The western portals of the Woodhead Tunnels in 2004, from the former Woodhead Station.

The Woodhead Tunnels are three trans-Pennine railway tunnels which formerly carried a major rail link (usually known as the Woodhead Route) from Manchester to Sheffield in northern England. The western portals are at Woodhead in Derbyshire and the eastern portals are at Dunford Bridge, near Penistone, South Yorkshire. Woodhead Tunnel western portal from the old Woodhead station on the Longdendale Trail, Derbyshire SK114999. ... Woodhead Tunnel western portal from the old Woodhead station on the Longdendale Trail, Derbyshire SK114999. ... The Woodhead Line was a railway line linking Sheffield, Penistone and Manchester in the north of England. ... This article is becoming very long. ... For other uses, see Sheffield (disambiguation). ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... Woodhead (SK091999) is a small and scattered settlement at the head of the Longdendale valley in Derbyshire, England. ... Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. ... Dunford Bridge Dunford Bridge is a remote hamlet lying northwest of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, 1. ... Penistone is a small market town in the metropolitan borough of Barnsley, in South Yorkshire, England, with a population of 8,727 inhabitants (according to 2001 Census). ... South Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber Government Office Region of England, in the United Kingdom. ...

The first of the earlier twin tunnels (Woodhead 1 & 2) were completed by the Sheffield, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Manchester Railway in 1845, engineered by Charles Vignoles and Joseph Locke. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Charles Blacker Vignoles (1793-1875) was an influential early railway engineer, and eponym of the Vignoles rail. ... Joseph Locke, railway engineer Joseph Locke (9 August 1805- 18 September 1860) was a notable British civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with railway projects. ...

At the time of its completion in 1845, Woodhead 1 was one of the world's longest railway tunnels at a length of 3 miles 13 yards (4,840 m); it was the first of several trans-Pennine tunnels (Standedge, Totley), which are only slightly longer. The tunnel entrance at Marsden 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. ... Western Portal SK250787 Totley Tunnel is a 6230-yard (5. ...

Vignoles began work as soon as the line obtained its Act of Incorporation in Parliament in 1837. First the line was marked over the ridge and a series of vertical shafts were bored. From the bases of these, a horizontal driftway was driven along the line of the first bore. Although sufficient land had been purchased for two tunnels, only one would be built initially. Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom (1837 - 1901) 1837 (MDCCCXXXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

It was driven through mostly millstone grit, interspersed in places by patches of argillaceous shale and softer sandstone on gradient of 1 in 201, rising toward the east. Wires were suspended down each shaft from which the centre line was determined by means of a theodolite. The accuracy was such that the driftways met with less than three inches of error. Gritstone is a sedimentary rock composed of coarse sand grains and is a coarser version of sandstone. ... An argillite is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominately of indurated clay particles. ... Shale Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. ... Red sandstone interior of Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona, worn smooth due to erosion by flash flooding over millions of years Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock grains. ...

When Vignoles resigned because of differences with the directors, Locke took over as a consultant and reported that the amount of water being encountered required the purchase of more powerful pumps. Although the number of people employed reached 1,500 at one time, generally there were around 400 since there was limited space to work. Some 157 tons of gunpowder were used and over 8 million tons of water were pumped out. When completed it had cost £200,000 and 26 lives had been lost.

The second bore was completed by the later Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway in 1852. Although more care was taken over the safety of the workers, an outbreak of cholera in 1849 resulted in 28 deaths. The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was the major part of the Great Central Railway, which name it assumed in 1897. ... 1852 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Cholera (frequently called Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera) is a severe diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

The twin tunnels saw heavy use by steam trains (250 trains a day each way) and had a reputation for having a poor working environment with high maintenance needs, since such heavy usage had never been envisaged by their original constructors. They were replaced by Woodhead 3, a new double-track tunnel designed by Sir William Halcrow & Partners, in 1954. This was electrified at 1.5 kV DC in a project known as the Manchester-Sheffield-Wath electrification. Rathole tunnels are tunnels were fumes from the locomotives make passage through the tunnel unpleasant. ... Sir William Halcrow (July 1883 - 1958) was one of the most notable English civil engineers of the 20th century, particularly renowned for his expertise in the design of tunnels and for a host of wartime projects during the Second World War. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Introduction The Manchester-Sheffield-Wath electric railway was an early electrification scheme on British railways. ...

In the 1960s one of the earlier tunnels had a new lease of life, having been acquired and renovated by the CEGB to carry the trans-Pennine 400 kV electricity link below ground, rather than over the moors of the Peak District National Park. A narrow gauge railway runs into the tunnel to service this link ^[1] The Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was the cornerstone of the British electricity industry for almost 50 years, from its nationalisation in 1947 to privatisation in the 1990s. ... The Peak District National Park is a national park in the north of England. ...

Alternative uses for the tunnel route have been suggested from time to time — see M67 motorway. The M67 is a short motorway in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, forming an A57 bypass for the towns of Denton and Hyde. ...

References

1. ^ (1979) Industrial Locomotives 1979: including preserved and minor railways. Industrial Railway Society, pp.162. ISBN 0901096385. 

Sources

• Bain, Simon (1986) Railroaded! (Battle for Woodhead Pass), London, Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-13909-4
• Dow, G., (1959) Great Central, Volume One: The Progenitors (1813-1863) , Shepperton: Ian Allan Ltd.

External links

• The woodheadsite - has good history section
• The Don Valley Railway Line
• Another recent (2006) reopening proposal, this time as a 'Rolling Highway' for HGV traffic
• Woodhead Station on Subterranea Britannica