Overview | |
---|---|
Location | Colwall, Herefordshire to Malvern Wells, Worcestershire |
Coordinates | 52°05′02″N2°21′02″W / 52.08391°N 2.350527°W |
Status | One disused; one operational |
Start | Colwall railway station |
End | Malvern Wells railway station |
Operation | |
Work begun | 1853 |
Opened | 17 September 1861 |
Closed | 2 August 1926 |
Rebuilt | 1924 - 1926 |
Reopened | 2 August 1926 |
Owner | Worcester and Hereford Railway (original) GWR (Post Grouping) Network Rail (current) |
Operator | Great Western Railway West Midlands Trains |
Character | Passenger |
Technical | |
Length | 1,567 yd (0.890 mi) |
No. of tracks | 1 |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
The Colwall Tunnels are a pair of railway tunnels that connect Colwall and Malvern Wells on the Cotswold Line, passing under the Malvern Hills in the Welsh Marches region of England.
The original route planned for the Worcester and Hereford Railway did not include the first tunnel, but its inclusion became necessary in response to pressure for the line to serve the towns of Malvern and Ledbury. The first Colwall Tunnel was one of the railway's greatest engineering challenges, after several years of work, it was opened to traffic on 17 September 1861. Its limited cross-section and single track configuration were often felt to be inadequate, contributing to pressure for a second tunnel to be constructed. A partial collapse of the first tunnel during 1907, temporarily blocking the railway, was another contributing factor. [1]
During the 1920s, work on the construction of a second tunnel commenced. Once this newer, wider bore was completed and brought into service on 2 August 1926, the original Colwall Tunnel was permanently closed that same day. It was used during the Second World War for storing munitions, being furnished with a concrete floor and a narrow-gauge railway. Only the newer bore remains in use as of the present day. It has been proposed to reopen the older bore as a cycle route.
The origins of the Colwall Tunnels are directly connected to the development of a railway between Worcester and Hereford, which was first mooted during the early 1850s. [2] The original intended route for the railway was actually a much straighter route running directly between the coalfields of South Wales and the industries surrounding Birmingham and the Black Country, roughly parallel to the present day A4103. As a result of considerable lobbying by the citizens in the towns of Malvern and Ledbury, who sought the new line to serve their locations as well, it was decided to change the railway's route to include them; this new route necessitated construction of two tunnels (along with two viaducts and a bridge), one of the former being the first Colwall Tunnel. [2]
During 1856, work on constructing the Worcester and Hereford Railway commenced. [2] The need to traverse the Malvern Hills represented the endeavour's largest engineering challenge; in addition to Colwall Tunnel, Ledbury Tunnel was also constructed for the line. Both tunnels share considerable similarities, such as a relatively narrow cross section and only able to accommodate a single track; trains were particularly constrained by the tunnel's dimensions. [2] The completed bore has a maximum depth below the surface of roughly 600 ft; airflow in the tunnel is augmented by a pair of ventilation shafts. [2]
The tunnel had to be bored through relatively hard rock only using the manual methods available at the time. [1] Local engineer Stephen Ballard was appointed to complete the work. Being bored by navvies from either end of the tunnel, work progressed at an average rate of ten feet per week. [2] However, once the igneous Malvern rock (some of the hardest rock to be found in Great Britain) was reached, the rate of progress slowed to as little as 15 cm (six inches) per day. Further complications came in the form of spring waters, multiple pumps had to be installed to remove the water from the construction site; this water source was subsequently helpful, being used to refill the line's steam locomotives, as well as being piped to Great Malvern railway station. [1]
On 17 September 1861, the first Colwall Tunnel was opened to traffic. During 1907, the tunnel suffered a partial collapse around one of the ventilation shafts, resulting in the line being temporarily blocked until engineers could implement repairs to the tunnel. [2] The problematic original bore was closed on 2 August 1926, having been replaced by a newer, wider bore that was opened to traffic that same day. [1]
During 1939, the disused tunnel was appropriated for military use as a munitions storage facility on behalf of the Admiralty. [3] It was refurbished with repairs made to the lining of the tunnel. Both a concrete floor and a narrow-gauge railway was laid along its length, enabling stores to be transported to either end of the bore. By July 1941, this new railway was operational; its locomotives were stored engine sheds built just outside either end of the tunnel. [3] Shortly following the end of the Second World War, the facility was deemed to be surplus to requirements, thus the narrow-gauge railway was dismantled and it fell back into disuse once more. It was around this time that both of the tunnel mouths were sealed with steel sheeting to make them inaccessible. [3] [1]
In the present day, the original bore forms a part of the Malvern Hills Site of Special Scientific Interest, and has been reportedly inhabited by a colony of about 700 hibernating lesser horseshoe bats, but otherwise disused and inaccessible. The Ledbury Area Cycle Forum has promoted a project to reopen the disused tunnel as a recreational and utility facility for cyclists and walkers. [4] It is periodically inspected by engineers for safety purposes. [1]
By the 1920s, it was clear that the original Colwall Tunnel possessed several negative attributes, including being very narrow, relatively low and steep (it had a gradient of 1 in 80), all of which made it increasingly difficult to accommodate the emerging specification of rolling stock. Furthermore, locomotive crews complained about the tunnel's inhospitable conditions; there were cases of individuals passing out on the footplate due to the fumes. [1] Accordingly, management decided that the best solution would be to construct a new, wider tunnel directly adjacent to the existing bore. Construction work commenced in 1924, it was completed only two years later, significantly faster than work had proceeded on the first tunnel. The greater speed of work was credited to the advance in tunnelling techniques and the availability of new pneumatically-powered tools. [2] The new tunnel had a contract price of £196,080. [2]
The second Colwall Tunnel was opened to traffic on 2 August 1926, while the old bore was closed on that same day. Like the original Colwall Tunnel, the new bore carries a single track throughout. [2] There have been petitions and studies conducted for the whole line, including the tunnel, to be double-tracked throughout; it has been observed that any reengineering or replacement programme would incur considerable expense. [5] Irrespective, the newer tunnel remains active to the present day.
