 The tunnel entrance at Marsden Map showing the location of the Standedge Tunnels in the United Kingdom The Standedge Tunnels (Standedge is normally pronounced Stannige) are four parallel tunnels that run beneath the Pennines at the traditional Standedge crossing point between Marsden and Diggle, on the edges of the conurbations 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 adits at strategic locations within the tunnels. [1] The adits allowed the railway tunnels to be built much more quickly by allowing spoil to be removed by boat and reducing the need for shafts for construction. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (965x643, 144 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Marsden, West Yorkshire Standedge Tunnels Standedge Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (965x643, 144 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Marsden, West Yorkshire Standedge Tunnels Standedge Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (600x800, 11 KB) Summary Description: A blank map of the United Kingdom, with country outline and coastline; contact the author for help with modifications or add-ons Source: Reference map provided by Demis Mapper 6 Date: 2006-21-06 Author: User...
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Parallel 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. ...
A disused railway tunnel now converted to pedestrian and bicycle use, near Houyet, Belgium A tunnel is an underground passage. ...
Typical Pennine scenery. ...
Map showing the location of Standedge in the United Kingdom Standedge (normally pronounced Stannige) is a moorland escarpment in the Pennine Hills of northern England. ...
Statistics Population: 3,499 (2001 census data) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: SE048116 Administration Metropolitan borough: Kirklees Region: Yorkshire and the Humber Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: West Yorkshire Historic county: Yorkshire (West Riding) Services Police force: West Yorkshire Fire and rescue: West Yorkshire Ambulance...
Diggle is a village within the Saddleworth parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. ...
A conurbation is an urban area comprising a number of cities, towns and villages which, through population growth and expansion, have physically merged to form one continuous built up area. ...
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. ...
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England which has a population of 2. ...
Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified - by Athelstan 967 AD Area - Total 130,395 km² 50,346 sq mi Population - 2006 estimate...
The Canal du Midi, Toulouse, France Canals are man-made channels for water. ...
First view of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal from Aspley Basin road tunnel towards the University of Huddersfield Buildings The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in Northern England. ...
Gated entrance of an abandoned adit An adit is a type of entrance to an underground mining operation in which the entrance shaft is horizontal or nearly horizontal. ...
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 Visitors 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 5,500 yards (5029 m) long, 638 feet (194 m) underground at the deepest point and 645 feet (197 m) above sea level.[2] A yard (abbreviation: yd) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ...
The or meter (see spelling differences) is a measure of length. ...
A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ...
Construction Benjamin Outram was the consulting engineer for the construction of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal (then known as the Huddersfield Canal), which links the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne and Huddersfield through the tunnel. However, Outram had so many commitments that construction took place under the supervision of a young and inexperienced surveyor, Nicholas Brown. Benjamin Outram (1 April 1764 - 22 May 1805) was an English civil engineer. ...
Ashton-under-Lyne is a town in Greater Manchester with a population of 44,400 (2001 estimate). ...
Huddersfield is a large town in England near the confluence of the River Colne and the River Holme. ...
Layout of the tunnel was difficult. It would be necessary to lay out a straight line across the mountain top and calculate how deep below the canal would be. At intervals, pits would be sunk to the requisite depth and the tunnel dug outwards from their bases.
In addition it was necessary to drive drainage adits. Outram had given his opinion that the hill was composed of gritstone and strong shale and should not present any difficulties. In fact he had not expected the need for a lining. It was an extremely ambitious undertaking for the time and Outram was not yet an established engineer, though he had gained experience with the Butterley Tunnel on the Cromford Canal. Nevertheless more than the expected amount of water entered the workings. The Cromford Canal ran 14. ...
The adits allowed so-called 'water engines' to be used. These were simply two buckets on a rope which ran over a pulley at the top of the shaft. One bucket would be filled with spoil from the workings and the other would be filled with water which counterbalance the spoil causing it to rise to the top. Once unloaded, the water would be drained allowing the spoil bucket to fall for another load. Although steam engine pumps were tried, they proved inefficient and expensive to run. A further problem was maintaining an adequate air supply for the workers. This was achieved by injecting water in a fine spray at the top of the shaft, which would carry sufficient fresh air down with it.
Work on the tunnel was fraught with difficulty and progress was slow. Gunpowder was used to blast through the solid rock and the work took place by candlelight. In circa 1801, Outram resigned from his post in order to devote himself entirely to work at Benjamin Outram and Company, which was expanding rapidly. Following his resignation, Thomas Telford was called in to advise on the tunnel's completion. The Union Jack, flag of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ...
The Butterley Engineering sign in 2006 The Butterley Company was an engineering works in the Ripley area of Derbyshire. ...
Thomas Telford (August 9, 1757 - September 2, 1834) was born in Westerkirk, Scotland. ...
Before completion, a severe misalignment was found in the tunnel due inaccuracy on the part of the surveyor who originally laid it out.
