hi having finished a job fairly nearby it was time to do another one on my to do list that being clarborough railway tunnel.
clarborough tunnel was built in 1850 and lies just over 2 miles from retford in nottinghamshire on the branch line of the sheffield to lincoln line
which sees an hourly service between the 2 cities and occasional freight trains and is a site of special scientific intrest and houses clarborough nature reserve on top of the tunnel.
proposed in 1844 and completed in 1850 by the manchester sheffield and lincoln railway ( MSLR) continues to trent junction where it joins the great northern and great eastern joint railway ( GN&GEJR) from doncaster and continues eastwards to cleethorpes via brigg and in a southerly direction to lincoln where it rejoins the east coast main line south of peterborough there was also a junction at clarborough which ran via torksey to sykes junction continuing on to lincoln and cleethorpes via market rasen this closed in 1959 but reopened in 1967 as far cottham to serve the power station all other freight traveling via gainsborough lea road .
now a word of warning to would be explorers..... exploring live railway tunnels is not something to be approached lightly unlike dead tunnels they still have frequent trains running through them most are tucked out of the way and may be difficult to access but the main considerations are safety first dont do anything which would put yourself in danger and always be constantly on the look out for trains and most of all ensure you are not seen as nowadays they delay trains which incurs fines for the operator so BTP will not be sympathetic if you get caught and you may find yourself in front of the magistrate.
that said clarborough tunnel is accessed fom church lane following the road for around a mile untill i found the line at cherry holt crossing on whinleys road a continuation of church lane my goal clarborough tunnel was around a quarter mile further on but not fancying playing dodge the train i parked the car at the locked crossing gates and set off on foot uphill again to find a way to the tunnel.
passing cherry holt farm i attracted the attention of a rather loud doberman dog who proceded to follow me up the farmers field barking loudly being glad there was a large fence between myself and it walked in to the wood and nature reserve.
following the main path through the wood i gained the nature reserve and found the ventilation shaft for the tunnel continuing on the right hand path found myself at the top of the east portal of clarborough tunnel.
the next qustion was how to get down to it with a very steep bank and bushes after much probing found a gap and had to slide down the steep bank on my arse using my boots and grass as a brake eventually reaching the bottom and ensuring nothing was lurking walked towards the tunnel.
an aproaching train caused me to take cover behind a retaining wall after which i spent around 20 mins photographing and deciding the best way out.
not really fancying a 650 yard walk through the tunnel then a quarter mile to the crossing and not having a timetable it had to be the same way i got in but this time up the side of the tunnel bank and across the tunnel top and after much climbing got over the fence and rolled myself a fag while i regained my composure returning back through the reserve picked up a big stick lest my 4 legged friend should be around and find a way through the fence at least i,d got something to brain it with.
there was no sign of the dog and thought it had gone in for its tea untill a large shape rounded the corner barking furiously yes my friend was back and continued to follow me down the field to much barking.
leaving my walking stick at the crossing for someone else to use managed to grab a couple of train pictures to add to my report and another explore crossed off the list.
cherry holt crossing the adventure starts here....
clarborough tunnel in the distance the signs warn engineers they are entering a site of scientific intrest and must obtain special permission to work here.
the crossing access board
clarborough tunnel ventilation shaft
looking down from the top of the tunnel
looking towards lincoln i came down the steep bank on my arse on the left
first view of clarborough tunnel,s east portal from the embankment
trackside safety first from here on in
lantern repeater signal TN 835 (thrumpton) stands guard in the clear position at the tunnel portal
clarboroughs tunnel board
some nice beams in the tunnel roof that extend right through the tunnel
which can be seen as they diaspear into the darkness
a tunnel marker
looking outside the tunnel is quite wet in places
a brick reccess and signal cable
my reccess was cut in with a steel lintel above it
climbing back up the bank
the top capping stones and brickwork
a broken drain pipe
another view of the top capping stones
blast on the roof from its steam days
looking down to the trackside from the bank
as a northern railbus scoots into the tunnel
clarborough nature reserve is right on top of clarborough tunnel and extends the full length of the tunnel
back at the crossing as 66740 and 017 top and tail a coal train from cottham power staion out of the tunnel
came across these on my way back up church lane think they are something to do with the fun day ...beautifull babs windsor
wallace and grommit
a horse and rider trying to negotiate the hedge
love this one british strawberries and cream
clarborough tunnel was built in 1850 and lies just over 2 miles from retford in nottinghamshire on the branch line of the sheffield to lincoln line
which sees an hourly service between the 2 cities and occasional freight trains and is a site of special scientific intrest and houses clarborough nature reserve on top of the tunnel.
