# Haddon Tunnel, Derbyshire - June '15



## KM Punk

Explored with The Wombat

*History*
The Midland Railway route linking Derby and Manchester through the Peak was a major route linking the Midlands to the North. The railway was not conceived as a single entity by one company, but was in fact the result of the ambitions of several separate companies who for their own individual reasons, built the line at different times over a period of about 20 years.

The first section of the route between Derby and Ambergate was opened to traffic on 11th May 1840 as part of the “North Midland Railway” line to Rotherham via Chesterfield. Northwestwards from Ambergate to Rowsley was constructed by a company with the lengthy title of the “Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway” (M.B.M. & M.J.R). Eventually in 1871 the M.B.M. & M.J.R. was absorbed into the Midland Railway system. Before this date the Midland had already constructed a line from Rowsley to Manchester, although this did not follow the route intended by the M.B.M. & M.J.R. owing to the opposition of the Duke of Devonshire to the idea of a railway through Chatsworth Park. In its efforts to gain a through route to Manchester, the Midland Railway had surveyed a number of possible routes to achieve this end. The section of the Rowsley-Manchester line was commenced in September 1860. Heading north from the new Rowsley station was Haddon Hall, ancestral home of the Duke of Rutland. The John Manners, 7th Duke of Rutland, was unwilling to allow the railway to cross his estate on the surface, so the company was forced to go underground. Haddon Tunnel at 1058 yards is the longest between Matlock and Buxton. It is in fact a covered way being on average only 12 feet deep. A cutting would have sufficed to preserve the view from Haddon Hall, but the Duke did not want to see smoke and steam rising above his stately gardens.






_John Manners, 7th Duke of Rutland_

The Duke used Bakewell station for boarding and alighting from trains and it was therefore a far more grand affair than one would expect of a small market town. His coat-of-arms was built into stonework on the platform façade.

1st January 1923 marked the first major change in the administration of the railways in the Peak District. From that day the railways of England were grouped into four companies. As far as the Peak District was concerned, the lion’s share went to the L.M.S. From a local point of view nothing much changed.





_Southbound train leaving Haddon Tunnel, 1961_

In 1962 came the publication of “The Reshaping of Britain’s Railways”, more commonly called the “Beeching Report”. The recommendations of this weighty volume included the closure of two-thirds of the unprofitable lines, so as to leave the remaining system to pay its way. The first implementation of the report’s proposals was to be the closure of both of the Buxton branches to passengers. Freight traffic was diverted via Chesterfield before local passenger services ceased in March 1967, with the closure of the following stations: Millers Dale, Bakewell, Rowsley, Darley Dale and Matlock Bath. However, through trains from St. Pancras to Manchester continued for another year.

From that time, Haddon Tunnel was no longer required.

Following closure, the trackbed and tunnel was reincorporated into the Haddon Estate. The long campaign by Peak Rail and others culminated in a feasibility study by Derbyshire County Council in 2004, the Haddon Estate being a major opponent of the plan. To this day, Peak Rail still plans to extend their heritage rail services via both "Rowsley railway station" and a proposed "Haddon" Halt towards Bakewell. This would require additional restoration of the old tunnel itself and both Rowsley and Coombes Road Viaducts, plus reinstating the Bakewell station site to its original condition by the year 2016. Although, at this point, it doesn't look like its on schedule.

*Explore*

This was the second explore of the day with my old partner in crime, Mr William T. Ombat. We had previously visited here in December 2012, but I felt I would get better pictures in summer time. When entering the tunnel, we realised that this was going to be a challenge in a photographical sense, due to the dense mist inside. I had forgotten how colossal Haddon is compared with other tunnels I have visited.

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Cheers for Looking​


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## krela

Love #10, that's a great shot. Thanks.


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## flyboys90

Superb photography.


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## Mikeymutt

That is one of the nicest tunnels I have seen..love the mist and the greenery.you have captured that so nicely thank you.


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## KM Punk

Cheers for the positive feedback



krela said:


> Love #10, that's a great shot. Thanks.



Cheers, that part of the tunnel is outstanding



Mikeymutt said:


> That is one of the nicest tunnels I have seen..love the mist and the greenery.you have captured that so nicely thank you.



The mist gives the tunnel an eerie atmosphere, as well as making it really difficult to photograph. We were restricted on the power of the torches we were using, as the brighter torches just had the light reflected back at us.


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## jsp77

Cracking set of photos


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## HughieD

Very atmospheric - you got some cracking shots there...


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## night crawler

Very nice, like the mist in the tunnel


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## The Wombat

Nice set mate
still going through the thousands of photos I took


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## dobbo79

wow...I need this tunnel in my life lol
#8 is a fantastic shot
well done and thankyou


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## KM Punk

Cheers for the positive feedback


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## Black Shuck

Excellent stuff, reminds of Withcall in Lincs!.Great shots.


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## DegenerateBum

Love #6 - great capture


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## _Raz_

Really nice tunnel that! #10 is ace, nice report


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