# Harecastle tunnel - Kidsgrove, April 2013



## PaulPowers (Apr 16, 2013)

Another lunchtime explore, I was after the Black Panther drain but it's once again sealed so access to the will be with a boat for now 

The tunnel itself was dry for the most part but got quite wet towards the middle due to poor drainage



> The Main tunnel was built in the early 1800`s and has been disused since 1960 on account it was too small for modern rolling stock, the tunnel heads east for several hundred yards before turning right to head south towards Stoke on Trent. The tunnel itself is 2/3 mile long.
> 
> The Other two Harecastle tunnels are a couple of Canal tunnels on the Trent Mersey Canal the northern end starts in Kidsgrove alongside the Manchester to London railway line, the tunnels were built by James Brindley for Josiah Wedgewood. The First tunnel was abandoned to after being opened due to mining subsidence and a replacement built which is still in use. In the middle of the tunnels were connected to small off shoot tunnels which went into a local mine where tubs were floated down to to the canal.
> 
> ...










First set of scaffold





Chair in a tunnel, with scaffold















The second lot of scaffold 










More Scaffold


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## UrbanX (Apr 16, 2013)

So what's the deal with the scaff then? Just maintainabce / repair? 
Ace photos as usual sir!


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## UEP-Wales (Apr 16, 2013)

Great stuff as per dude!


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## PaulPowers (Apr 16, 2013)

UrbanX said:


> So what's the deal with the scaff then? Just maintainabce / repair?
> Ace photos as usual sir!



The inner lining of the tunnel is crumbling and the scaff is a crash zone


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## RichardH (Apr 17, 2013)

I've been through the canal tunnel twice in either direction (on a narrowboat). It is fascinating to see how the different sections of the tunnel join together - and exciting for the person steering the boat, who has to contend with sudden changes in the tunnel profile, unexpected jets of water, unidentified gooey stuff and killer mutant spiders of doom (I don't know what they eat down there when they can't get boaters).


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