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Standedge Tunnels
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Standedge Tunnels
The Standedge Tunnels (/stænɪdʒ/) are four parallel tunnels through the Pennine hills at the Standedge crossing between Marsden in Kirklees, West Yorkshire and Diggle in Oldham, Greater Manchester in northern England. Three are railway tunnels (containing the Huddersfield line) and the other is a canal tunnel. Before boundary changes in 1974, both ends of the tunnels were in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The canal tunnel on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament on 4 April 1794. Construction of a 5,451-yard (4,984 m) tunnel began months later. Within two years, cost-saving measures pushed back its completion date and progress was slowed by water levels much greater than had been expected. It proved difficult to secure skilled help, some tenders went unanswered and Benjamin Outram withdrew from the venture. In 1807, Thomas Telford drew up a new plan for its completion. In 1811, the tunnel opened. It is the longest and oldest of the four Standedge tunnels and is the longest, highest, and deepest canal tunnel in the United Kingdom. Having been closed to all traffic in 1943, the canal tunnel was re-opened in May 2001.
The first, single-track railway tunnel, built for the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) on its line between Huddersfield and Manchester, was completed in 1848. It proved to have insufficient capacity and a second, parallel, single-track tunnel was opened in 1871. The LNWR opened a third, double-track tunnel in 1894. Only the double-track tunnel is currently used for rail traffic; the other two are intact but disused.
All four tunnels are linked by cross-tunnels or adits at strategic intervals which allowed the railway tunnels to be built without construction shafts and allowed waste material to be removed by boat. The Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre, at the Marsden end, is a base for boat trips into the tunnel and has an exhibition depicting the different crossings.
On 4 April 1794, construction of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal (then known as the Huddersfield Canal), linking Ashton-under-Lyne and Huddersfield via a tunnel, was authorised by an Act of Parliament. Benjamin Outram was appointed the consulting engineer after his report in October 1793 estimated the cost of the canal and tunnel at £178,478. Nicholas Brown surveyed the route. Outram thought that geology of the hill through which the tunnel would pass was of gritstone and shale, and would not present any difficulties. Work on the 5,456-yard (4,989 m) tunnel would start at a dip in the hill at Red Brook and the tunnel would be driven simultaneously from both ends. Steam engines would keep the works drained during construction.
Outram was the site engineer and Brown was superintendent and surveyor. During July 1795, John Evans was appointed to manage boring the tunnel. By mid-1796, 795 yards (727 m) of tunnel had been cut, some of which had been lined. Considerable effort had been spent constructing small tunnels to supply waterwheels to raise spoil and water from intermediate adits. By the autumn, concerned that such work was expensive, Outram abandoned building extra workfaces and concentrated on boring out from both ends. While this was cheaper, the completion date was extended.
Other factors had slowed progress: a shortage of funding and poor working practices also contributed. Cutbacks in drainage provision hampered tunnelling, as larger quantities of water entered the workings. In September 1797, Outram advised the committee that Thomas Lee, the contractor, had made large losses as a result of the difficulties and could not complete his contract. He was awarded more money for timber, an increased rate per yard for completion and an extra year in which to finish the tunnel.
By mid-1799, 1,000 yards (910 m) of the tunnel had been finished and 1,000 yards (910 m) had been excavated, but not completed. In October 1800, the Peak Forest Canal Company, who were keen to trade, suggested a tram road should be built to bypass the tunnel until it was completed, but no action was taken. The next tunnel contract failed to attract any takers and canal engineer John Varley, who had repaired parts of the canal which had been damaged by floods, was invited to work on the tunnel. Soon thereafter, mine owner Matthew Fletcher was asked for his opinion; he suggested that time could be saved by tunnelling in both directions from Redbrook pit, which was kept dry by a large steam engine. He estimated that it would cost £8,000, but a contractor could not be found and tunnelling continued from both ends.
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Standedge Tunnels
The Standedge Tunnels (/stænɪdʒ/) are four parallel tunnels through the Pennine hills at the Standedge crossing between Marsden in Kirklees, West Yorkshire and Diggle in Oldham, Greater Manchester in northern England. Three are railway tunnels (containing the Huddersfield line) and the other is a canal tunnel. Before boundary changes in 1974, both ends of the tunnels were in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The canal tunnel on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament on 4 April 1794. Construction of a 5,451-yard (4,984 m) tunnel began months later. Within two years, cost-saving measures pushed back its completion date and progress was slowed by water levels much greater than had been expected. It proved difficult to secure skilled help, some tenders went unanswered and Benjamin Outram withdrew from the venture. In 1807, Thomas Telford drew up a new plan for its completion. In 1811, the tunnel opened. It is the longest and oldest of the four Standedge tunnels and is the longest, highest, and deepest canal tunnel in the United Kingdom. Having been closed to all traffic in 1943, the canal tunnel was re-opened in May 2001.
The first, single-track railway tunnel, built for the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) on its line between Huddersfield and Manchester, was completed in 1848. It proved to have insufficient capacity and a second, parallel, single-track tunnel was opened in 1871. The LNWR opened a third, double-track tunnel in 1894. Only the double-track tunnel is currently used for rail traffic; the other two are intact but disused.
All four tunnels are linked by cross-tunnels or adits at strategic intervals which allowed the railway tunnels to be built without construction shafts and allowed waste material to be removed by boat. The Standedge Tunnel Visitor Centre, at the Marsden end, is a base for boat trips into the tunnel and has an exhibition depicting the different crossings.
On 4 April 1794, construction of the Huddersfield Narrow Canal (then known as the Huddersfield Canal), linking Ashton-under-Lyne and Huddersfield via a tunnel, was authorised by an Act of Parliament. Benjamin Outram was appointed the consulting engineer after his report in October 1793 estimated the cost of the canal and tunnel at £178,478. Nicholas Brown surveyed the route. Outram thought that geology of the hill through which the tunnel would pass was of gritstone and shale, and would not present any difficulties. Work on the 5,456-yard (4,989 m) tunnel would start at a dip in the hill at Red Brook and the tunnel would be driven simultaneously from both ends. Steam engines would keep the works drained during construction.
Outram was the site engineer and Brown was superintendent and surveyor. During July 1795, John Evans was appointed to manage boring the tunnel. By mid-1796, 795 yards (727 m) of tunnel had been cut, some of which had been lined. Considerable effort had been spent constructing small tunnels to supply waterwheels to raise spoil and water from intermediate adits. By the autumn, concerned that such work was expensive, Outram abandoned building extra workfaces and concentrated on boring out from both ends. While this was cheaper, the completion date was extended.
Other factors had slowed progress: a shortage of funding and poor working practices also contributed. Cutbacks in drainage provision hampered tunnelling, as larger quantities of water entered the workings. In September 1797, Outram advised the committee that Thomas Lee, the contractor, had made large losses as a result of the difficulties and could not complete his contract. He was awarded more money for timber, an increased rate per yard for completion and an extra year in which to finish the tunnel.
By mid-1799, 1,000 yards (910 m) of the tunnel had been finished and 1,000 yards (910 m) had been excavated, but not completed. In October 1800, the Peak Forest Canal Company, who were keen to trade, suggested a tram road should be built to bypass the tunnel until it was completed, but no action was taken. The next tunnel contract failed to attract any takers and canal engineer John Varley, who had repaired parts of the canal which had been damaged by floods, was invited to work on the tunnel. Soon thereafter, mine owner Matthew Fletcher was asked for his opinion; he suggested that time could be saved by tunnelling in both directions from Redbrook pit, which was kept dry by a large steam engine. He estimated that it would cost £8,000, but a contractor could not be found and tunnelling continued from both ends.
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