Standedge Canal Tunnel

A boat tour of Standedge Canal Tunnel from Marsden to Diggle

Standedge Tunnels are the biggest engineering works of the canal and rail links across the Pennines running from Marsden in Yorkshire to Diggle in Lancashire. There are four tunnels, around three miles in length. Naturally the first of the tunnels was the canal tunnel completed in 1811. This was followed by a single track rail tunnel in 1848 and a second single track tunnel in 1871. In 1894 a two track railway tunnel was added giving a total of four tracks through Standedge. The two original rail tunnels were closed in 1966 and 1970 respectively with just the two track 1894 rail tunnel remaining in use, though the original tunnels are used for maintenance vehicles. The canal closed in 1944 and iron gates were placed over the tunnel entrances. It reopened in 2001 following restoration work. A visitor centre has been established in a former transshipment warehouse at the Marsden end and tour boats operate in to the canal tunnel from there on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. At the time of my visit in 2012 a tour through the tunnel was operated on a Friday, though this is not currently showing on the Canal & River Trust website which contains information about visiting the tunnel and boat tours.

More information about the tunnels can be found on the Wikipedia article.

1904 Maps: 1  2  3  4  5

The canal tunnel starts and finishes on the north side of the railway tunnels with the 1894 two track railway tunnel crossing over the canal close to each end and the canal tunnel running for most of its length between the single track and double track rail tunnels. The canal was used in the construction of the rail tunnels, being used to extract spoil and avoiding the need to build separate construction shafts. This means there are several passages between the four tunnels. Occasionally the lights of a passing train can be seen through one of the connecting passages.

Below - The canal tunnel portal at Marsden with the gate opened for the boat tour. Individuals wishing to take a boat through can only do so by booking through the Canal & River Trust and a chaperone is provided. Boats are also followed by a vehicle in one of the disused railway tunnels with the progress of the boat checked at the cross passages.

Below - The tour boat ready for boarding at Marsden.

Below - Inside the canal tunnel. There was no towpath provided so horse drawn barges had to be legged through the tunnel and the horses were walked over the top of the hills. One man or boy on each side would lay on their backs and manoeuvre the boat with their legs. As this work badly wore boots they would often do the job with rags wrapped around their feet, the origin of the word toerag. 

Below - Having passed under the later railway tunnel the bricks change from red to blue. Note the extensive re-pointing work undertaken to reopen the tunnel.

Below - The lining then changes from brick to stone.

Below - Entering solid rock there was little or no need to line the tunnel in places.

Below - One of the passages from the 1848 railway tunnel. A torch light would regularly be seen flashing from the passages as the person following us in a road vehicle checked our progress. The passage would have been knocked through during the construction of the rail tunnel to allow spoil to be extracted by canal barges.

Below - A section of tunnel cut through the rock.

Below - A passage over the canal connecting the 1848 rail tunnel to the 1894 rail tunnel.

Below - A passing place built to allow boats travelling in different directions to pass. This proved an impractical way to operate the tunnel with such lengths of tunnel being of single boat width. A one way system controlled at each portal was introduced.

Below - At the end of the passing place the tunnel returns to single boat width.

Below - Another passage between rail tunnels.

Below - Passages between the rail tunnels above and a passage to the 1848 tunnel on the left and the 1894 tunnel on the right.

Below - The light at the end of the tunnel. The flat roof is where the canal passed under the now closed Diggle station.

Below - This section is where the 1894 tunnel crosses over the canal. This was effectively an extension to the canal tunnel as prior to the construction of the 1894 tunnel the canal emerged here.

Below - A section of tunnel taking the canal clear of the Diggle station site to emerge at the Diggle portal.

Below - The boat seen at the Diggle portal.

There are little in the way of facilities at the Diggle end. After a short break for the crew the boat operated a tour back to Marsden. Though it was possible to book both tours I think most took the much quicker train journey in one direction, even allowing for the time taken to walk to Greenfield station. I followed the canal to Greenfield station, leaving the canal at Chew Valley Road bridge next to the station. Open Street Map

Bord Na Mona Railways

A 2010 visit to the Bord Na Mona's Blackwater Yard.

Google Map

In recent weeks the use of narrow gauge peat trains has ceased in Ireland. The Bord Na Mona's 3ft gauge lines once constituted one of the largest industrial railway systems in Europe. Operating on several sites across Ireland with extensive lines that would bring peat to power stations, the track mileage was said to exceed that of the national passenger network.

In recent years environmental concerns have led to a switch towards biomass for power generation. The news that the peat trains had ended led to me looking back at photos from a 2010 visit to the Bord Na Mona's Blackwater depot. This was where equipment was maintained for the network of lines that supplied West Offaly power station.

Rail tours of part of the West Offaly system were operated under the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway name. These tours used one of the former peat railway locos and a single carriage. Unfortunately the railways to the power station were so busy that these tours could not be accommodated without disruption to the peat trains and the tours were discontinued in 2008. At the time of our visit the stock for the tours was laid up in the Blackwater yard.

More about the Bord Na Mona and its railway system can be found on the Wikipedia article.

Below - One of the peat trains with a Hunslet Wagonmaster, these formed the bulk of the locomotive fleet for the system.

Below - A maintenance train with one of the earlier Wagonmasters identified by its connecting rods on the wheels.

Below - Another maintenance train with one of the later Wagonmasters. The tracks were often realigned according to the cutting face in the peat bog.

Below - Some of the old railway equipment seen at the Blackwater yard. Nearest the camera is one of the railcars that would be used for line inspections. Some of the earlier locomotives from before the Bord Na Mona standardising on the Wagonmasters can be seen.

Below - At one point it seemed that Ruston & Hornsby would build the standard loco fleet for Bord Na Mona and the company put a lot of development in to loco designs for the system, though they insisted their locos could only be supplied with their engines and the Bord Na Mona wanted their locos to use Ford engines common with other equipment they used.

Below - A German built Deutz loco

Below - A Simplex loco.

Below - The Ruston & Hornsby loco and coach of the Clonmacnoise and West Offaly Railway.

Below - A light engine Hunslet Wagonmaster enters the yard.

Below - A maintenance train and an old crawler crane.

Below - Some of the other equipment seen around the yard.

Below - Some of the track panels, the network would often be relayed like a big model railway as the cutting face moved along the bog.

 

Below - Another engineers train. Plenty of engineers trains could be seen around the Blackwater yard.

Below - A ballast train on the main line towards the West Offlay power station.

Below - The main line towards the West Offlay power station, double track with sidings on the right.