Gender: Male
Status: Single
Age: 42
Sign: Aries
City: Leeds
State: Northeast
Country: UK
Signup Date: 10/18/2007
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Sunday, July 12, 2009
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Current mood:  adventurous Category: Travel and Places
Three railway tunnels, and a canal tunnel were constructed in this great engineering feat. There are over 12 miles of tunnels, all joined together by a labyrinth of small interconnecting passages and adits.
*The Standedge railway tunnel is the third longest in the U.K*
It was the longest, and held that record for 30 years.
*The Standedge 1894 rail tunnel is 3 miles and 57 yards long (5337 yards)*
*The canal tunnel is the longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel in Britain*
It is 3.1 miles long, 640 ft underground,
and 640 ft above sea level.
It took me three trips to photograph the tunnels, air shafts and surrounding landscape. I hope you enjoy taking a look inside this otherwise hidden subterranean world.
A good archive shot showing the track layout when all three tunnels were in use. The two older tunnels on the left of the picture were closed in 1963. The sheer scale of this engineering feat can be measured by how small the train looks to the surrounding hills.
© Larry Goddard (Coachmann)
I found this great image while doing some research on Standedge. I just had to ask Larry if i could use it. An unidentified class 40 leans to the curve at Marsden. The class 40's were always my favourite engines. They were the heavy weight work horses of British rail. Big, noisy and built like battleships. They make the trains of today look like flimsy sardine tins.
 There's some great scenery overlooking Marsden from the top of the tunnel.
What better way to spend a lazy Sunday morning? Soon we would leave the sunny world behind and go explore the dark confines of those tunnels.
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal runs between Ashton under Lyne in Greater Manchester and Huddersfield in West Yorkshire.
Construction of the Canal began in
1794. The direct route chosen involved a daring plan for a tunnel more than 3 miles long under the Pennine hills at Standedge. The canal was originally to take five years to build. But it didn't open until 1817 and took 17 years to build.
The Huddersfield narrow canal has 74 locks and 12 reservoirs to feed it along it's 20 mile length. Here we can see an old sluice gate that would have controlled the water level at tunnel end.
You can see how the canal tunnel runs just below the railway tunnels on this shot.
The horses were led over the hill and the boats had to be 'Legged through'
'Legging' was where one or more boatmen lay on the boat and pushed against the roof or walls of the tunnel with their legs. They physically walked the boat through the tunnel.
The construction of the tunnel had many problems, many of these being due to poor
organisation. The excavation of the tunnel began at both ends, but after a while it was realised that the Diggle end was being
constructed several feet higher than the
Marsden end. The tunnel has several noticeable bends due to this realignment. In correcting this, previous work was
undermined, causing several collapses. Gunpowder was used to blast through the solid rock and the work took place by candlelight.
Abandon all hope ye who enter here!
The canal tunnel was only wide enough for one boat at a time, but there were several passing places big enough for boats to pass. But as traffic
increased, and time was money, frequent fights broke out amongst the boat crews who refused to back off.
The Canal Company decided that boats could
only be propelled through the tunnel by its
own official "leggers" They operated a traffic control system. This involved only westbound traffic using the tunnel for a four hour period, then only eastbound during the next four hours. The leggers were accommodated in Tunnel End Cottages at Marsden.
The last commercial boat to use the tunnel passed through in 1921, and the canal was
officially closed in 1944.
*Most quotes on the internet state the last boat through the tunnel was the Rolt/Aickman expedition in the leaky Ailsa Craig in 1948. Tom Rolt, Robert Aickman, James Sutherland and Elizabeth Jane Howard traversed the tunnel when it was in unknown condition.
They heroicallly struggled from one end to the other, but this soon became impracticable, 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*
Thanks to John (J.B 303) we've found an old newspaper article about an organised through trip by the Railway and Canal Historical Society in 1961.
There's more added to the story about this little mystery later.
All aboard the underwater urbex mobile!
Captain Nemo Sam H at the healm here.
This scene looks like something out of a James Bond movie 
There are several connecting passages from the canal to the railway tunnel.
