Liverpool Overhead Railway Southern Extension Tunnel

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Southern Extension Tunnel
Dingle Extension Tunnel, Overhead railway.jpg
Southern extension tunnel portal at Herculaneum Dock, half way up a cliff face
Overview
Other name(s)Dingle Extension Tunnel
Line Liverpool Overhead Railway
Location Merseyside
Coordinates 53°22′48″N2°58′14″W / 53.3801°N 2.9705°W / 53.3801; -2.9705
StatusDisused
Start Herculaneum Dock
No. of stations Dingle railway station
Operation
Opened31 December 1896 (1896-12-31)(passenger service)
Closed30 December 1956 (1956-12-30)(passenger service)
Operator Liverpool Overhead Railway Company
TrafficSingle ended passenger rail with terminus station
Technical
Design engineer Charles Douglas Fox
Length0.5 mi (800 m)
No. of tracks Double
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Tunnel clearance 19 feet (5.8 m)
Width25 feet (7.6 m)
Underground Dingle station in 2005 Dingle railway station in 2005.jpg
Underground Dingle station in 2005

The Liverpool Overhead Railway Southern Extension Tunnel, also known as the Dingle Extension Tunnel [lower-alpha 1] or variations thereof, [1] stretches for half a mile from Herculaneum Dock to Dingle underground railway station, which was the southern terminus of the Liverpool Overhead Railway.[ citation needed ]

Contents

History

The tunnel was opened for operations on 31 December 1896. [2] Per the inscription on the tunnel entrance it was constructed under the chairmanship of William Bower Forwood by the engineer Charles Douglas Fox. Additional engineers attributed on the portal are J. H. Greathead and S. B. Cottrell. Contractors were H. M. Nowell and C. Braddock.

The tunnel was approximately 0.5 mi (800 m) long, 25 feet (7.6 m) wide and 19 feet (5.8 m) high. In the station, reached after 186 feet (57 m) the width and height increased to 52 feet (16 m) and 25 feet (7.6 m) to accommodate the island platform with tracks each side. [3]

Tunnel portal inscriptions Dingle extension tunnel 2017-3.jpg
Tunnel portal inscriptions

The tunnel portal at Herculaneum Dock is halfway up a cliff so that the track seamlessly run onto the elevated section of Overhead Railway. The track was electrified using the third rail.[ citation needed ] The inscription “LOR Southern Extension” lies above the portal. [1] [lower-alpha 2] Soon after the entrance the tunnel passes over the Garston and Liverpool Railway railway tunnel which links Brunswick and St Michaels. The tunnel was twin track and ended 123 yards (112 m) beyond the end of Dingle station with twin sets of buffers embedded in the end wall of the tunnel. [2]

The last trains ran on 30 December 1956. [1] The former station was used as motor repair garage until the collapse of the station entrance in 2012, [4] leaving the tunnel and station disused. [1] In April 2020 the private owner of the tunnel was looking to sell it with suggestions it could be used as a wine cellar. [4]

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References

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Dingle extension tunnel at Wikimedia Commons

Notes

  1. Dingle Tunnel refers to the tunnel between Brunswick railway and St Michaels railway stations that this tunnel passes over
  2. Images show L.O.Ry. Southern Extension with Chairman, engineers and construction contractors all credited

Footnotes

Sources