Connaught railway tunnel, Silvertown, London. January 2009

[LiamCH]

This lovely tunnel was built in 1878 according to a plaque above the entrance. It was built for two lines, but when the service was cut back in around 1984 it was reduced to a single line. The Docklands Light Railway's extension opened nearby in December 2005, and because of this competition, the final train ran through the tunnel in December 2006. The line is intact, although for some very strange reason the third rail is gone (?), and their maybe plans in the future for this section of the former North London line.

Anyway, on with the pictures. I'm sorry that they are in such a silly order; it's just the way they came off Flickr.

Quite a steep gradient here for a train.

I found a little red lens for a torch in the tunnel, which I think made this look interesting:

The remains of the second line. In some places it was intact, in others pulled apart and in others gone completely.

This horrible thick mud had flooded part of the tunnel. A small amount of water was flowing up through it.

One of the few shots I managed to light up with my searchblaster. The batteries in it only seem to last for about five minutes!

Silvertown station, right near the cutting leading down to the tunnel. No vandalism after two years, surprisingly.

 

[MD]

i like the look of that

any idea how long it is?

 

[LiamCH]

Unfortunately, the only information I can find on it is here, and it doesn't include the tunnel length. It's not very long - perhaps three hundred and fifty yards? I'm bad with length, so don't quote me on that. It's is definitely more than long enough to be interesting though.

 

[TK421]

Excellent stuff, I LOVE picture 6 with the bridges in the cutting, suprising that it isn't more chaved up. Really good report mate.

 

[LiamCH]

Thank you. I'm surprised by the complete lack of graffiti too. Since the line closed, a gate blocks the entrance to the tunnel, but considering what the area is like I'm surprised there is no graffiti from before closure. There is on most London lines.

 

[ThenewMendoza]

That's quite cool. I like railway tunnels, nice to see one with the track left.

M

 

[Foxylady]

Ah, I do like this...lots of interesting areas. Love the pic of the nuts and bolts collection...lol...and the arches.
Nice explore, Liam.

 

[boxfrenzy]

Nice one mate. I used to go through this tunnel every day on the way to work. Silvertown station looks better now than it was open! The tunnel was always wet in places, as you could see the water dripping down the walls from the train. It was always slightly concerning that the wet part of the tunnel coincided with where it goes underneath the Royal Docks.