Withcall Tunnel Weirdness. The Great Northern in all its glory.

[Black Shuck]

I have been waiting to walk this Leviathan for what seems forever now. Finally made it all the way through and back again!, Withcall Tunnel was constructed in 1874 ish over 2 years with many problems due to water ingress and Lime on the Bricklayers Hands for which they went on strike. Many Trains needed 2 attempts to make the pass through this tunnel as the Gradient is torturous. I would take a guess as around 1 in 80 or even worse. Explored with Spawney, Cheers for the company mate, your a Legend!... The West Portal plus Stinging Nettles

The Doorway of Gloom!...

View from inside towards West Portal

Signalling Cable Hook, God I love Railway Stuff!

Ballast covered with Calcite from water ingress through the Brickwork..

Chain Marker

Signalling Cable Pulleys were covered with Rust and Wood was so rotten you could poke a finger through it.

Funky Guttering from the top of the Tunnel!

Fook me Guys its bloody dark in here..

View out from the East Portal in case people didnt believe me!

How cool is this! An alien Stalactite!

God I just love Calcification

Calcified Ballast

Sorry about all the pics but we had a wail of a time under here. Spawney should have some crackers as well!

 

[Badoosh]

Glad to see you finally made the visit! You were a little anxious of how your shots would come out but hey, you sure got some good ones, good stuff mate . Cracking tunnel isn't it?

 

[Labb]

Some great pictures her, Black Schuck. I am happy I was NOT with you. You sure understand why.

 

[TK421]

Well done Black Shuck, that is an impressive set of photos, I can tell you like calcified objects mate! Some really interesting railway fittings left in there also. Great report mate

 

[Black Shuck]

Glad to see you finally made the visit! You were a little anxious of how your shots would come out but hey, you sure got some good ones, good stuff mate . Cracking tunnel isn't it?

Its bloody fantastic in there Bads. We were halfway in and a Tunnel Fog seemd to come from nowhere it was very eerie. Well worth the effort though I think. Has the Tunnel near you got Calcification.

 

[Black Shuck]

Well done Black Shuck, that is an impressive set of photos, I can tell you like calcified objects mate! Some really interesting railway fittings left in there also. Great report mate

I do! Your right T.K. It was like a different world down there, very strange but also very interesting. The Tunnel is in great shape considering it closed in 1956.

 

[Black Shuck]

Spawney cant wait for you to add yours mate!

 

[Badoosh]

Its bloody fantastic in there Bads. We were halfway in and a Tunnel Fog seemd to come from nowhere it was very eerie. Well worth the effort though I think. Has the Tunnel near you got Calcification.

The tunnel near me has got some awesome calcification at one end, reminded me of H.R.Giger stuff, 2-3 inchhes thick on the walls. I need to get some better pics before i post it up.

 

[Black Shuck]

The tunnel near me has got some awesome calcification at one end, reminded me of H.R.Giger stuff, 2-3 inchhes thick on the walls. I need to get some better pics before i post it up.

Yeah and so many stalactites everywhere.The Calcification was very alien almost. Sort of reminded me of the Meteor Cave in the film Evolution. The West end seemed quite wet and there were bands of Calcification everywhere. Bads did you place any little markers through the tunnel mate?

 

[spawney]

Hi
A little more history of the tunnel,

www.forgottenrelics.co.uk
Work on Withcall Tunnel got underway in January 1852 with the driving of a 10-foot heading through sandstone and chalk. The Louth & Lincoln Railway’s original plan was for a bore of 803 yards but this was extended to 971 yards when a revised route was authorised. Construction was beset by problems with bad weather causing frequent delays. In October 1874, a deluge of water washed navvies out of the tunnel. A month later, bricklayers went on strike because their hands were being scalded by wet lime. And December saw the death of a workman who was struck by a wagon.

The first goods train passed through the tunnel on 26th June 1876, with passenger traffic starting in the following December.

The tunnel is straight but no light can be seen at the other end because the summit of this part of the line is located around 300 yards in from the eastern portal. The climb up to and within the tunnel (1 in 54) often caused difficulties in wet conditions - some locomotives required two or more attempts to reach the top. Smoke could become so dense that the footplate crew would kneel on the floor, covering their faces with wet handkerchiefs.

An oversight by the architect resulted in no refuges being constructed - an unusual and potentially dangerous feature for a tunnel of this length. The last train passed through on 17th September 1956.

I'm not going to post may pics of the tunnel itself as Shuck has covered most of the interesting stuff.

The light at the end of the tunnel.

A distant glow from the far end.

Gotta have a brickwork pic included.

Not a lot left of the unlucky sheep from my previous visit.

And now some pictures of some more calcification action

Beer bottle slowly becoming petrified.

Flowing calcite.

Soot & calcite on tunnel wall.

Close-ups of calcite deposits on wall.

Stalactites, surprisingly these were hollow tubes that disintegrated at the slightest touch.

Pools of amazingly clear spring water.

Stalagmite forming.

There wasn't as much "stuff" in the tunnel as last time, looked like somebody had been through and tidied up although it was still an interesting & enjoyable explore

 

[djrich]

Great pics guys, some really interesting shots there.

 

[Black Shuck]

Thanks a lot D.J.

 

[Mole Man]

Great pictures there, amazing to see how the calcite from the lime stone has built up over such a short period of time.

 

[Black Shuck]

Great pictures there, amazing to see how the calcite from the lime stone has built up over such a short period of time.

Cheers Mole it was quite a sight down there. The whole of the Hill that the tunnel passes through is Chalk so that the tunnel is in itself a Cave System.

 

[klempner69]

Some of thee best pics I have seen...well done to you both.

 

[Black Shuck]

Some of thee best pics I have seen...well done to you both.

Thanks a lot Klemp. It was a great explore I thoroughly enjoyed it. Spawneys shots were fantastic.

 

[spawney]

Thanks all for your kind & encouraging comments. I didn't realise how many peeps on here had a thing for calcite

 

[Black Shuck]

Thanks all for your kind & encouraging comments. I didn't realise how many peeps on here had a thing for calcite

There were some good shots in there mate. I liked your shots a lot.

 

[Darkness]

Great post dude! glad to see you still got there, sorry i couldn't make it this time
fantastic pics!!

 

[magoo²]

Nice shots and report guys