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 and Walsden near Todmorden, was bored beneath the Pennines, a natural obstruction to most forms of traffic. The tunnel is just over long and carries two standard-gauge tracks in a single horseshoe-shaped tube, approximately wide and 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

thumb|left|One of the tunnel's [[ventilation shafts, 2008]]

Summit Tunnel, between Littleborough and Todmorden

The tunnel is long and tall; the horseshoe-shaped bore is wide and accommodates a pair of tracks. The tunnel falls on a gradient of 1-in-330 southwards (towards ). 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. The bricks were handmade locally and up to 60,000 were laid in a single day.

Incidents

thumb|Public walkthrough of the Summit Tunnel days prior to its reopening to rail traffic, 17 August 1985

The tunnel closed for the first eight months of 1985 following a fire that generated sufficient heat to vitrify sections of its outer brickwork.

On 28 December 2010, a passenger train travelling from Manchester to Leeds was 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.

Sources

Bibliography

Further reading

  • MacDonald, M. The World From Rough Stones (1975, Random House); a novel set during the building of the Summit Tunnel.