proposed in 1844 and completed in 1850 by the manchester sheffield and lincoln railway ( MSLR) continues to trent junction where it joins the great northern and great eastern joint railway ( GN&GEJR) from doncaster and continues eastwards to cleethorpes via brigg and in a southerly direction to lincoln where it rejoins the east coast main line south of peterborough there was also a junction at clarborough which ran via torksey to sykes junction continuing on to lincoln and cleethorpes via market rasen this closed in 1959 but reopened in 1967 as far cottham to serve the power station all other freight traveling via gainsborough lea road .
now a word of warning to would be explorers..... exploring live railway tunnels is not something to be approached lightly unlike dead tunnels they still have frequent trains running through them most are tucked out of the way and may be difficult to access but the main considerations are safety first dont do anything which would put yourself in danger and always be constantly on the look out for trains and most of all ensure you are not seen as nowadays they delay trains which incurs fines for the operator so BTP will not be sympathetic if you get caught and you may find yourself in front of the magistrate.
that said clarborough tunnel is accessed fom church lane following the road for around a mile untill i found the line at cherry holt crossing on whinleys road a continuation of church lane my goal clarborough tunnel was around a quarter mile further on but not fancying playing dodge the train i parked the car at the locked crossing gates and set off on foot uphill again to find a way to the tunnel.
passing cherry holt farm i attracted the attention of a rather loud doberman dog who proceded to follow me up the farmers field barking loudly being glad there was a large fence between myself and it walked in to the wood and nature reserve.
following the main path through the wood i gained the nature reserve and found the ventilation shaft for the tunnel continuing on the right hand path found myself at the top of the east portal of clarborough tunnel.
the next qustion was how to get down to it with a very steep bank and bushes after much probing found a gap and had to slide down the steep bank on my arse using my boots and grass as a brake eventually reaching the bottom and ensuring nothing was lurking walked towards the tunnel.
an aproaching train caused me to take cover behind a retaining wall after which i spent around 20 mins photographing and deciding the best way out.
not really fancying a 650 yard walk through the tunnel then a quarter mile to the crossing and not having a timetable it had to be the same way i got in but this time up the side of the tunnel bank and across the tunnel top and after much climbing got over the fence and rolled myself a fag while i regained my composure returning back through the reserve picked up a big stick lest my 4 legged friend should be around and find a way through the fence at least i,d got something to brain it with.
there was no sign of the dog and thought it had gone in for its tea untill a large shape rounded the corner barking furiously yes my friend was back and continued to follow me down the field to much barking.
leaving my walking stick at the crossing for someone else to use managed to grab a couple of train pictures to add to my report and another explore crossed off the list.
clarborough tunnel in the distance the signs warn engineers they are entering a site of scientific intrest and must obtain special permission to work here.
the crossing access board
clarborough tunnel ventilation shaft
looking down from the top of the tunnel
looking towards lincoln i came down the steep bank on my arse on the left
first view of clarborough tunnel,s east portal from the embankment
trackside safety first from here on in
lantern repeater signal TN 835 (thrumpton) stands guard in the clear position at the tunnel portal
clarboroughs tunnel board
some nice beams in the tunnel roof that extend right through the tunnel
which can be seen as they diaspear into the darkness
a tunnel marker
looking outside the tunnel is quite wet in places
a brick reccess and signal cable
my reccess was cut in with a steel lintel above it
climbing back up the bank
the top capping stones and brickwork
a broken drain pipe
another view of the top capping stones
blast on the roof from its steam days
looking down to the trackside from the bank
as a northern railbus scoots into the tunnel
clarborough nature reserve is right on top of clarborough tunnel and extends the full length of the tunnel
came across these on my way back up church lane think they are something to do with the fun day ...beautifull babs windsor
wallace and grommit
a horse and rider trying to negotiate the hedge
love this one british strawberries and cream
Last edited: