# Grinkle iron mine & tram tunnel



## phill.d (Oct 20, 2009)

IT'S CREEK TIME AT THE OLD GRINKLE IRON MINE!

The day dawned crisp with clear blue skies, it was perfect for our trip to the far reaches of North Yorkshire.
An old old iron mine at Grinkle was our destination, i'd been looking forward to this trip with great anticipation all week 






The mine site and tramway sidings as it was in it's heyday.

Grinkle iron mine was opened in 1875, it was situated in the bottom of a deep sided valley, There simply wasn't enough room to build the various mine buildings, so it was necessary to culvert the Easington beck at the mine site. A stone tunnel was built over the beck in 1875, then it was covered with thousands of tonnes of spoil to create a level area. The mine buildings and narrow gauge tramway sidings could now be built.

The Grinkle iron mine was closed in 1930, it was no longer making any profit, three years earlier the beck culvert collapsed which caused the mine to flood and killed several miners. The collapsed section was strengthened in 1927 with metal props and sleepers, there have been two further collapse's since then.





Peering into the Abyss!

This is the upstream entrance where the beck starts it's subterranean journey under the mine. A part collapsed brick arch guards the Western portal. The bars have been fitted to stop debris becoming lodged inside the culvert.




Iron posts have also been erected as a debris trap just before the upstream entrance. I just loved this rusty wheel from an old tramway waggon.




Your Barred!









Man added for scale!

This was a fascinating place to visit for me, It was very quiet, an almost forgotten world, i really liked the lush Amazon atmosphere here.




The view inside the culvert from on top of the brick arch, this section has been carved out of solid rock.









The tunnel of old Father Time!

Todays holy grail behold, this is the 'downstream' Eastern portal of the culvert, and what a fine brick baralled portal it is too. Mother nature has camouflaged this old tunnel with a head of green hair, and lush ferns for a beard.




The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides!

I sometimes wonder about my sanity at times! 




The anticipation shooting down the barrel!

We were well aware of just how bad conditions were once inside this tunnel, I knew this was probably the most dangerous place i've visited so far. I've got to admit we took a little bit longer stood talking outside, and taking shots than normal. However we hadn't travelled this far for nothing, so we headed off into the tunnel to see what we would encounter.




Looking out of the downstream portal you can see an adit on the far bank.




The view with the search light at the tunnel entrance looks promising enough, it isn't until you round the curve at the far end that things start to look a little worrying. 




The first signs of trouble!

These makeshift wooden probs were wedged into the missing stonework. It looks like the stone has been crushed under the weight from above.




A set of stairs used to lead to the surface at the far end of this passage, It is a very small passage too, you would have to crawl through it, i've no idea what the half semi circle object could be. 



OH SH*T! 

This is when things started to look REALLY bad

A huge section of tunnel has collapsed here, one day the stonework came crashing down without warning, large amounts of spoil then spilled into the culvert. A maintenance team must have cleared this debris to stop the water backing up. The area above has been fenced off, you can clearly see the big hole above. There doesn't seem to be anything to stop the rest of the spoil crashing in again. You can actually see the stonework at the far end of the collapse is been pushed inwards.




Ahoy down there!

This section is where the tunnel first collapsed in 1927, the props and sleepers were fitted in attempt to strengthen the tunnel. Things started to become a little cramped at this point, two of my companions headed up the tunnel taking there shots, we followed behind them so we didn't get in each others way.




I wasn't happy looking at these rusting props here, there the only thing holding up thousands of tonnes of spoil above my head.




This is madness!




The X factor!
Sorting my pictures out in the warmth and safety of my home, it's really quite worrying to see how feeble the whole structure actually was down there.









In too deep!




Uncle Toms cabin.
I loved the textures and smell's down here, it reminded me of a smugglers cave and ship wrecks.




I don't like those rumbling noises down there!

Peering into the gloom you could hear feint rumbling noises ahead, bits of debris fell into the water, it's noise magnified alarmingly loud underground. The tunnel was getting smaller and more twisted too, it seemed as if the whole structure was been pushed into submission. We looked at this view for a while pondering if we should go any further.
Then there was one loud creaking noise too many for our liking.

LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!  was quickly agreed upon forthwith!




A last look back at our companions following as we made our hasty retreat back to safety.




It's hard to belief now, but this is the old tramway trackbed that ran from the mine to the harbour at Port Mulgrave. The line turned sharply to the right further down, it then crossed an embankement built to carry the line across the Easington beck. The Ridge lane tram tunnel is situated just the other side of embankement. 




The North portal of Ridge lane tunnel is well hid behind vegetation these days, we walked straight past it without noticing earlier in the day.




The tramway tunnel emerges on the far side of Ridge lane, you can see the small dot of daylight around 400 yards away. I lit this shot by placing a search lamp in one of the side refuges, it created an eerie atmosphere, it gives a good indication how dark these places really are.




Ghost rails of the old tram tunnel.

This picture was taken from the exact same spot as the shot above, more lighting fire power illuminates the whole length of tunnel. I was really pleased to see the old sleepers still place, they still had the track bolts in place. It's easy to imagine the rails still in situ on this shot.




The sleepers seemed to have become solidified into the tunnel floor!

The last tram to run through here was in 1916, A new inclined section was built from the mine site North to connect with the nearby Middlesbrough-Whitby line. The tunnel was then surplus to requirements and abandoned. This Ridge lane tunnel line used to run through a second tunnel at Port Mulgrave.




