Standedge Tunnels
Encyclopedia
The Standedge Tunnels are four parallel
tunnel
s that run beneath the Pennines
at the traditional Standedge
crossing point between Marsden
and Diggle
, on the edges of the conurbation
s of West Yorkshire
and Greater Manchester
respectively, in northern England
.
There are three railway
tunnels and a canal
tunnel (on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
). The canal tunnel is the longest and oldest of the tunnels, and holds the record as the longest and highest canal tunnel in Britain
. All four tunnels are linked by cross-tunnels or adit
s at strategic locations within the tunnels. The adits allowed the railway tunnels to be built much more quickly by allowing 'waste spoil'(sic) to be removed by boat and reducing the need for shafts for construction.
Of the railway tunnels, only the tunnel built in 1894 is currently used for rail traffic. Closed in 1943, the canal tunnel was re-opened in May 2001. The Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre, at the Marsden end of the tunnel, serves as a base for boat trips into the canal tunnel and hosts an exhibition which depicts the various crossings.
was the consulting engineer for the construction of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal (then known as the Huddersfield Canal), which was authorised by an act of Parliament
on 4 April 1794, to link the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne
and Huddersfield
through the tunnel. He had produced a report in October 1793, which estimated the cost for the whole canal, including the tunnel, at £178,478, while Nicholas Brown had produced the survey for the route. Outram had given his opinion that the hill through which the tunnel was to be cut was composed of gritstone and strong shale and should not present any difficulties. There was a dip in the hill at Red Brook, and he expected to be able to start work there as well as at the two ends, using steam engines to keep the works drained. The length of the tunnel would be 5456 yards (4,989 m).
Work began with Outram acting as engineer and Brown acting as superintendent and surveyor. In July 1795, John Evans was appointed to manage the boring of the tunnel. By mid-1796, 795 yards (726.9 m) of tunnel had been cut, some of which had been lined, but much effort had been spent on constructing small tunnels to supply waterwheels, which would raise spoil and water from the intermediate adits. By the autumn there was concern that such work was expensive but had not contributed anything to the task in hand, and soon afterwards, Outram abandoned the attempt to build extra workfaces, and to concentrate on working from both ends. Although cheaper, this choice extended the completion date. Tunnelling was hampered by much larger quantities of water entering the workings than had been expected. In September 1797, Outram advised the management committee that Thomas Lee, the first contractor to be employed on the tunnel works, had made large losses as a result of the difficulties, and could not complete his contract. He was awarded more money for timber, an increased rate per yard for completion, and an extra year in which to finish.
By the middle of 1799, 1000 yards (914.4 m) of the tunnel had been finished, and a further 1000 yards (914.4 m) had been excavated but not completed. In October 1800, the Peak Forest Canal
Company, who were keen to trade through the tunnel, suggested that a tramway should be built to bypass the tunnel until it was completed, but although Outram looked at this option, no action was taken. The next tunnel contract failed to attract any takers, so John Varley, who had been working on repairs to parts of the canal which had been damaged by floods, was asked to do some tunnelling. Next, Matthew Fletcher, who had experience of mining, was asked for an opinion. He suggested that time could be saved by tunnelling in both directions from Redbrook pit, which was being kept dry by a large steam engine. He estimated that this would cost an additional £8,000, but although the committee tried to find a contractor to carry out the work, none could be found, and tunnelling continued from both ends.
Outram left the project in 1801, after work had stopped for a lengthy period. In late 1804, the committee began to address the issue of how the tunnel would be worked, and a sub-committee visited the Harecastle Tunnel
on the Trent and Mersey Canal
, the Butterley Tunnel
on the Cromford Canal
, and the Norwood Tunnel
on the Chesterfield Canal
. After seeing them, they recommended that a towing path should be built through the tunnel, but the extra cost and delays could not be afforded. Desperately short of money, the canal company obtained a new act of Parliament in 1806, to raise additional finance, and to allow an extra toll for using the tunnel to be charged. In 1807, Thomas Telford
was asked for advice on construction and planning, and produced a detailed plan, which was carefully followed until the work was completed. On 9 June 1809, the two ends of the tunnel finally met. Nearly two years after that, on 26 March 1811, the tunnel was declared to be complete, and a grand opening ceremony was held on 4 April. A party of invited guests, followed by several working boats, entered the tunnel at Diggle and completed the journey to Marsden in one hour and forty minutes. The tunnel had cost some £160,000, and was the most expensive canal tunnel built in Britain.
for much of its length, and to save on cost, as in some other canal tunnels in England, no tow-path
was provided in the tunnel. As canal boats were horse-drawn, the boats had to be legged
through the tunnel - a process where one or more boatmen lay on the cargo and pushed against the roof or walls of the tunnel with their legs. Professional leggers were paid 1s 6d for working a boat through the tunnel, which took 1 hour 20 minutes for an empty boat, and 3 hours with a full load.