Four of these are official emergency exits incase of emergency. These are fitted with motion sensors, lights, a tannoy system and emergency phone. Stairs lead up to the higher railway tunnel in these passages.
In 1974 the Huddersfield Canal Society was formed to try reopen the canal. Funding from English Partnerships, the Millennium Commission
and other sources enabled the re-opening of the blocked sections of canal and tunnel.
The canal tunnel was restored at a cost of 5 million and re-opened in May 2001.
It's difficuilt to get a good long exposure shot on a moving boat.
Using a camera flash in the tunnels tends to wash the rich colours off the brickwork, there is also no depth to the tunnel. The tunnel is built of brick and stone, in many parts it is bare rock excavations. This made legging a boat through the tunnel difficuilt.
The railway line passes over the canal tunnel in places only a few feet above. It's very noisy down here when a train goes over i can say.
The rails and sleepers bridge a gap across a connecting passage between two rail tunnels. I had to use camera flash for this shot, hence the loss of warm colours.
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal was purchased by the 'Huddersfield and Manchester Railway'in 1846. The building of the railway tunnels were made easier by building 13 cross passages connecting to the canal tunnel, many of these passages were retained. Much of the spoil could be removed by boat instead of building vertical construction shafts.
This is the view above the canal tunnel in one of the connecting passages.
You can peer through the small arch into the canal tunnel below. All the passages across the canal tunnel had these rail and sleeper bridges built across.
It's time to put the Urbexmobile into action! Lets trip the light fantastic for a journey back in time.
Back in the past and this is how it used to be!
Here we can see two leggers doing it the hard way. A through trip took them 3 hours and earned them a shilling each trip. The canal enjoyed a period of prosperity until 1845 when the railway came.
Once the railway opened, the railway company had no reason to promote the canal, it fell into slow decline until it closed.
Boats are once again allowed through the tunnel on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. These trips must be booked in advance. All boats have to be accompanied by a British Waterways 'Chaperone'
These gates were fitted on the Diggle portal in 2004, they were designed by local artist Joy Williams. The gates reflect the Tunnel's history of a boat being legged through.
The railway runs next to the canal tunnel, the canal tunnel is also noticeably longer than the railway tunnels.
I was puzzled to why it travelled under flat terrain for around 290 yards.
The reason for this is: The tunnel entrance at Diggle was extended outwards by 200 yards in 1893, this was to allow additional railway tracks to be constructed over the line
of the canal.
The last boat trip mystery deepens.
A special trip was 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 boat is shown on exit from the Western portal at Diggle after an underground journey of some 3 miles.
The trip left Marsden around 11 a.m, it emerged out of the Diggle portal around 1 p.m.
You can't argue with black and white print.
This old local newspaper clip is dated 1961. I'd appreciate more information about the 'last boat' through the tunnel saga. Please leave a message at the bottom of this story if you know more.
Thanks to John (J.B 303) for help with the research here.
You can see the canal tunnel extends around 290 yards past the railway tunnel on this google earth image.
This before and after shot shows how Diggle station extended right up to the tunnel.
A unique feature inside Standedge tunnel were the water troughs. These were for passing steam engines to scoop up a water supply enroute. Any overflow water drained into the canal tunnel below. The water supply tank that fed these troughs is clearly visible here. It still remains in 2009 but is heavily overgrown. The rail tunnels are level for their whole length, providing the only section of level track where the troughs could be installed.
Another novel water feature inside the tunnel was a 'waterfall ventilation system' This was employed to clear smoke inside the tunnel. Water would fall hundreds of feet down a shaft from the Redbrook reservoir above the tunnel.
This shot is taking from on top of the tunnel portals overlooking Diggle station. You can see where the canal enters the tunnel just behind the approaching steam train. The raised mound of earth covering the tunnel can clearly be seen.
We headed back to Marsden to get some landscape, and air shaft shots from on top of the tunnel. This fantastic view is looking down on Diggle with Saddleworth moor in the distance.
You can see one of the open air shafts on top of the spoil heap on this view. The railway line is clearly visible before it enters the tunnel.