The tunnel was finally pierced through in 1809.
Re-financing By 1804, work was well behind schedule and financially overstretched. Digging was progressing at each end of the tunnel, but the central section was untouched. Moreover there were problems along the canal from unworkable economies of design and bad workmanship, but also the disorganising effect of interference by the canal committee who, to be fair, were not experts in engineering matters, but were periodically starved of funds. In 1805, a further Act of Parliament was sought to raise more investment and Thomas Telford was asked to prepare a programme for completing the work. Thomas Telford (August 9, 1757 - September 2, 1834) was born in Westerkirk, Scotland. ...
Completion The tunnel eventually opened in 1811, and the canal then 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 and the canal finally opened in 1811. Between 1811 and 1840 the tunnel was used on average by 40 boats daily.[3] 1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...
1811 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...
The canal tunnel was brick-lined in places, though bare rock was left exposed in others.[4]
Method of operation The canal tunnel is only wide enough for one narrowboat 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 by either one boatman or a team of boatmen. Moored narrowboats near Tardebigge, Worcestershire, England Horse drawing a narrowboat on the Kennet and Avon Canal. ...
A towpath on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal A towpath is a road or track that runs alongside the banks of a river, canal or other inland waterway. ...
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.[4]
The railway influence The Huddersfield Narrow Canal was purchased by the former 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.[4]
Closure The last commercial boat to use the tunnel passed through in 1921, and the canal was officially closed in 1943, after which it soon fell into disrepair. One boat managed to struggle from one end of the canal to the other in 1948, but this soon became impracticable as the canal was blocked at several locations on both sides of the Pennines.[4]
The canal tunnel became unsafe, and was closed off by large iron gates at each end. A conventional narrowboat would have been unable to navigate the tunnel due to several rockfalls inside.[4]
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 haul narrowboats through the tunnel.[5]
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. A track pan (US English) or water trough (Commonwealth English) is a long trough filled with water, lying along a stretch of railroad track between the rails. ...
The 1848 tunnel The first railway tunnel at Standedge was completed by the London and North Western Railway in 1848, 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. Cross-passages or adits were dug linking the canal tunnel to the rail tunnel to facilitate the removal of spoil during construction.[6][7] The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) was formed in 1846 by the merger of three railway companies - the Grand Junction Railway, London and Birmingham and Manchester and Birmingham. ...
The 1871 tunnel The single track 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, to which it is linked by adits.[6]
The 1894 tunnel In 1894 the London and North Western Railway opened a third rail tunnel, 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. The 1894 tunnel is linked to the 1848 tunnel by adits which pass above the canal tunnel; railway passengers can see the white painted arches of these adits near the ground on the southern side of the tunnel. This tunnel is the third longest rail tunnel in Britain after the Severn Tunnel and the Sheffield to Manchester route's Totley Tunnel.[6] The approach to the tunnel. ...
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England. ...
Western Portal SK250787 Totley Tunnel is a 6230-yard (5. ...
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 ambulances. All passages through the canal tunnel are accompanied by a vehicle in the 1848 tunnel for safety purposes. Fire Engine in South Bend, Indiana. ...
An ambulance in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico A Helicopter used as an Ambulance. ...
The Visitors' Centre The Standedge Visitors 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, and on the canal tunnel's recent restoration. Transshipment is the shipment of goods to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination. ...
A packhorse, pack horse or pack pony is a horse or pony used for carrying goods in sidebags or panniers. ...
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 carying 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.[8] Marsden railway station serves the village of Marsden near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. ...
A towpath on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal A towpath is a road or track that runs alongside the banks of a river, canal or other inland waterway. ...
First view of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal from Aspley Basin road tunnel towards the University of Huddersfield Buildings The Huddersfield Narrow Canal is an inland waterway in Northern England. ...
The standard of the National Trust The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as The National Trust, is a British preservation organization. ...
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. ...
References - ^ Saddleworth Magazine.
- ^ About Standedge Tunnel.
- ^ The Saddleworth Story, by Mary Hodge, p. 19. 5th reprint, 1994. http://www.saddleworth-historical-society.org.uk/bibliography.htm
- ^ a b c d e History.
- ^ Modern Operation.
- ^ a b c Communications and Transport in the Marsden area. Marsden Local History Group. Retrieved on January 7, 2007.
- ^ Huddersfield Narrow Canal Facts. Huddersfield One. Retrieved on January 7, 2007.
- ^ Marsden Moor - What to see and do. National Trust. Retrieved on December 24, 2006.
January 7 is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...
January 7 is the 7th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...
December 24 is the 358th day of the year (359th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...
External links Coordinates: 53.59107° N 1.96219° W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...
 This article about a linear feature lacks geographic coordinates, or has only one. You can help by adding them, for each end, and perhaps the middle and any other significant points. Please don't be overly precise. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
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