Replacement works
After the collapse, it was originally the intention of British RailBritish Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
to re-open the tunnel by removing the collapsed material and repairing the structure of the tunnel. However once the extent of the collapse became apparent, it was decided that this operation would be too difficult and dangerous, and that a more expedient and cost effective option would be to construct a new alignment for the railway.
This decision resulted in around one kilometre (1,100 yards) of existing railway (including the tunnel itself) being abandoned and replaced by a new section of line constructed in open cut, somewhat to the west of the original course. The operation to reopen the railway took five months of round-the-clock working. The portals of the collapsed tunnel were sealed to prevent unauthorised access.
The contractor Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons Ltd
Sir Robert McAlpine
Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. is a private British company headquartered in London. It carries out engineering and construction for the oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation, nuclear, pharmaceutical, defence, chemical, water and mining industries.-History:...
started work on the new alignment on 7 May 1979, and it was completed on 20 August of that year.
During the closure, some trains from King's Cross terminated at Berwick
Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station
Berwick-upon-Tweed railway station is a railway station which serves the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland. It is located on the East Coast Main Line, 335 miles north of London Kings Cross and 55 miles south of Edinburgh Waverley...
, with onward services being provided by a fleet of buses, some towing trailers for luggage. The bus service went as far as Dunbar
Dunbar railway station
Dunbar railway station serves the town of Dunbar in East Lothian, Scotland. It is located on the East Coast Main Line and is a single platform station...
, where a railway shuttle took over between Dunbar and Edinburgh
Edinburgh Waverley railway station
Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Covering an area of over 25 acres in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being...
. Other East Coast Mainline Intercity 125
InterCity 125
The InterCity 125 was the brand name of British Rail's High Speed Train fleet. The InterCity 125 train is made up of two power cars, one at each end of a fixed formation of Mark 3 carriages, and is capable of , making the train the fastest diesel-powered locomotive in regular service in the...
services to Edinburgh
Edinburgh Waverley railway station
Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Covering an area of over 25 acres in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being...
were diverted via Newcastle, Carlisle
Carlisle railway station
Carlisle railway station, also known as Carlisle Citadel station, is a railway station whichserves the Cumbrian City of Carlisle, England, and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line, lying south of Glasgow Central, and north of London Euston...
and Carstairs
Carstairs railway station
Carstairs railway station in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, is a major junction station on the West Coast Main Line , situated close to the point at which the lines from London Euston to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh diverge...
.
Road diversion
As a result of the work to re-align the railway line, it was also necessary to alter the course of the A1 trunk road. A map of the area, clearly showing both the railway and the road diverting to the west is available here.Visible remains
Memorial
As the collapsed portion of the tunnel was never excavated, the site essentially became the final resting place of Gordon Turnbull from the village of Gordon 22 miles away and Peter Fowler from EyemouthEyemouth
Eyemouth , historically spelt Aymouth, is a small town and civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is east of the main north-south A1 road and just north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. It has a population of circa 3,420 people .The town's name comes from its location at...
, who were killed when the tunnel collapsed. A three-sided obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
was erected over the point where the tunnel collapsed to act as a memorial. One face of the obelisk displays a cross, while each of the other two faces commemorates one of the men killed.
The memorial is adjacent to a road running over the hill and is clearly marked on 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 scale OS maps
Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey , an executive agency and non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom, is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, producing maps of Great Britain , and one of the world's largest producers of maps.The name reflects its creation together with...
, at grid ref: NT 797670 http://leisure.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/leisure/products.jsp?xvalue=380500&yvalue=667500&q=penmanshiel&zoomindex=3®ionkey=GB&minx=0&maxx=0&miny=0&maxy=0&placename=Penmanshiel&publisher=null. From the maps it is also possible to determine the abandoned section of the A1 road, but the original course of the railway is not visible.
See also
- Railway accidents in Scotland
- London and North Eastern RailwayLondon and North Eastern RailwayThe London and North Eastern Railway was the second-largest of the "Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain...
– operated the rail services between 1923 and 1948 - British RailBritish RailBritish Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
– operated the rail services between 1948 and abandonment of the tunnel - Penmanshiel
- List of places in the Scottish Borders
- List of places in Scotland
Further reading
- Report on the Accident which occurred on 23 June 1949 at Penmanshiel in the Scottish Region British Railways (HMSO, 1949)
External links
- Report on the Collapse of Penmanshiel Tunnel from Her Majesty's Stationery Office
- Report on the 1949 Accident at Penmanshiel from Her Majesty's Stationery Office (document not yet available, July 2007) (HMSO, 1952) – This fire shared many similarities with the Penmanshiel fire of 1949, and the report makes frequent references to it. Section 27 and later are particularly relevant.
Photographic resources
- Pre-collapse: A4 60004 "William Whitelaw" emerging from Penmanshiel Tunnel (22 June 1959)
- – clearly shows relationship between railway, tunnel and road bridge, at southern portal.
- During re-instatement: BR Class 55 'Deltics' at Dunbar on the shuttle service to Edinburgh. (27 July 1979)
- The new alignment, pre-electrification: BR Class 40 on an ammonia tanker train. (10 August 1984)
- Visible remains: The abandoned railway. The memorial. (14 February 2005)