Bourne Park Tunnel, Bridge, Kent. Summer10

[tank2020]

This tunnel sits on the old disused railway between Canterbury and Folkestone in Kent. This particular tunnel runs through Bourne Park, which at the time was large estate, the owner of the estate did not want to see the railway from his house.
As I understand it was an addition to the Crab and Winkle Railway, the first railway in the world, which linked Canterbury and Whitstable, Brunel and Stevenson were both involved with C&W railway

More info
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elham_Valley_Railway"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elham_Valley_Railway[/ame]

The walk to the tunnel from Bourne Park is pretty overgrown, the tunnel was very dry and dusty, which looking at other tunnels on this site seems quite unusual, they all look very boggy normally.

It was a bit strange on the way too the tunnel, I think I must have been following someone with a gun as I must have seen 4 or 5 dead or dying rabbits and birds.

I think this is an old rail pin or something similar

Enjoy

 

[Goldie87]

Cool stuff, that tunnel looks quite an unusual shape.

 

[Tigger]

Run Rabbit.. Run Rabbit....

Anyway - yeah looks very wide...

 

[cardiffrail]

Nice one - havn't seen that tunnel reported before.

 

[godzilla73]

Great - I used to do cross country along this line when I was at school. The tunnel was part of the Elham Valley line which did indeed run from (the now long since gone) Canterbury South station to Shorncliffe (now Folkestone West). There was at one point a plan to extend the line to the terminus of the C&W which was at Canterbury West, but I dont believe this ever came to fruition. There are several extant bridges still on the line - we used to run from the one at the back of the old Dover Road down to the tunnel in your pictures, and until very recently you could see the sidings at Canterbury East which connected to the Canterbury South terminus.
Thanks for the pics
GDZ

 

[Munchh]

Thoroughly enjoyable report Tank. The line was double tracked through the tunnel, does that explain the width? How long was it btw? Also noted from the wiki page you linked that the 'Boche Buster' was kept in the tunnel. Foxy put a picture of it up in this thread a while back;

http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=17328&highlight=elham+valley+railway

Love it! aint history a wonderful thing.

 

[tank2020]

Thoroughly enjoyable report Tank. The line was double tracked through the tunnel, does that explain the width? How long was it btw? Also noted from the wiki page you linked that the 'Boche Buster' was kept in the tunnel. Foxy put a picture of it up in this thread a while back;

Munchh, I had a measure of the tunnel on our maps at work, the tunnel is about 292m, I guess the width of the tunnel must account for double tracks. I also saw the report on the Boche Buster, but didn't put 2 & 2 together

 

[Munchh]

Munchh, I had a measure of the tunnel on our maps at work, the tunnel is about 292m, I guess the width of the tunnel must account for double tracks. I also saw the report on the Boche Buster, but didn't put 2 & 2 together

I didn't even know the gun existed until I saw Foxy's pic, what a monster!

Thanks for the tunnel length and your efforts, good work.

 

[Foxylady]

I thought Elham Valley rang a bell! Fantastic when these strands of history start to connect.
That's a nice tunnel...love the nature pics too and it looks like a great spot for a wander.
Cheers.