Totley Tunnel is a 6,230 yard (3. 5 mile / 5. 7 km) tunnel on the former Midland Railway Manchester-Sheffield line between Totley on the outskirts of Sheffield and Grindleford in Derbyshire, England. A tunnel is an underground passageway The definition of what constitutes a tunnel is not universally agreed upon The Midland Railway (MR was a Railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed from 1844 to 1922 when it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Totley is a suburb on the extreme southwest of the City of Sheffield, in South Yorkshire, England. Sheffield ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in South Yorkshire, England Grindleford is a village and parish in the county of Derbyshire, in the East Midlands of England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland It was completed in 1893 and is the longest main line railway tunnel within England that runs under land for its entire length. "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation.
The contractor for 10. 5 miles (16. 9 km) of the railway, including the tunnel was Thomas Oliver of Horsham, West Sussex. Horsham is a Market town situated on the River Arun in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England with a population of roughly 50000 Settlements Most settlements in West Sussex are either along the south coast or are situated in the M23 corridor
Work began in 1888 with the construction of three brick-built surveying towers along the proposed line of tunnel, followed by a number of vertical shafts to the level of the rails. The Duke of Rutland had decreed that no more than one ventilation shaft should be sunk through his moors (and that work should cease from August to October, during the grouse shooting season). Earl of Rutland and Duke of Rutland are titles in the Peerage of England derived from Rutland, a traditional county Initially four permanent and three temporary shafts were sunk near to the Totley end. The latter were cut through shale, and water was encountered in the first eight feet. The permanent ones took longer, encountering beds of ganister, coal, and rock. As defined in Jackson (1997 a ganister is hard fine-grained quartzose Sandstone, or orthoquartzite, used in the manufacture of silica brick typically used to line As the initial 10 feet (3. 0 m) by 9 feet (3. 0 m by 2. 7 m) headings were driven outwards from the base of each shaft, water flow increased to some 2,250,000 gallons per day (7,100 L/min). A gallon is a measure of Volume. It is in current use in the United States and still has limited use in many other English-speaking countries The litre or liter (see spelling differences) is a unit of Volume. At the Padley (Grindleford) end, the situation was little better, work stopping for several weeks until a drain was laid. Then at about 2,000 yards (1,829 m) a spring was encountered which flooded the workings at 5,000 gallons an hour (380 L/min). A raft had to be used to inspect the workings. Shortly after this the shale became drier and work proceeded toward Totley, the headings finally meeting in 1892.
The tunnel was the proving ground of a number of boring machines for the shot holes, using gelignite to blast the rock. Gelignite, also known as blasting gelatin, is an Explosive material consisting of Collodion - Cotton (a type of Nitrocellulose No limit was set on the amount, and in all some 163 tons were used. The atmosphere in the workings was hot, as well as humid, with compressed air used for ventilation, though, for a time at the Padley end, a turbine was installed in the Burbage Brook to drive a fan.
During the construction of the tunnel a natural cavern was discoverd that was several hundred feet in area, it was decided to incorporate this into the design and a large air shaft was installed to the surface at this point. The entrance to the cavern can still be seen now on the Up side of the tunnel half way through.
Because of the damp conditions, there were outbreaks of typhoid, in addition to diphtheria, smallpox and scarlet fever, not helped by the fact that accommodation was scarce, and the workers were living often twenty to thirty in a house. Typhoid fever, also known as enteric fever, bilious fever, Yellow Jack or commonly just typhoid, is an illness caused by the Bacterium Diphtheria ( Greek διφθερα ( diphthera)—“pair of leather scrolls" is an upper respiratory tract illness characterized by sore Smallpox is an Infectious disease unique to humans caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor. Scarlet fever is a disease caused by an Exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Working twenty four hour shifts, as soon as one man got out of his bed,, another would take his place, with little in the way of washing or sanitary facilities.
Because of its length, in addition to the Midland's normal block system, signal wires were installed which, when cut, caused alarms to ring in the signal boxes at each end. Railway signalling is a system used to control Railway traffic safely essentially to prevent Trains from colliding. Although shorter, they were also used in Cowburn and Clay Cross Tunnels. The Cowburn Tunnel is a railway tunnel at the western end of the Vale of Edale in the Derbyshire Peak District in the English Midlands Clay Cross Tunnel is a 1784-yard (1631 m Tunnel on the former North Midland Railway line near Clay Cross in Derbyshire, England
References
- Edwards, B. , (1985) Totley and the Tunnel, Sheffield, Shape Design Shop
- Plans Relating to Dore & Chinley Railway: Section of strata in heading of Dore and Totley Tunnel, Derbyshire Record Office, File ref. D4107/5/1
See also
External links
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