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Summit Tunnel
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{{Short description|Railway tunnel near Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England}} {{about|the Summit Tunnel in England|the Summit Tunnel in California|Tunnel No. 41}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}} {{Use British English|date=November 2017}} {{Infobox tunnel | name = Summit Tunnel | image = Summit Tunnel southern portal DI.jpg | image_size = | alt = A train emerging from a tunnel portal | caption = [[Northern Rail]] [[British Rail Class 158|Class 158]] emerges from Summit Tunnel southern portal near Littleborough | official_name = | other_name = | line = [[Calder Valley line]] | location = | coordinates = {{coord|53|41|02|N|2|05|31|W|region:GB-CLD_type:landmark|display=inline, title}} | os_grid_ref = SD940208 | status = Open | system = | crosses = | start = | end = | stations = | startwork = | opened = 1 March 1841 | closed = 20 December 1984 | rebuilt = | reopened = 19 August 1985 | owner = | operator = | traffic = | character = | engineer = [[Thomas Longridge Gooch]] | construction = | length = {{convert|1|mi|1,125|yd}} | linelength = | tracklength = | notrack = 2 | gauge = | el = | speed = | hielevation = | lowelevation = | height = | width = | grade = 1-in-330 (southwards) | map = | extra = }} '''Summit Tunnel''' in England is one of the world's oldest railway tunnels. It was constructed between 1838 and 1841 by the [[Manchester and Leeds Railway]] Company to provide a direct line between [[Leeds]] and [[Manchester]]. When built, Summit Tunnel was the longest railway tunnel in the world. The tunnel, between [[Littleborough, Greater Manchester|Littleborough]] and [[Walsden]] near [[Todmorden]], was bored beneath the [[Pennines]], a natural obstruction to most forms of traffic. The tunnel is just over {{convert|1.6|mi|km}} long and carries two [[Standard gauge|standard-gauge]] tracks in a single horseshoe-shaped tube, approximately {{convert|7.2|m|ft|order=flip}} wide and {{convert|6.6|m|ft|order=flip}} high. Summit Tunnel was designed by [[Thomas Longridge Gooch]], assisted by Barnard Dickinson. Progress on its construction was slower than anticipated, largely because excavation was more difficult than anticipated. On 1 March 1841, Summit Tunnel was opened by Sir John Frederick Sigismund Smith; it had cost of £251,000 and 41 workers had died. On 20 December 1984, the [[Summit Tunnel fire]] occurred. There were no deaths and five months later, the tunnel reopened after repairs. The tunnel has remained in continuous use with little interruption since it opened. ==Development== [[File:Summit Tunnel ventilation shaft - geograph.org.uk - 739770.jpg|thumb|left|One of the tunnel's [[ventilation shaft]]s, 2008]] Summit Tunnel, between Littleborough and Todmorden<ref name = "eng time"/> is the highest section of the {{convert|82|km|mi|order=flip|adj=on}} long [[Manchester and Leeds Railway]], which was built parallel to the [[Rochdale Canal]]. When built, it was the world's longest railway tunnel and a critical element of the first trans-Pennine line.<ref name = "eng time"/> The tunnel was designed by the [[civil engineer]] [[Thomas Longridge Gooch]], a collaborator of [[George Stephenson]] and his son [[Robert Stephenson]] on several railway schemes.<ref name = "eng time"/> Between spring 1835 and 1844, Gooch was the engineer for the Manchester and Leeds Railway on behalf of George Stephenson, who was working on other projects. In September 1837, during Gooch's tenure, work commenced boring the tunnel.<ref name = "eng time"/> Gooch was assisted by Barnard Dickinson. When speaking about the tunnel, Dickinson exclaimed: "This tunnel will defy the rage of tempest, fire, war or wasting age".<ref name = "150 man">Thacker, Simon. [https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/nostalgia/summit-tunnel-175-years-on-10959530 "The Summit tunnel 175 years on: The miracle of engineering which survived a devastating fire."] ''Manchester Evening News'', 28 February 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.