Edlingham Railway Tunnel, Northumberland - April 2008

Visited today with Sausage. We finally got to see this after many weeks of research. This appears to be the only railway tunnel in Northumberland. It seems they built their railways around contours rather than going straight through hills in these parts!

This tunnel lies on the old Alnwick to Cornhill railway which is about 35 miles long through fine Northumbrian countryside. The building of the line itself started in 1882, and Edlingham station opened in 1887. The line finally closed in 1965. I think the tunnel is about 350 yards long.

It was a bit of a pain to get into as it involved a seriously steep muddy slippery slope followed by a wade through a bog, but it was worth it.
Excuse the picture quality , my lens is bust and creates an awful spectrum effect on pinpoints of light.








Old rail artefacts


The roof was a bit dodgy where this fall of bricks was!


These mineral deposits may look slimy but they were like glass. Anyone know what the name for this stuff is?








And finally, one of the two airshafts. They were in a field we couldnt get into so I took this through the hedgerow:


Cheers to Sausage for doing the work on this one.

Mint guys, love the look of this place what a great find, cant wait to see it, thanks for sharing.

BarneySchwarzenegger said:

Mint guys, love the look of this place what a great find, cant wait to see it, thanks for sharing.

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Take you up there mate, no bother. My first time in a rail tunnel and I really enjoyed it.

I love underground stuff, I should have been a mole.

It's amazing the work that must have gone into these tunnels only to be left derelict and decaying 150 years later.

Lovely fnd, nice pics. Thanks

Nice report there mate. The tunnel floor looks real clean and smooth. It's strange it has an air shaft and is only 350 yds long. A lot of shorter ones don't.

Phill, it has two air shafts! It was the first rail tunnel I have been in and I really enjoyed it.

Krela, I agree, me too, underground is the only way of life

Nice one lads Its good when research pays off.

Elvis killer said:

Nice one lads Its good when research pays off.

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Really? amazing. Pudsey Greenside is twice as long and only has one shaft. It's strange how they vary. Queensbury and Clayton tunnels are less than 5 minutes walk away built be the same railway company, same line. Queensbury has countless refuges both sides of the tunnel. Clayton hasn't any.

phill.d said:

Really? amazing. Pudsey Greenside is twice as long and only has one shaft. It's strange how they vary. Queensbury and Clayton tunnels are less than 5 minutes walk away built be the same railway company, same line. Queensbury has countless refuges both sides of the tunnel. Clayton hasn't any.

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I don't really know anything about railways but this had about 8 refuges, at least and on both sides. Phill, what were the airshafts for? I mean was it for fresh air or was it as some kind of pressure relief? Sorry if thats a stupid question but like I say I know absolutely sod all about railways!

BigLoada said:

I don't really know anything about railways but this had about 8 refuges, at least and on both sides. Phill, what were the airshafts for? I mean was it for fresh air or was it as some kind of pressure relief? Sorry if thats a stupid question but like I say I know absolutely sod all about railways!

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Partly to vent excess pressure, partly to vent smoke (bear in mind that steam engine cabs were partly open). The primary function of the shafts however was during construction of the tunnel. Instead of just digging the tunnel from the two ends, shafts allowed construction to be undertaken at a number of places along the route of the tunnel simultaneously, cutting construction time.

BigLoada said:

I don't really know anything about railways but this had about 8 refuges, at least and on both sides. Phill, what were the airshafts for? I mean was it for fresh air or was it as some kind of pressure relief? Sorry if thats a stupid question but like I say I know absolutely sod all about railways!

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The air shafts were mainly for ventilation, to help remove the sulphurous smoke from the footplate. The combination of smoke and steam could cause serious damage to tunnel linings over time, even when good quality steam coal was used. This type of damage was seen by Victorian engineers - especially in lime mortars, but the process was not fully understood. When these tunnels were built, track speeds were such that pressure relief was not a major concern. Fortunately their inclusion has allowed these Victorian structures, to be used by modern high speed traffic without damage or discomfort. It should be noted, that some these shafts were often used as points of entry, for 'double ended' digging. A clear indication of this use, is when the shaft is of large diameter and in the form of a lined bell pit. There are double track tunnels, that have shafts 3 or 4 times the diameter of the main bore - eg Kilsby Tunnel 1828 2400 yds.

Provision of refuges was dependent on the clearance in the Cess. Where this was restricted, due to the tunnel profile, refuges were built into the tunnel walls. Where clearance in the cess was adequate, platelayers would throw themselves down on the ballast. Not a pleasant emergency procedure - especially in the days before retention toilet equipment, and the introduction of the Pee Wee warning system. Live tunnels can be dangerous places, even for experienced rail workers.

Thanks for all the replys everyone. We had been handed a list (I forget where from!) of railway tunnels in Northumberland and this was listed on it. Of all the tunnels listed this is the only one left. There were absolutely no images of it anywhere which made research difficult to say the least!
As everyone is discussing air shafts there was one feature within this tunnel which may help - the track bed was on quite a gradient, indeed there was even a small stream running through the entire tunnel at a fair rate of knots. This would inform me that the trains using it would, in one direction, be using full power just to get through and therefore producing a lot of smoke in the process. Perhaps this is why such a short tunnel needed air shafts?
I have a few images to share from the day:

The beginning of the tunnel.


Further in.

One of the airshafts.


I think this is a greasy ahnd print from when either the tunnel or the bricks were produced?


We came across this bridge nearby. Note the "twist" in the arches. The bridge was at a "cross" to the trackbed so I'm guessing the twist was a strengthening feature. Any help would be appreciated!


This was my first railway tunnel and though not long I still enjoyed the experience. Many thanks to BigLoada for providing the transport and all the positive comments.

Your pictures came out well mate. That one of the airshaft is nice and that handprint is just spooky I think.

Dirus Strictus and Cardiffrail thanks so much for the info. I have become very interested in old railways recently, and its good to have some experts on here. Cheers!

Thanks BigLoada. My new "supercharged" Oldham lamp worked a treat in there. It gave a good warm feel to the pictures. We need to take it out again!

Well done you've got some nice pics there! You've lit the tunnel pretty well!

Nice find it looks mint!

Nice work gents !

I believe (although I could, and have known to, be wrong) that the 'glass like substance' is a calcite deposit.

I think it is td4. The ballast floor (made of ash) seems soaked and hardened by it too. The wall deposits are rock hard but crystaline and if you tap the sheets of it which are peeling away in places it made a metalic noise due to it's "hardness".

Aye I think its Calcite too. In fact I was reading a book on minerals today and it looks like it is. Calcite is very common and comes in a million different forms. Anyway whatever it is it looked nice.