Cowburn Tunnel

Cowburn Tunnel
Western portal
Overview
Line Hope Valley Line
Location Edale, Derbyshire
Coordinates 53°21′07″N 1°52′00″W / 53.35194°N 1.86667°W / 53.35194; -1.86667Coordinates: 53°21′07″N 1°52′00″W / 53.35194°N 1.86667°W / 53.35194; -1.86667
Operation
Work begun October 1888
Opened March 1893
Owner Network Rail
Technical
Length 3,702 yards (3.385 km; 2.103 mi)
Route map
Location of the tunnel within the Peak District

The Cowburn Tunnel is a railway tunnel at the western end of the Vale of Edale in the Derbyshire Peak District of England. The tunnel is 3,702 yards (3,385 m) long.

Construction

The Midland Railway awarded the contract to J.P. Edwards of Nottingham.[1] Construction work started in October 1888 when a ventilation shaft was sunk in Cartledge Meadow near Edale.[2] The tunnel was engineered by the Midland Railway, under Colborne, part of a 1,700-foot (518 m) moorland between Kinder Scout and Rushup Edge. Tunneling also started at the other end near Chapel-en-le-Frith and the breakthrough between the two sections was made on 18 July 1891.[3] The lining out of the tunnel and laying of the rails was completed by March 1893, when the workmen were dispersed.[4]

Description

It takes the Hope Valley Line west out of Edale valley, to emerge near Chapel Milton, 2.5 miles (4 km) east of Chinley railway station.[5]

Unusually, the tunnel is not built at a constant gradient: in fact, the summit of the line between Dore and Chinley lies within the tunnel, about a quarter of the way from the eastern end. From the summit, the tunnel falls at 1 in 100 (1%) eastwards and 1 in 150 (0.67%) westwards. Nevertheless, when the headings met, they were no more than 1 inch (25.4 mm) out of line in the vertical direction, and met exactly in the horizontal direction. Only one vertical shaft was used. Although the workings were much drier than they had been for Totley Tunnel, on one occasion the headings filled with water to a depth of 90 ft (27.4 m) and work was carried on in a diving bell.

References

  1. ↑ "The Dore and Chinley Railway". Derby Mercury. England. 29 August 1888. Retrieved 29 October 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  2. ↑ "The Dore and Chinley Railway". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. England. 20 October 1888. Retrieved 29 October 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  3. ↑ "Dore and Chinley Railway. Important Progress". Sheffield Independent. England. 20 July 1891. Retrieved 29 October 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  4. ↑ "The Dore and Chinley Railway". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. England. 15 March 1893. Retrieved 29 October 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive. (Subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ OL1 Dark Peak area (Map). 1:25000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.