</ref> The tunnel is {{convert|1|mi|1,125|yd}} long and {{convert|6.6|m|ft|order=flip}} tall; the horseshoe-shaped bore is {{convert|7.9|m|ft|order=flip}} wide and accommodates a pair of tracks.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kelman |first1=Leanne |editor1-last=Brailsford |editor1-first=Martyn |title=Midlands & North West |date=2018 |publisher=Trackmaps |location=Beckington, Frome |isbn=978-1-9996271-1-9 |edition=4|at=45A}}</ref>{{sfn|Edmondson|Sherratt|Roff|Levett|2018|p=51}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rennison |first1=Robert William |title=Civil engineering heritage. Northern England |date=1996 |publisher=Telford |location=London |isbn=0727725181 |page=195 |edition=2}}</ref> The tunnel falls on a gradient of 1-in-330 southwards (towards {{rws|Littleborough}}).{{sfn|Bairstow|2001|p=54}} It was driven by hand through shale, coal and sandstone, after which the walls were lined with six courses of brick, using more than 23 million bricks.<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=mxIQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA20 The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales]'', vol. 3, p. 20. Edinburgh: A. Fullarton & Co., 1851.</ref> The bricks were handmade locally and up to 60,000 were laid in a single day.<ref name = "eng time"/> [[Roman cement]] was used for its [[Permeability (earth sciences)|impermeability]] to water. It has been estimated that about 8,100 tonnes (dry weight) of cement was transported to the tunnel from [[Kingston upon Hull|Hull]].<ref name = "eng time"/> During August 1838, James Wood, the chairman of the Manchester and Leeds Railway, laid the first brick in a ceremony.<ref name = "eng time"/> [[File:40085 emerges from Summit Tunnel at Littleborough.jpg|thumb|A [[British Rail Class 40]] locomotive hauling a freight train through the tunnel, 8 June 1983]] The original contractors were Evans, Stewart and Copeland.<ref name = "eng time"/> At the peak of construction, a workforce of between 800 and 1,250 men and boys was active, aided by about 100 horses and 13 stationary [[steam engine]]s, which were used to remove material from the shafts.<ref name = "eng time"/> The bedrock was hewn using physical strength and hand tools, illuminated only by candlelight. At an early stage of track laying, the rails were laid directly onto excavated rock, but conventional wooden [[Railroad tie|sleeper]]s were also used.<ref name = "eng time"/> The spoil was used for other purposes, including in the construction of [[Blackpool#Tourism|Blackpool Promenade]].<ref name = "eng time"/> Alignment of the tunnel was achieved by drilling 14 vertical shafts to provide survey points.<ref name = "eng time"/> When the tunnel was complete, two shafts were sealed and the remaining 12 were retained as ventilation. The [[ventilation shaft]]s were up to {{convert|28|to|94|m|ft|order=flip}} deep. During the tunnel's service life, No.6 was sealed after rock falls.<ref name = "eng time"/> Progress on construction was slower than expected; the [[bedrock]] and [[Shale|blue shale]] through which it was bored proved to be harder to excavate than anticipated.<ref name = "eng time"/> In March 1839, because of slow progress, the original contractors were dismissed and George Stephenson took over, after which the pace of work increased until a [[industrial action|strike]] of the [[bricklayer]]s occurred in March 1840.<ref name = "150 man"/> The last brick was laid on 9 December 1840.<ref name = "eng time"/> Summit Tunnel should have opened on [[New Year's Eve]] 1840; but the opening was delayed after the discovery of a defective invert, {{convert|0.8|km|mi|1|order=flip}} from one end which had displaced the central track drain.{{sfn|Bairstow|2001|p=26}} After repairs, the tunnel was officially opened by Sir John Frederick Sigismund Smith, the government inspector of railways on 1 March 1841.