Tytherington Tunnel

[BikinGlynn]

While I was in the west the other weekend (or extremely far in the east depending on how u look at it) I made the most of the day with 4 explores.
This place was No 2 on my list & I wasnt sure if it was worth looking at.
Iv done a lot of railway tunnels & this was by far the shortest & quite honestly one of the best.
The line served Tyrington quarry only & the first thing you notice is the incredible 1:56 incline as you walk through the rocky gully. I found myself looking for a rack & pinion system that didnt exist, there is noticeable kinks in the rails that I cant believe any conventional engine could deal with!

Once the line has levelled out you reach the tunnel itself which is a short affair appearing to of been mads specifically to cut under the M5, of course the reality is the small hill was tunnelled long before the motorway was built. Its quite surreal though being so close to the motorway but its relatively quiet bar the blackcaps singing in the tree lined banks.

The brick portals give a deception of things to come as these are merely 30ft long & the rest of the tunnel looks like it has been clawed through the rock by Gods hand himself!
There was a lot of water ingress which has created some lovely flowstone & small stalactites have begun to form. With the natural feel to the tunnel & the track still being present this was an enjoyable explore.

The tunnel was completed in 1872 & was in use till 2012. Strangely this was said to of been reopened in 2017 when Hanson took over but there was no evidence that anything had been on the tracks for quite some time.

Anyway here's the pics!

The Kinky track incline!
IMG_1909 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr


West Portal
IMG_1903 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr


IMG_1888 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr


IMG_1885 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr


U would assume this means half way ... but they were all the way through lol
IMG_1896 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr


Flowstone!
IMG_1899 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr


Portal bricked in when M5 was built although I cant figure why it was needed in such a short tunnel?
IMG_1893 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr


IMG_1887 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr


Lovely patterns in ceiling
IMG_1895 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr


IMG_1900 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr


IMG_1892 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr


IMG_1882 by Bikin Glynn, on Flickr

 

[HughieD]

Like a good tunnel and one with the rail down is a bonus. Good stuff BG...

 

[Wrench]

Top work sir I like a tunnel miself

 

[Sabtr]

Flowstone is a strange material. It's quite weak on its own but combined with how it bonds harder things together it becomes formidable. There are old mines in the North Pennines where false wooden floors exist over voids hundreds of feet deep. Over the centuries the ore tubs gradually dropped stones and the wooden support floor rotted away. Another process happened though - flowstone. It literally bonded those dropped stones and formed a natural concrete. The 'glued' floors are an inch thick and yet almost unbreakable. They take a bit of getting used to!

I've never seen a rail tunnel like that one - as you say clawed from the rock. I guess just how the rock is there and deemed strong enough to not need extra support.
That track? Looks live still??

 

[BikinGlynn]

Flowstone is a strange material. It's quite weak on its own but combined with how it bonds harder things together it becomes formidable. There are old mines in the North Pennines where false wooden floors exist over voids hundreds of feet deep. Over the centuries the ore tubs gradually dropped stones and the wooden support floor rotted away. Another process happened though - flowstone. It literally bonded those dropped stones and formed a natural concrete. The 'glued' floors are an inch thick and yet almost unbreakable. They take a bit of getting used to!

I've never seen a rail tunnel like that one - as you say clawed from the rock. I guess just how the rock is there and deemed strong enough to not need extra support.
That track? Looks live still??

Wow them mines sound pretty terrifying!
As mentioned Wiki sais the track was reopened in 17 but the tracks were well rusted & seem subsided in places. The quarry behind is live now so I didnt venture far oput the west side!

 

[Newage]

The line is still open and live.

Cheers Newage

 

[BikinGlynn]

The line is still open and live.

Cheers Newage

So it appears but there is not so much as a fence or warning sign stopping u walking straight onto it. Plus thought it was pretty safe on a bank hol!

 

[GroppingRhyme]

Looks like a very nice tunnel with and added bonus of a track inside it!
Where does the tunnel in picture #10 goes to?

 

[BikinGlynn]

Looks like a very nice tunnel with and added bonus of a track inside it!
Where does the tunnel in picture #10 goes to?

west end to Tytherington village East end to the quarry, it really is short (about 220 ft I believe) but has a nice double curve in it too so appears longer when u first walk in!