This is three quarters of the way through the tunnel looking to the East portal. I was surprised to see there were ample side refuges in this tunnel.









Looking back the way we had come, there was some nice colours, and textures on the tunnel linning here. Is it me, or does the tunnel look like it's buckling in under weight here?
The tunnel had been dry up to this point, the last 50 yards was under deep water.




The sleepers had rotted, and looked quite eerie in the flooded section, they almost appeared to be spreading and creeping along.




Back into fresh air at the Southern portal of Ridge lane tunnel, well it should have been fresh air, we did get a very strong whiff of Methane gas in this area. We smelt nothing in the tunnel at all, but the boggy portal was very pungent indeed. 

The tunnel and culvert now in the bag, we were well pleased with our day's efforts 

Thanks to my three companions for a great day out.
Cheers guys!


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## Gangeox (Oct 20, 2009)

What can i say, this is first class stuff phil, well done!!


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## night crawler (Oct 20, 2009)

Phill a brilliant reporat as usual, I allways look forward to seeing them. That half moon thing looks like it was used to for the brick arch above (Saw it on Fred Dibna)


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## Lightbuoy (Oct 20, 2009)

Great Report and piccies Phil 

Love the way you can see the brick arch construction where it finishes into mid-air! The old iron supported sections look rather ropey though!!! 

Cheers ol' chap!


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## Sabtr (Oct 20, 2009)

Excellent stuff Phill. 

That culvert is indeed a strange blend with a mine feel to it. 
Nature seems to be quickly taking over this site - the steel beam strengthening structure is very similar to modernish mine construction. It worked well but only for very short periods of time - they must have known it would soon fail when they built it. If you look along it you can see how one side of the culvert is pressing down and pushing the metal into the ground - that is serious force at work. 
In the mines we visit we prefer the older types where clever use of wood means the mine is still standing 200 years later. The modern ones are evil and best avoided!

The old tramway tunnel is interesting too. I have never seen sleepers still in situ like that. The same forces that are slowly crushing the culvert are also evident in this tunnel too (as you mentioned). I wonder if the whole area is still "on the move" so to speak. I have seen similar movement around Ironbridge, Shropshire.

An excellent report with a unique insight into stuff which will soon, I feel, be gone for ever. Thank you for sharing.


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## Labb (Oct 20, 2009)

Very nice shots. Top quality. Well done.


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## fluffy5518 (Oct 20, 2009)

Fantastic write up Phill !!!! There is no better feeling than being underground in somewhere dark, dank and dangerous with your head screaming Get Out Of Here but your heart saying get on with it,think of the photos !!!! ARE WE BONKERS ???? Probably !!!
PS Love the pictures of the single bore tramway tunnel some of the best i've seen. !!!


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## MaBs (Oct 20, 2009)

Absolutely fantastic report! Looks a very interesting if dangerous site!


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## pollen101 (Oct 20, 2009)

absolutely love these pics and report,brilliant stuff!!!

looks a bit scary in there (support wise), how far did you go into it?You are mental (in the best way of course!), keep it up!!!!!!!!!


This is just up the road from me and I never knew it still existed! I do now tho....


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## TK421 (Oct 20, 2009)

Hells Bells! Thats some decrepit tunnel, and a cracking set of photos there Phil, I wonder how much longer it will survive for? Really well done on reporting this, its stunning.


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## Mole Man (Oct 20, 2009)

Fantastic report and pictures there.


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## Runner (Oct 21, 2009)

Stonking report and pictures Phill, enjoyed reading that.
Really like the shots in the tramway tunnel and your demo of the different lighting methods and the last 2 iron prop ones are absolute belters. Really well done and thanks for posting.


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## phill.d (Oct 22, 2009)

Thanks for all the great feedback guys! 

It is possible to do the whole culvert if you go in from both ends Pollen, the very dodgy middle section is best avoided though :shocked:


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## cardiffrail (Oct 22, 2009)

Awesome explore and report. Thank you. Looks well dodgy where the collapse is. Dont blame you for getting out of there when it started making noises - that must have been a bit scary!


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## ThenewMendoza (Oct 22, 2009)

Very nice.

M


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## thebluefox (Oct 22, 2009)

Epic report!!

I may not have understood, but where you turned back, where does that actually end up? 

Edit: I understand now, reread the thread!


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## J_a_t_33 (Oct 24, 2009)

Wow fantastic pics


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## dave (Oct 24, 2009)

Excellent report and pics, I checked this place out back in the late 1980s and it was bad then though most of it is much the same still though i'm sure ridge lane tunnel was completely dry. I checked out that small off shoot tunnel near the start of the culvert it led to a very rotten small door which i think may have led into the actual mine workings. The main drift into the mine workings was still open when i went though there was a sign warning of gas do not enter i did go so far in and wisely turned back. You have captured the atmosphere so well of the area just as i remember thanks for sharing it brought back happy memories.


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## bricoleur (Oct 25, 2009)

Excellent report!!

I love the pictures of the tram tunnel. Stunning.

bricoleur


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## manof2worlds (Oct 25, 2009)

Wow - you are insane!!! More more more!!!


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## Engineer (Oct 25, 2009)

*Iron Mine.*

Looks a magic area.


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