There are several widened points in the tunnel, originally designed to be passing places. However, due to intense competition between boat crews, two-way operation in the tunnel was found to be unpracticable. The canal company introduced a new method of working where one end of the tunnel was closed off by a locked chain, preventing access to the tunnel unless authorised. A similar system is used today.
Most quotes on the internet state the last boat through the tunnel was the Rolt/Aickman expedition in the leaky Ailsa Craig in 1948, when it was in unknown condition. Tom Rolt, writing in 1948, stated that he had recently traversed the tunnel. The journey taking two hours, since they were travelling very slowly so as to avoid damage to their boat. The canal was blocked at several locations on both sides of the Pennines. The canal tunnel became unsafe, and was closed off by large iron gates at each end.
A local newspaper article covers a story about a special trip organised by the Railway and Canal Historical Society in 1961. This was to commemorate 150 years since building work on the canal was complete. The trip left Marsden around 11 a.m, it emerged out of the Diggle portal around 1 p.m.
Most modern canal boats are diesel-powered. When the canal was reopened it was felt that it would not be safe for boaters to navigate the tunnel under their own diesel power, due to the extreme length of the tunnel and the lack of ventilation. Instead, electric tug boats hauled narrowboats through the tunnel.
In September 2007, it was identified that significant repairs were required to one of the electric tug modules, and British Waterways
carried out a trial run for self-steer operation. The trip boat Pennine Moonraker was taken through the tunnel under her own power by owner John Lund, shadowed by a BW electric tug.
Since the 2009 season, boats have been allowed to travel through the tunnel under their own power, with a chaperone on their boat, followed by a service vehicle through a parallel disused railway tunnel.
, having acquired the former Huddersfield and Manchester Railway in 1847. This was a single line tunnel with a length of 3 miles, 57 yards (4803 m). The tunnel is located immediately to the south of, but at a slightly higher level than, the canal tunnel.
and the Sheffield
to Manchester route's Totley Tunnel
.
s.
have proposed the reinstatement of rail traffic through the 1871 and 1848 tunnels to increase capacity on the trans-pennine route.
The Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre is situated at the Marsden end of the tunnel. It is located in the former warehouse, used for transshipment
of goods from canal barge to packhorse
during the period between 1798, when the canal reached Marsden, and 1811, when the tunnel opened. The centre contains exhibitions on the history of the tunnels, the canal tunnel's recent restoration, and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
.
The nearby Tunnel End Cottages, which formerly housed canal maintenance workers, house a cafe and the booking office for 30 minute boat trips into the tunnel. These trips use the same electric tugs as are used to tow private boats through the tunnel, in this case pushing a passenger-carrying barge.
The visitors centre is situated about half a mile (0.8 km) to the west of Marsden railway station
and can easily be reached from the station by walking along the towpath of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, which runs adjacent to the station. Adjacent to the station is the headquarters of the National Trust
's Marsden Moor Estate
, which includes a public exhibition, Welcome to Marsden, that gives an overview of the area and its transport history.
Parallel (geometry)
Parallelism is a term in geometry and in everyday life that refers to a property in Euclidean space of two or more lines or planes, or a combination of these. The assumed existence and properties of parallel lines are the basis of Euclid's parallel postulate. Two lines in a plane that do not...
tunnel
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...
s that run beneath the Pennines
Pennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
at the traditional Standedge
Standedge
Standedge is a moorland escarpment in the Pennine Hills of northern England. Located between Marsden and Diggle, on the edges of the metropolitan counties of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester respectively, Standedge has been a major moorland crossing point since Roman times and possibly...
crossing point between Marsden
Marsden, West Yorkshire
Marsden is a large village within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, west of Huddersfield and located at the confluence of the River Colne and the Wessenden Brook...
and Diggle
Diggle, Greater Manchester
Diggle is a village within the Saddleworth parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. The village is situated on the moorlands of the Pennine hills....
, on the edges of the conurbation
Conurbation
A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
s of West Yorkshire
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....
and Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
respectively, in northern 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...
.
There are three railway
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
tunnels and a canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
tunnel (on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
Huddersfield Narrow Canal
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under from Lock 1E at the rear of the University of Huddersfield campus, near Aspley Basin at Huddersfield to the junction with the Ashton Canal at Whitelands Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne...