This shot is overlooking the A62 Manchester road on top of the tunnel. This road can often be closed in Winter due to it's hilly location. You can see a spoil heap in the distance, another shaft is situated close behind me here.
The road passes through the 'Standedge cutting' where it crosses the Lancashire/Yorkshire border before running down into Diggle. Watch out for the mad Kamikaze sheep on this road!
Five air shafts of Standedge tunnel are still visible today. You can see where the tunnel runs under the Yorkshire/Lancashire border. Approximately 1.2 miles (96 chains) of tunnel run under Lancashire before it crosses the Yorkshire border. Redbrook reservoir is where the water comes from for the 'waterfall ventilation system' inside the tunnel. Brun Clough was another of the 12 reservoirs built to keep the water level in the canal topped up.
It's amazing to think the tunnels are around 460 feet below the surface at this point. This is the air shaft situated near to the one in the picture above.
50 Navvies died on the construction of the canal tunnel alone, most of these deaths happened in these shafts. I think the death toll for all four tunnels will be much higher.
Back over the hill and this is the great view you get at Tunnel end.
The same shot as above taken in 1960 clearly shows the track layout pre Beeching. A class 08 shunter and brake van can be seen standing besides the ground frame. The track for tunnel end sidings is on the extreme right of the picture. In 1946 the nearby reservoir at Marsden flooded, a huge deluge of water escaped on to the aqueduct over the railway. The stone curved spillway was unable to cope with the pressure, it's sides burst sending gallons of water on to the freight and slow lines. The new concrete section and supports seen here are a result of that flood.
The September 1946 aftermath of the flood damage.
You can see torrents of water pour on to the freight and slow lines from the aqueduct. A big crater has caused the tracks to buckle and lift in an alarming fashion. The flood water settled on the bridge carrying the railway over the canal. The weight of the water caused the bridge to collapse and leave a big crater in it's place. This scene of devastation was captured by a local newsman the day after the flood occured.
Copyright Humphrey Bolton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
Try as i might, i couldn't get a good detailed overhead shot of the aqueduct from this vantage point. The dense Summer foilage has heavily obscured this area. I've used this image kindly donated by Humphrey Bolton to help illustrate the story. You can see the Tunnel end reservoir and aqueduct to good effect here. This is the same reservoir that caused the damage in the 1946 flood. The reservoir is quite small these days, but it originally extended 500 metres up the valley.
© Larry Goddard (Coachmann)
This is another great shot by Larry, it shows the reservoir spillway to great effect. For the 'Anoraks' the Peak is 45056 hauling a Newcastle- Liverpool Express on 30th July 1977.
Many thanks to Larry for letting me use these superb shots. Cheers!
This overflow regulator just before the aqueduct is no longer in use. Tunnel end reservoir was built in 1798 by damming the headwaters of the River Colne. Originally the reservoir held 22,650,000 gallons of water, but today it
is incapable of holding anything like that amount. The reservoir is no longer a feeder for the canal, it runs via the aqueduct away into the River Colne.
Strengthening tie bars have been fitted to carry the weight of the water over the steel aqueduct section.
The view from the aqueduct is probabaly the only place you can get a good shot of the 1894 tunnel portal.
This is the view looking down the spillway just past the steel bridge section. The newer concrete construction is the result of the 1946 flood. The water runs underground for a short distance before entering the river Colne.
We headed back to Diggle to explore the railway tunnels next. These are the two disused Standedge tunnel portals at the Diggle end.
The tunnel on the left is known as 'The centre' tunnel, (Nicholson tunnel) it was the first tunnel constructed in 1848.
The tunnel next to it is known as 'The South tunnel' (Nelson tunnel) it was constructed in 1871.
The live railway tunnel was the last to be built in 1894. The live tunnel is out of shot to the left.
The
1848 single track tunnel soon proved to be a bottleneck for trains between Leeds and Manchester. The second 1871 single track tunnel was built to cope with increased
demand.
The London and North Western Railway opened the third double bore tunnel in 1894.
The 1894 tunnel passes over the canal tunnel just inside each tunnel entrance.