The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal is a canal in the west of England, which ran from Hereford to Gloucester, where it linked to the River Severn. It was opened in two phases in 1798 and 1845, and closed in 1881, when the southern section was used for the course of the Ledbury and Gloucester Railway. It is the subject of an active restoration scheme.
Ledbury is a market town and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and west of the Malvern Hills.
The Cotswold Line is an 86+1⁄2-mile (139.2 km) railway line between Oxford and Hereford in England.
The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (B&GR) was the first name of the railway linking the cities in its name and of the company which pioneered and developed it; the line opened in stages in 1840, using a terminus at Camp Hill in Birmingham. It linked with the Bristol and Gloucester Railway in Gloucester, but at first that company's line was broad gauge, and Gloucester was a point of the necessary but inconvenient transhipment of goods and passengers onto 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in gauge that became the national standard. Nearly all of the original main line remains active as a "trunk" route, also known as an arterial route or line.
Colwall is a civil parish in Herefordshire, England, situated on the border with Worcestershire, nestling on the western side of the Malvern Hills at the heart of the AONB. Areas of the village are known as Colwall Stone, Upper Colwall which shares a common border at the Wyche Cutting with the Malvern suburb of Malvern Wells, and Colwall Green, spread along 2 miles (3.2 km) of the B4218 road, with the historic village core being 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of Colwall Stone.
Hereford railway station serves the city of Hereford, in Herefordshire, England. Managed by Transport for Wales, it lies on the Welsh Marches Line between Leominster and Abergavenny, is the western terminus of the Cotswold Line and also has an hourly West Midlands Trains service from Birmingham New Street. The station has four platforms for passenger trains and two additional relief lines for goods services.
Ledbury railway station is located on the outskirts of the town of Ledbury, on the Worcester to Hereford line in the English Midlands. It has regular services to Birmingham, plus several direct trains a day to London Paddington.
Colwall railway station is a railway station on the Cotswold Line serving the village of Colwall in Herefordshire, England. The station has one platform with seating. There is no ticket office; a passenger-operated Permit to Travel machine is installed, and there has been a ticket machine since 2015.
The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OW&WR) was a railway company in England. It built a line from Wolvercot Junction near Oxford to Worcester, Stourbridge, Dudley and Wolverhampton, as well as some branches.
The Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove line is a railway line in the West Midlands of England connecting Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove. The most notable feature on the line is the Lickey Incline, between Barnt Green and Bromsgrove.
Malvern Wells railway station was a station on the Worcester and Hereford section of the Great Western Railway at Lower Wyche, between Great Malvern and Colwall. On timetables it was listed as Malvern Wells GW to distinguish it from the nearby Midland Railway station which later became known as Malvern Hanley Road.
The Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway was a railway which ran for 22+1⁄2 miles (36.2 km) linking Hereford and Gloucester, England, via Ross-on-Wye. It was opened on 1 June 1855 as a 7 ft 1⁄4 in broad gauge line, it was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway in 1862. In 1869 the railway was converted to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard gauge. The railway was closed to passengers on 2 November 1964, freight services between Ross-on-Wye railway station and Grange Court railway station continued on until 1 November 1965.
The Worcester and Hereford Railway started the construction of a standard gauge railway between the two cities in 1858. It had needed the financial assistance of larger concerns, chiefly the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, and the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway. It opened its line progressively from 1859 to 1861, delayed by exceptionally difficult tunnelling at Colwall and Ledbury. The company was purchased by the West Midland Railway in 1860, and that company amalgamated with the Great Western Railway in 1863.
Hereford Road Skew Bridge is a disused railway bridge in Ledbury, Herefordshire. Built in 1881 to carry the Ledbury and Gloucester Railway across the Hereford Road at an angle of approximately 45°, it was built as a ribbed skew arch with stone spandrels and wing walls, and ribs of blue brick. The railway line was closed in 1959 and the bridge is now used as part of the Ledbury Town Trail footpath.
The Worcester, Bromyard and Leominster Railway was a 24.5-mile (39.4 km) single track branch railway line, that ran between a junction near Bransford Road on the West Midland Railway line south of Worcester to the Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway line south of Leominster.
Ledbury Tunnel is a single-track railway tunnel immediately to the east of Ledbury railway station on the Cotswold Line, in Herefordshire, England.
Ledbury Signal Box is a typical Great Western Railway traditional lever frame signal box which remains in daily use at Ledbury Station, Herefordshire, England on the railway line from Worcester to Hereford.
The Mitcheldean Road and Forest of Dean Junction Railway was an independent railway company incorporated in 1871, to provide a northerly outlet for iron ore and coal products from the Cinderford and Whimsey area in the Forest of Dean, to the Hereford, Ross and Gloucester Railway line; mineral traffic to industrial centres in South Wales and the Midlands was foreseen.
The Cathedrals Express was a named passenger express introduced in 1957 on the Western Region of British Railways. It connected the cathedral cities of Hereford and Worcester to London Paddington.
Harrogate Gasworks Railway was an industrial railway in the town of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. It was built to the gauge of 2 ft and ran between Bilton Junction on the North Eastern Railway, to the Harrogate Gas Company's (HGC) works at New Park, north of the town centre. It opened in 1908 to carry coal to the works for gasification, and outbound byproduct liquids. It closed to traffic in 1956. The railway was noted for its tight gauge restrictions in the tunnel at New Park. Two of its steam locomotives have survived into preservation, and are still in use on heritage railways.