{{sfn|Edmondson|Sherratt|Roff|Levett|2018|p=50}} Summit Tunnel cost £251,000 and the loss of 41 lives.<ref name = "eng time"/> The cost was far greater than the railway company expected.<ref name = "150 man"/> The southern portal of the tunnel was grade II listed in 1986.<ref>{{NHLE|desc= Southern Entrance to Summit (Railway Tunnel) |num= 1162164|grade=II|access-date= 13 January 2022}}</ref> == Incidents == [[File:Summit Tunnel, North Portal - geograph.org.uk - 60363.jpg|thumb|Public walkthrough of the Summit Tunnel days prior to its reopening to rail traffic, 17 August 1985]] {{see|Summit Tunnel fire}} The tunnel closed for the first eight months of 1985 following a [[Summit Tunnel fire|fire]] that generated sufficient heat to [[vitrify]] sections of its outer brickwork.<ref name = "eng time"/><ref name = "150 man"/> The build up of heat in the surrounding ground led to a 'false spring'; many plants produced flowers and buds as the warm soil triggered new growth. Damage to the tunnel lining was minimal which was attributed to heated gases from the fire escaping through the [[ventilation shaft]]s.<ref name = "150 man"/> Restoration involved replacing {{convert|500|m|yd|order=flip}} of track and sleepers before it re-opened to traffic on 19 August 1985.<ref name = "eng time">[http://www.engineering-timelines.com/scripts/engineeringItem.asp?id=1130 “Summit Tunnel.”] ‘’engineering-timelines.com’’, Retrieved: 12 June 2018.</ref><ref>[https://www.todmordennews.co.uk/news/summit-tunnel-blaze-was-a-threat-to-towns-future-1-1847458 "Summit Tunnel blaze was a threat to towns' future."] ''Todmorden News'', 19 December 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2018.</ref> On 28 December 2010, a passenger train travelling from Manchester to Leeds was [[Derailment|derailed]] when it struck ice that had fallen onto the tracks from one of the ventilation shafts. The ice had built up during exceptionally cold weather and fell into the tunnel when it started to thaw. The train was the first to use the tunnel in three days as a result of a temporary break in services around [[Christmas]]. It collided with the tunnel wall, but remained upright and no injuries were reported.<ref>[http://www.raib.gov.uk/publications/investigation_reports/reports_2011/report162011.cfm “Derailment in Summit tunnel, near Todmorden, West Yorkshire.”] ‘’Rail Accident Investigation Board’’, 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2018.</ref><ref>[http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/16598/raib-summit-tunnel-2014-10-13.pdf "Derailment in Summit tunnel, near Todmorden, West Yorkshire, 28 December 2010."] ''Office of Rail Regulation'', 13 October 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2018.</ref> ==Sources== {{reflist}} ===Bibliography=== *{{cite book |last1=Bairstow |first1=Martin |title=The Manchester & Leeds Railway : the Calder Valley line |date=2001 |publisher=Martin Bairstow |location=Leeds |isbn=1-871944-22-8}} *{{cite journal |last1=Edmondson |first1=Vikki |last2=Sherratt |first2=Fred |last3=Roff |first3=Richard |last4=Levett |first4=Andy |title=Advancing tunnelling: the Victorian engineering management legacy |journal=Forensic Engineering |date=May 2018 |volume=171 |issue=2 |publisher=Institution of Civil Engineers |location=London |issn=2043-9903}} ==Further reading== * MacDonald, M. ''The World From Rough Stones'' (1975, Random House); a novel set during the building of the Summit Tunnel. ==External links== {{commons category-inline|Summit Tunnel, England}} {{Tunnels in Yorkshire}} [[Category:Rail transport in West Yorkshire]] [[Category:Rail transport in Greater Manchester]] [[Category:Tunnels in West Yorkshire]] [[Category:Tunnels in Greater Manchester]] [[Category:Trans-Pennine Railway tunnels]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Calderdale]]
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