So this was a little tunnel we have wondered about in a few times and decided to use it to practice with the new camera. It is about 200m long (though from the way Acid and Rincewind laugh at my distance capabilities I had to google this to check haha) with a curve in the middle.
The eastern portal comes out in a quarry and the portal itself was grade II listed on the 26th of November 1987 (and is pretty) and the western portal has ankle high sludge and water (to be expected as it is down a slope to get in). Both have a few tyres and shoes and stuff thrown in for good measure.
The tunnel was built in 1849 for the South Yorkshire, Doncaster and Goole Railway Company. The head engineer was Charles Bartholomew of the River Don Company. It conisists of Gritstone voussoirs and rock-faced sandstone walling. Quoined buttresses flank a horseshoe arch with rustication below the impost band and roll-moulded hoodmould. Roll-moulded cornice breaks forward over the buttresses; blocking course steps up at centre. The whole this is brick lined and has good airflow and is solid under foot once you get in there.
The line was opened on 10th November 1849 and linked the Midland and Great Northern networks; after 1864 it became part of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire railway which itself became the Great Central Railway in 1897.
One of the arches holds a small token/homage to "The Mexbrough Ragger"; a local, young gypsy girl who had cut through the tunnels to sell either water or rags to the workers on the other side. She is said to have stepped into the central arch when a train passed but dropped what she was carrying and when she bent down to quickly grab it, she was hit by a train. The doll left there has been there for many years and is a bloody strange site if you don't see it right at first.
So here are some photos, the first few times I visited with @Rincewind and my sister, the last visit we also had the pleasure of @ACID- REFLUX too (thanks for the torch loan!)
Eastern Portal
Inside
Admit it, who went down in loafers?
Baby Doll
Rincewind
Acid's Shadow
Moo nearly falling over in mud
Thanks for the nosey guys!
Lots of love
JE xx
The eastern portal comes out in a quarry and the portal itself was grade II listed on the 26th of November 1987 (and is pretty) and the western portal has ankle high sludge and water (to be expected as it is down a slope to get in). Both have a few tyres and shoes and stuff thrown in for good measure.
The tunnel was built in 1849 for the South Yorkshire, Doncaster and Goole Railway Company. The head engineer was Charles Bartholomew of the River Don Company. It conisists of Gritstone voussoirs and rock-faced sandstone walling. Quoined buttresses flank a horseshoe arch with rustication below the impost band and roll-moulded hoodmould. Roll-moulded cornice breaks forward over the buttresses; blocking course steps up at centre. The whole this is brick lined and has good airflow and is solid under foot once you get in there.
The line was opened on 10th November 1849 and linked the Midland and Great Northern networks; after 1864 it became part of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire railway which itself became the Great Central Railway in 1897.
One of the arches holds a small token/homage to "The Mexbrough Ragger"; a local, young gypsy girl who had cut through the tunnels to sell either water or rags to the workers on the other side. She is said to have stepped into the central arch when a train passed but dropped what she was carrying and when she bent down to quickly grab it, she was hit by a train. The doll left there has been there for many years and is a bloody strange site if you don't see it right at first.
So here are some photos, the first few times I visited with @Rincewind and my sister, the last visit we also had the pleasure of @ACID- REFLUX too (thanks for the torch loan!)
Eastern Portal
Inside
Admit it, who went down in loafers?
Baby Doll
Rincewind
Acid's Shadow
Moo nearly falling over in mud
Thanks for the nosey guys!
Lots of love
JE xx
