Blea Moor Tunnel
{{Short description|Railway tunnel in Cumbria and Yorkshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox tunnel
| name = Blea Moor Tunnel
| image = Southern End of Blea Moor Tunnel - geograph.org.uk - 1655397.jpg
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| caption = The southern portal of Blea Moor Tunnel
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| line = Settle to Carlisle Line
| location = Cumbria
| coordinates = {{coord|54|14|24.72|N|2|21|29.88|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title,inline}}
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| start = 1872
| end = 1875
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| owner = Network Rail
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| length = {{convert|2629|yd|m}}
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File:HST 125 Rail Charter Services.jpg
File:Blea Moor Tunnel - geograph.org.uk - 226351.jpg
File:Blea Moor Tunnel - geograph.org.uk - 193298.jpg
File:Blea Moor Signal Box - geograph.org.uk - 838588.jpg
Blea Moor Tunnel is a (1.494 mi, 2.404 km) railway tunnel located between Ribblehead Viaduct and Dent railway station in England. It is the longest tunnel on the Settle-Carlisle Line, being almost twice as long as the second longest tunnel, Rise Hill Tunnel.Garrat, Colin; Matthews, Max-Wade (2003), Illustrated Encyclopedia of Steam And Rail, Barnes & Noble Books, New York, {{ISBN|0-7607-4952-3}}
History
Built by the Midland Railway, it took more than four years to complete. Construction started in 1872, with dynamite transported from Carlisle and Newcastle in carts to the construction site. The wages on offer to the miners who dug the tunnel were 5s ({{Inflation|UK|0.25|1872|r=2|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}) to 5s 6d ({{Inflation|UK|0.271|1872|r=2|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}){{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} per day.{{cite news |author= |title=Midland Railway. Settle to Carlisle. Contract No. 1 |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002031/18720504/094/0008 |newspaper=Knaresborough Post |location=England |date=4 May 1872 |access-date=5 November 2017 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }}
It was completed in 1875 at a cost of £109,000{{cite news |author= |title=The Midland New Line from Settle to Carlisle |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000250/18760427/043/0005 |newspaper=Sheffield Daily Telegraph |location=England |date=27 April 1876 |access-date=5 November 2017 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }} ({{Inflation|UK|109000|1876|r=-4|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}
It passes some 500 feet below the moor after which it was named, and was built with the aid of seven separate construction shafts sunk from the moor above. This permitted sixteen separate gangs of workers to be used during construction (one from each open end and two from the foot of each of the shafts).{{cite book |last1=Houghton |first1=F. W. |last2=Foster |first2=W. H. |date=1965 |edition=2nd |title=The Story of the Settle-Carlisle Line |publisher=Advertiser Press Ltd |location=Huddersfield |page=30}} Four of these were subsequently filled in but three were retained for ventilation purposes and are still used as such today (with occasional ice accumulation problems{{cite web | url=http://railwayeye.blogspot.com/2010/01/ice-to-see-you-to-see-you-ice.html | title=Ice to see you, to see you, ice! | date=13 January 2010 }}). At one point of the track's history, steam locomotives were tested for their worthiness by driving them through this tunnel.{{cite book |title=Microsoft Train Simulator Information Booklet}}
The line from the south enters the tunnel on a rising 1% (1 in 100) gradient (the "Long Drag" beginning back at {{rws|Settle Junction}}), but an initial summit is reached at the 1100 ft contour just under half a mile from the southern portal. From there, the rest of the tunnel is on a shallow descending gradient of 1 in 440 towards Dent Head.
In April 1952 a passenger train derailed shortly after exiting the tunnel due to a broken brake rod on the locomotive tender fouling the points. The use of rolling stock with Buckeye couplings and welded underframes was praised in preventing telescoping of the coaches and thus there were no deaths.{{cite web | url=https://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/docsummary.php?docID=463| title=Report on the Derailment which occurred on 18th April 1952 at Blea Moor between Dent and Ribblehead on the London Midland Region British Railways | date=20 October 1952 }}
Traffic
Any train that goes the full length of the Settle & Carlisle line goes through the Blea Moor Tunnel. This includes passenger trains, all run by Northern (eight each way per day in the 2023-24 timetable),{{NRtimes|December 2023|35}} various special excursions (some hauled by steam locomotives) and the many goods trains. A short distance south of the tunnel is Blea Moor Sidings signal box, which supervises the line through the tunnel and also over the adjacent Ribblehead viaduct.
Train simulators
You can go through the Blea Moor Tunnel either with Microsoft Train Simulator, Trainz Classics 3 or Train Simulator Classic.
Location
- Southern portal: {{coord|54.2319|-2.3673|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline|name=Blea Moor Tunnel (southern portal)}}
- Northern portal: {{coord|54.2497|-2.3465|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline|name=Blea Moor Tunnel (northern portal)}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Commons category|Blea Moor Tunnel}}
{{GeoGroupTemplate}}
{{Tunnels in Yorkshire}}
Category:Railway tunnels in England
Category:Rail transport in Cumbria