Passenger express trains ran through the 1894 tunnel, slower goods trains used the single bore tunnels.
An archive shot of the two disused tunnels prior to 1963. Diggle station used to have platforms for all four tracks. Goods and stopping trains used the South and Central tunnels. The Micklehurst loop (closed 1968) also diverged from these lines past Diggle.
The bore of the 1894 tunnel, you can see a watercourse runs right under the railway here.
A very strange experience awaits!
Little did we know about the strong gusts of wind inside this tunnel, the vortex type air pressure and thick mist. We weren't expecting the strange blinking light that seemed to follow us. I've never seen the glow of daylight from a tunnel entrance switch on and off like it did in Standedge.
Strange things were afoot-but there's more about those shenanigans later!
The last look at the outside world. Now lets go explore this magical man made grotto.
Standedge tunnels are truly awesome in size. We would need some serious kit to photograph down here for sure.
We had enough fire power to knock out Darth Vaders Death star!
Were now peering into the impending gloom from the entrance of the South tunnel. Three miles of a very long tunnel lie ahead. There is no sign of the other end 3 miles away!
It was a warm sunny day outside, the tunnel was cool and damp. These are perfect conditions for the dreaded tunnel mist. Tunnel mist is great for an extra eerie atmosphere, it isn't quite so good for taking long exposure tunnel pictures. You can see the thick swirling mist has started to form further down the tunnel. There weren't going to be too many good long distance tunnel shots in here, never mind, the passages and adits were far more interesting anyway.
The unique Standedge 'water troughs' were situated in this section of tunnel. The troughs were fed by the water tank outside, excess water from the troughs drained into the canal tunnel below. There is a drainage trench beneath the blue grill here.
This is a last look at the outside world for a long time. It would take us a good solid hour walking to reach the other end at Marsden.
I made three trips to the tunnels in all. Originally we only intended to photograph the portals, however we decided to take a little peek inside the tunnel. This short bout of curiousity ended after we had spent three hours, and walked 2 mile of tunnel.
I then decided i would like to do a good job of this place. I headed back the week later to look at the canal tunnel, and get some landscape and air shaft shots.
The week after that we arrived for the monster tunnel explore. We were armed to the teeth with photography and lighting kit. We would spend 7 hours exploring all the side passages and adits. The 2 days combined meant we had spent 10 hours in total exploring these tunnels. We emerged tired and filthy-but very happy with our exploration adventure!
Then suddenly it started!
The thick mist inside the tunnel had created a very still and lifeless atmosphere. Then a great rush of wind started to blow from nowhere. The air pressure started to feel a little strange too. It seemed as if we were been sucked into a vortex. Deep rumbling noises getting louder began.
We were stood in the closed Central tunnel at this point. An oncoming train was under the hills. I was amazed at the air pressure effect it created. You could feel the strong wind blow down these adits a good minute before the train roared past in the live tunnel.
A 'very lively' experience for sure!
Whoosh-Now you see it-now you don't!
The reason for the strong vortexes in this tunnel are caused by part of the second singlebore tunnel been sealed up for
experimentation during the late 60 early 70s. They did this to test the effects of two trains passing in a long tunnel.This was to do with the channel tunnel that was abandoned in 1974.
Some of the vents and cross passages were sealed up to aid this experiment.
This wind and Vortex pressure is known as the 'Piston effect' The piston effect means that uniform airflows are caused by the motion of trains in a tunnel. There are two processes the moving train give the momentum to the air in the tunnel, one is friction and the other is the collision.
Air in a tunnel is confined by the tunnel walls, hence the movement of air is restricted. In the open air a vehicle travels along, air is being pushed and can move in any directions except into the ground. Air cannot escape inside a tunnel. The air is forced along the tunnel instead. Suction is created to allow the air to flow along the tunnel.
The Vortex air pressure effect captured on camera!
This 30 second long exposure shot captured things our eyes couldn't. We could only feel the great rush of wind when a train hurtled past. Here we can see the air has actually been sucked out of this side refuge. The atmosphere has been shattered with the light rays pulled apart.