). The canal tunnel is the longest and oldest of the tunnels, and holds the record as the longest and highest canal tunnel in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. All four tunnels are linked by cross-tunnels or adit
Adit
An adit is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, and ventilated.-Construction:...
s at strategic locations within the tunnels. The adits allowed the railway tunnels to be built much more quickly by allowing 'waste spoil'(sic) to be removed by boat and reducing the need for shafts for construction.
Of the railway tunnels, only the tunnel built in 1894 is currently used for rail traffic. Closed in 1943, the canal tunnel was re-opened in May 2001. The Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre, at the Marsden end of the tunnel, serves as a base for boat trips into the canal tunnel and hosts an exhibition which depicts the various crossings.
The canal tunnel
The Standedge Tunnel is the longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel in Britain. It is 5029 metres (16,499.3 ft) long, 194 metres (636.5 ft) underground at the deepest point, and 196 metres (643 ft) above sea level.Construction
Benjamin OutramBenjamin Outram
Benjamin Outram was an English civil engineer, surveyor and industrialist. He was a pioneer in the building of canals and tramways.-Personal life:...
was the consulting engineer for the construction of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal (then known as the Huddersfield Canal), which was authorised by an act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
on 4 April 1794, to link the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
and Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
through the tunnel. He had produced a report in October 1793, which estimated the cost for the whole canal, including the tunnel, at £178,478, while Nicholas Brown had produced the survey for the route. Outram had given his opinion that the hill through which the tunnel was to be cut was composed of gritstone and strong shale and should not present any difficulties. There was a dip in the hill at Red Brook, and he expected to be able to start work there as well as at the two ends, using steam engines to keep the works drained. The length of the tunnel would be 5456 yards (4,989 m).
Work began with Outram acting as engineer and Brown acting as superintendent and surveyor. In July 1795, John Evans was appointed to manage the boring of the tunnel. By mid-1796, 795 yards (726.9 m) of tunnel had been cut, some of which had been lined, but much effort had been spent on constructing small tunnels to supply waterwheels, which would raise spoil and water from the intermediate adits. By the autumn there was concern that such work was expensive but had not contributed anything to the task in hand, and soon afterwards, Outram abandoned the attempt to build extra workfaces, and to concentrate on working from both ends. Although cheaper, this choice extended the completion date. Tunnelling was hampered by much larger quantities of water entering the workings than had been expected. In September 1797, Outram advised the management committee that Thomas Lee, the first contractor to be employed on the tunnel works, had made large losses as a result of the difficulties, and could not complete his contract. He was awarded more money for timber, an increased rate per yard for completion, and an extra year in which to finish.
By the middle of 1799, 1000 yards (914.4 m) of the tunnel had been finished, and a further 1000 yards (914.4 m) had been excavated but not completed. In October 1800, the Peak Forest Canal
Peak Forest Canal
The Peak Forest Canal, is a narrow locked artificial waterway in northern England. It is long and forms part of the connected English/Welsh inland waterway network.-General description:...
Company, who were keen to trade through the tunnel, suggested that a tramway should be built to bypass the tunnel until it was completed, but although Outram looked at this option, no action was taken. The next tunnel contract failed to attract any takers, so John Varley, who had been working on repairs to parts of the canal which had been damaged by floods, was asked to do some tunnelling. Next, Matthew Fletcher, who had experience of mining, was asked for an opinion. He suggested that time could be saved by tunnelling in both directions from Redbrook pit, which was being kept dry by a large steam engine. He estimated that this would cost an additional £8,000, but although the committee tried to find a contractor to carry out the work, none could be found, and tunnelling continued from both ends.
Outram left the project in 1801, after work had stopped for a lengthy period. In late 1804, the committee began to address the issue of how the tunnel would be worked, and a sub-committee visited the Harecastle Tunnel
Harecastle Tunnel
Harecastle Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal at Kidsgrove in Staffordshire. It is made up of two separate, parallel, tunnels described as Brindley and the later Telford after the engineers that constructed them. Today only the Telford tunnel is navigable...
on the Trent and Mersey Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
, the Butterley Tunnel
Butterley Tunnel
Butterley Tunnel is a one and three quarter mile long canal tunnel on the Cromford Canal below Ripley, in Derbyshire, England, opened to traffic in 1794.-Origins:...
on the Cromford Canal
Cromford Canal
The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks....
