After a day of exploring in rainy Sheffield we returned home, charged our gear and then myself and Morse jumped back on a train to meet NickUk. Access is no mean feat and is in the form of a massive gate, after a 3 mile walk we emerged at the Marsden end of the tunnel. Sweets and sandwiches later we were setting up for a couple of photographs next to the live line, canal and the ‘cathedral’ cross tunnel.
History/Info;
The Standedge Tunnels are four parallel tunnels that run beneath the Pennines at the traditional Standedge crossing point between Marsden and Diggle, on the edges of the conurbations of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.
There are three railway tunnels and a canal tunnel (Huddersfield Narrow Canal). The canal tunnel is the longest and oldest of the tunnels, and holds the record as the longest and highest canal tunnel in Britain. All four tunnels are linked by cross-tunnels at various locations within the tunnels. These allowed the railway tunnels to be built much more quickly by allowing waste product to be removed by boat and reducing the need for shafts for construction.
Of the railway tunnels, only the tunnel built in 1894 is currently used for rail traffic. Closed in 1943, the canal tunnel was re-opened in May 2001. The Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre, at the Marsden end of the tunnel, serves as a base for boat trips into the canal tunnel.
Cheers, Gone...