This is the calm after the storm shot that shows how the side refuge should really look.
It is possible, if your stupid enough, to plunge into the bowels of the earth and never be seen again at the end of these grim passages!
A 'plug hole' into the canal tunnel below awaits the unwary. At times the sound of rushing water was really quite loud. It was enough to make you watch your step just that little bit more 
This is a connecting passage between the central, and live railway tunnel. You could see the canal tunnel below by peering through the small gap at the side of the stairs. These passage were originally construction adits, they were dug down to the canal during the excavation of the rail tunnels. Construction spoil was then transported away by boat.
This wider adit is now an emergency escape route from the canal to the railway tunnels. The canal is reached by the narrow short passage at the side of the stairs. Warning signs of this impending watery drop are fitted overhead.
We saw three 'designated' escape routes, all fitted with motion sensors, tannoy system and emergency phone. Lights had been fitted in these areas to be activated by trip switch sensor. A recorded voice warning about the live railway tunnel is also activated by the sensor. We know about this-It spoke to us! 
This was the only light we saw switched on down there, this wasn't a designated escape route either.
This view is looking back to where the shot above was taken. The closed central tunnel is through the small doorway. When the railway tunnels were complete, these construction adits will have been built back up, with stairs added to form connecting passages.
I squeezed down the side passage under the stairs to take a look at the canal tunnel below.
Once down there, i got myself and camera set up on a tiny three foot ledge. I attempted to light paint the tunnel for a shot. I held on to the camera tripod to stop it from falling into the canal. Doing this in such a confined space-while trying to use a torch to light the shot is nearly impossible. This is the best effort i could manage here. I sure didn't fancy falling in the canal at this point.
I loved how quiet it was down here, it really was an eerie atmosphere. The drips of water into the canal made some very strange glooping noises. Your mind can start to play tricks after a while in a tunnel. You can often spot something a 'little strange' for a split second in the beam of a torch, when you look again it has always gone. There's nothing like strange echoes, moving shadows, and unexplained flickering lights to keep you on your toes! 
This is one of the larger connecting passages above the canal tunnel. These wooden sleepers have been built as a bridge across it, you could see the canal below by peering through the gap in the small archway.
This is at the base of the first open air shaft. These shafts were all between the central and live rail tunnels. Awesome amounts of water poured continually down these shafts. The sound of water emitting from deeper within was really quite loud at times. Heavy duty wooden props have been fitted at the base of this shaft. It reminded me of an old American Creek mine.
The many side passages came in all different shapes and sizes. They ranged from full size tunnels, to these smaller, and much bleaker looking drainage pits. The pits were quite deep in places, even more worrying is the fact that they lead deeper underground.
It was difficuilt to get the camera low
enough on the tripod to photograph inside
these small pits. This is the best effort i could manage with
a light painted shot.
Starlight spelunking!
A few side passages at the Marsden end were bare rock excavation.
Some construction adits had been bricked up, others had been started and abandoned.
This is cross passage number 15, there are 31 of these passages in total. The number '157 is a tablet marker' All these tablets in West Riding tunnels were set at 50 foot intervals (The only exception been Bramhope tunnel, these are set at every 100 foot)
This is at the base of the third open air shaft. Water again pours down this shaft like a power shower. The bright orange is caused by iron contaminating the water.
This really wasn't a good place for photography. A strong backdraft blew down the shaft. Water poured in continually. There was a thick water spray in the air. I'm suprised i managed this long exposure without getting the lens covered with water. My previous 20 attempts weren't so lucky though.
This was my camera flash 'test shot' for the picture above.
I use camera flash to make sure i have my shot in focus, and lined up how i want. Then i use a long exposure setting, and light the area with torch light. The difference in quality is clear to see, the previous shot retains the warm colours and textures. You can capture the movement of water far better too.
The warm colours are washed out with this camera flash shot-but it does give a good idea of how much water was falling down here in a split second.
There was some weird and wonderful things going on in the tunnels. At times it was confusing to work out what everything was. I noticed the 'Red arrow' painted on this brickwork and wondered what it might mean. There was a strong flow of air blowing through the hole in the brickwork, it was also VERY wet in there. By putting your head in to take a closer look, not only did you get soaked-but you could see it was an open shaft going up hundreds of feet. Water poured down there with a vengence.
Then i realised this was the 'waterfall ventilation system' The hole in the brickwork was where the metal hatch used to be that controlled the flow of air in the tunnel. The 'red arrow' was short for 'Redbrook reservoir' from where the water came from. The effect of this water
falling hundreds of feet down the shaft creates a tremendous down draft, this down draft then drove the smoke away through another nearby shaft. The swivelled door that controlled the air flow is missing these days. The water drains off into the canal tunnel below.
If there was such a place as hell on earth you would probably find it down here! I christened this drainage system at the bottom of a shaft 'The Devils chair' Well it looked like it to me anyway
Come in number 31-Your time is up! This is the last connecting passage in the tunnels.
You had to keep your wits about you down here, there was so many side passages and alcoves, it was easy to miss something. Tunnels are vast dark places. Navigating them by torch light isn't easy. The big search lamps are only used to light the tunnels for photos. You need to save the battery power. A track workers 'bothy' is through the small doorway here. We saw four of these. They were all situated in the oldest 'central' tunnel.
Inside the bothy we found an old fireplace complete with chimney stack. I've heard about these fire places in long tunnels before, but this is the first time i've ever seen one. Here track gangs working in the tunnel, would have been able to cook there bacon and eggs and have a brew.
Another fire place in a Bothy near the Diggle end.
Any danger sign means there's always a good photograph waiting to be had.
BOO! You also never knew what you might find lurking in those small alcoves  Here we found Standedge Stan. I'm not sure how long he's been down here for. He looked happy enough anyway!
There's always something a bit sinister about old rubber gloves! Dr Crippen springs to mind when i see these things!
The central tunnel had these supporting girders fitted near to the Marsden end. Extensive work had been undertaken in the South tunnel to strengthen buckling walls also.
There is reputed to be a fabled soveriegn built into the wall of the 1894 'new tunnel' for good measure.
The end is in sight at last! The welcome portal of daylight at the Marsden end awaits! The mist in the tunnel had started to clear by this time, you can still see traces of it in the beam of the search light.
One last shot looking up the tunnel before we reach daylight again. This is the 1871 South tunnel.
The last 319 tablet celebration shot. Standedge is an awesome 5337 yards in total. This is by far the longest tunnel i've been in. The longest i've done prior to Standedge would be Queensbury at 2501 yds (impassable for floodwater after tablet 109) and Sandsend end to end walk through at 1652 yards.
The Standedge Experience!
There is a grand 'Cathedral arch' connecting passage between the two disused tunnels, this is situated half way in the tunnel. Sadly it was too misty in that section to get good shots. There was lots of Grafitti in that area. Local folklore says that Satanical rituals were carried out in there at one time. I have it on good authority from someone who worked in these tunnels that this is true. Mystical daubings on the wall, and the remains of animal carcasses would often be found.
We experienced some strange things down here, one phenomena we couldn't
explain, was the strange flickering light we saw about 2 miles into the tunnel. At first we thought it was daylight at the far end. That was until it started to sway from side to side. We watched it for a bit before we decided it was coming towards us. It looked like someone was heading our way with a torch. We were a bit apprenshive about this. But we decided there were four of us, and one of 'it' The strange light
source gradually dissaperead as we traversed down the tunnel. We had experienced the same thing happen on our first trip too. It must have been a strange effect created by the air pressure down here...or...Well we never saw the ghostly spectre of an old railwayman coming our way with a swaying lamp thankfully.
It was good to get into the fresh air again, this is the portal for the South tunnel. It was raining hard when we got to Marsden. I couldn't manage anymore external shots without getting rain on the lens. We had a sit down in the tunnel and took a well earned rest. Then we set off again for the very long 3 mile walk back through the tunnel.
I certainly won't take these tunnels for granted again.
*MY FULL LIST OF EXPLORE BLOGS ARE LISTED HERE*
21:45
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