, and the Norwood Tunnel
Norwood Tunnel
Norwood Tunnel was a , and brick lined canal tunnel on the line of the Chesterfield Canal with its Western Portal in Norwood, Derbyshire and its Eastern Portal in Kiveton, South Yorkshire, England.-Origins:...
on the Chesterfield Canal
Chesterfield Canal
The Chesterfield Canal is in the north of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was opened in 1777 and ran 46 miles from the River Trent at West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield, Derbyshire...
. After seeing them, they recommended that a towing path should be built through the tunnel, but the extra cost and delays could not be afforded. Desperately short of money, the canal company obtained a new act of Parliament in 1806, to raise additional finance, and to allow an extra toll for using the tunnel to be charged. In 1807, Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
was asked for advice on construction and planning, and produced a detailed plan, which was carefully followed until the work was completed. On 9 June 1809, the two ends of the tunnel finally met. Nearly two years after that, on 26 March 1811, the tunnel was declared to be complete, and a grand opening ceremony was held on 4 April. A party of invited guests, followed by several working boats, entered the tunnel at Diggle and completed the journey to Marsden in one hour and forty minutes. The tunnel had cost some £160,000, and was the most expensive canal tunnel built in Britain.
Completion
When the tunnel eventually opened, the canal became a through route 13 years after the rest of it had been completed and 17 years after work first began, at a cost of £123,803. Despite multiple problems, the building of the Huddersfield Narrow canal showed that the technique of quantity surveying had advanced greatly. Telford's report covered every expenditure to the last bucket; it was followed to the letter until the canal finally opened. Between 1811 and 1840 the tunnel was used on average by 40 boats daily. The canal tunnel was brick-lined in places, though bare rock was left exposed in others.Method of operation
The canal tunnel is only wide enough for one narrowboatNarrowboat
A narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...
for much of its length, and to save on cost, as in some other canal tunnels in England, no tow-path
Towpath
A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge...
was provided in the tunnel. As canal boats were horse-drawn, the boats had to be legged
Legging (canals)
Legging is a method of moving a boat through a canal tunnel or adit containing water.-Legging in canal tunnels:Early canal tunnels were built without a towpath as this would require a much larger bore, and hence cost more to build. Prior to the introduction of motorised boats, legging was one of...
through the tunnel - a process where one or more boatmen lay on the cargo and pushed against the roof or walls of the tunnel with their legs. Professional leggers were paid 1s 6d for working a boat through the tunnel, which took 1 hour 20 minutes for an empty boat, and 3 hours with a full load.
There are several widened points in the tunnel, originally designed to be passing places. However, due to intense competition between boat crews, two-way operation in the tunnel was found to be unpracticable. The canal company introduced a new method of working where one end of the tunnel was closed off by a locked chain, preventing access to the tunnel unless authorised. A similar system is used today.
The railway influence
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal was purchased by the 'Huddersfield and Manchester Railway' in 1846. The canal tunnel proved most beneficial in assisting with the construction of the first railway tunnel at this location, as no vertical shafts were needed in the construction and the canal was an easy way to help remove the large amount of spoil excavated. Several cross-passages were retained.Closure
The last commercial boat to use the tunnel passed through in 1921, and the canal was officially closed in 1944, after which it soon fell into disrepair.Most quotes on the internet state the last boat through the tunnel was the Rolt/Aickman expedition in the leaky Ailsa Craig in 1948, when it was in unknown condition. Tom Rolt, writing in 1948, stated that he had recently traversed the tunnel. The journey taking two hours, since they were travelling very slowly so as to avoid damage to their boat. The canal was blocked at several locations on both sides of the Pennines. The canal tunnel became unsafe, and was closed off by large iron gates at each end.
A local newspaper article covers a story about a special trip organised by the Railway and Canal Historical Society in 1961. This was to commemorate 150 years since building work on the canal was complete. The trip left Marsden around 11 a.m, it emerged out of the Diggle portal around 1 p.m.
Restoration and modern-day operation
The canal tunnel was the beneficiary of a £5 million restoration project as part of an effort to re-open the entire canal. Several rock-lined parts of the tunnel were found to be unstable. Where possible, these were stabilised by rock bolts, or where impractical, concrete was used to stabilise the rock face. The tunnel re-opened in May 2001.Most modern canal boats are diesel-powered. When the canal was reopened it was felt that it would not be safe for boaters to navigate the tunnel under their own diesel power, due to the extreme length of the tunnel and the lack of ventilation. Instead, electric tug boats hauled narrowboats through the tunnel.
In September 2007, it was identified that significant repairs were required to one of the electric tug modules, and British Waterways
British Waterways
British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
carried out a trial run for self-steer operation. The trip boat Pennine Moonraker was taken through the tunnel under her own power by owner John Lund, shadowed by a BW electric tug.
Since the 2009 season, boats have been allowed to travel through the tunnel under their own power, with a chaperone on their boat, followed by a service vehicle through a parallel disused railway tunnel.
The railway tunnels
There are three railway tunnels, running parallel to each other and the canal tunnel. The rail tunnels are level for their whole length providing the only section of level track on the line where water troughs could be installed to provide steam locomotives with fresh water supplies without the requirement for the train to stop.The 1848 (central) tunnel
The central tunnel at Standedge was completed by the London and North Western RailwayLondon and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
, having acquired the former Huddersfield and Manchester Railway in 1847. This was a single line tunnel with a length of 3 miles, 57 yards (4803 m). The tunnel is located immediately to the south of, but at a slightly higher level than, the canal tunnel.
The 1871 (south) tunnel
The 1848 tunnel soon proved to be a bottleneck for rail traffic between Huddersfield and Manchester, and in 1871 a second parallel tunnel was opened. This tunnel was also a single line tunnel with a length of 3 miles, 57 yards (4803 m), and was situated to the south of the first rail tunnel.The 1894 (live) tunnel
The 1894 double bore tunnel was opened by the London and North Western Railway with double track, and a length of 3 miles, 60 yards (4806 m). For most of its length, it is situated to the north of the canal tunnel, but passes over the canal tunnel just inside each tunnel entrance. This tunnel is the fifth longest rail tunnel in Britain after the new High Speed 1 tunnels, Severn TunnelSevern Tunnel
The Severn Tunnel is a railway tunnel in the United Kingdom, linking South Gloucestershire in the west of England to Monmouthshire in south Wales under the estuary of the River Severn....
and the Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
to Manchester route's Totley Tunnel
Totley Tunnel
Totley Tunnel is a tunnel on the former Midland Railway Manchester-Sheffield line between Totley on the outskirts of Sheffield and Grindleford in Derbyshire, England. It was completed in 1893 and was the longest mainline railway tunnel within the United Kingdom that ran under land for its entire...
.
The rail tunnels today
Today only the 1894 rail tunnel is still used for rail traffic, although all three rail tunnels are still maintained. The 1848 tunnel is used to provide an emergency escape route for the other tunnels, and has been made accessible to road vehicles such as fire engines and ambulanceAmbulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
s.
Future proposals
Network RailNetwork Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
have proposed the reinstatement of rail traffic through the 1871 and 1848 tunnels to increase capacity on the trans-pennine route.
Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre
Transshipment
Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....
of goods from canal barge to packhorse
Packhorse
.A packhorse or pack horse refers generally to an equid such as a horse, mule, donkey or pony used for carrying goods on their backs, usually carried in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of wheeled vehicles. ...
during the period between 1798, when the canal reached Marsden, and 1811, when the tunnel opened. The centre contains exhibitions on the history of the tunnels, the canal tunnel's recent restoration, and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal
Huddersfield Narrow Canal
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in northern England. It runs just under from Lock 1E at the rear of the University of Huddersfield campus, near Aspley Basin at Huddersfield to the junction with the Ashton Canal at Whitelands Basin in Ashton-under-Lyne...
.
The nearby Tunnel End Cottages, which formerly housed canal maintenance workers, house a cafe and the booking office for 30 minute boat trips into the tunnel. These trips use the same electric tugs as are used to tow private boats through the tunnel, in this case pushing a passenger-carrying barge.
The visitors centre is situated about half a mile (0.8 km) to the west of Marsden railway station
Marsden railway station
Marsden railway station serves the village of Marsden near Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. The station is on the Huddersfield Line, operated by Northern Rail and is about west of Huddersfield station...
and can easily be reached from the station by walking along the towpath of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, which runs adjacent to the station. Adjacent to the station is the headquarters of the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
's Marsden Moor Estate
Marsden Moor Estate
The Marsden Moor Estate is a large expanse of moorland situated in the Pennines, between the conurbations of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester in the north of England...
, which includes a public exhibition, Welcome to Marsden, that gives an overview of the area and its transport history.
See also
- Canals of Great Britain
- History of the British canal systemHistory of the British canal systemThe British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of "mass" transit by road of raw materials and finished products The...
External links
- Internal Standedge tunnel pictures can be seen here
- Aerial photos of the Diggle portal and the Marsden portal
- Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre
- Waterscape services directory
- Standedge Tunnel
- A walk between Marsden Station and Standedge Tunnel from TripsByTrain.com