Southampton Tunnel

Last updated

Southampton Tunnel
Southampton railway tunnel engineering works 10.JPG
Engineering works at Southampton Tunnel, December 2009 to January 2010
Overview
Line South West Main Line
Location Southampton, Hampshire
Coordinates 50°54′25″N1°24′28″W / 50.90694°N 1.40778°W / 50.90694; -1.40778
Operation
Work begun1845
OpenedAugust 1847
Owner Network Rail

Southampton Tunnel (alternatively known as the Southampton Civic Centre Tunnel) is a 528-yard railway tunnel that runs close to the Civic Centre in the centre of the Hampshire city of Southampton, in England.

Contents

The tunnel was constructed by the Southampton and Dorchester Railway to enable the Southampton and Dorchester Railway to pass through Southampton and join the London and Southampton Railway. Southampton West End station, subsequently relocated and presently known as Southampton Central lies to the West of the Tunnel. The experienced civil engineer Samuel Morton Peto acted as contractor for the works with the majority of the tunnel being constructed using traditional cut-and-cover techniques. Its route cut through that of the Salisbury and Southampton Canal, an incomplete project that had partially built an earlier tunnel; the presence of this earlier engineering work would negatively impact the project due to the prior disturbance of the ground. The tunnel suffered a collapse during construction, and subsequent movement of the structure delayed its opening until two months after that of the rest of the line, being finally opened to traffic for the first time during August 1847.

Carrying a pair of tracks throughout its length, it has been periodically operated as a single-track only tunnel while remedial or improvement work was performed. Southampton Tunnel has been used by a variety of direct passenger services connecting the South Coast with London and the North. In addition, the tunnel has facilitated large amounts of freight movement to and from the Southampton Container Terminal and the rest of the UK. During 2009–10, it was subject to extensive re-engineering works, successfully raising both its loading gauge and maximum speed for container traffic.

Construction

During 1845, approval for the construction of a railway to serve Southampton, Ringwood, Poole and Dorchester was secured by an act of Parliament. [1] The Southampton and Dorchester Railway's line had been proposed either to start from a terminus close to the Royal Pier and be connected with the existing London and Southampton Railway via a tramway, or to run to the north of the existing town via a cutting and a short tunnel. The Pier and Harbour Board objected to the seaward route despite it being favoured by the town council, and the northerley route was chosen when the line's bill finally passed through the parliamentary process. [2] According to local historian Jake Simpkin, for the proposed railway to traverse the hill at Marlands, the construction of Southampton Tunnel was the only realistic choice, as a surface alignment would have severely impacted the planned development of parkland around Southampton. [1] The tunnel had originally been proposed as being just 160 yards (150 m) in length, but during the parliamentary stages, to avoid compromising the towns plans to convert the Lamas Lands to parks, a longer tunnel of 528 yards (483 m) was agreed upon. The route selected for the new tunnel cut through that of the Salisbury and Southampton Canal tunnel, an earlier project that had been abandoned four decades before. [3] [1] [4] Early reports by the railway's engineer suggested it might be possible to use the canal tunnel in some way for the construction of the railway but by the time the bill for construction was placed before Parliament this idea had been rejected and a new alignment with a shorter tunnel was proposed. [2]

The Southampton and Dorchester Railway's railway's engineer was William Moorsom and the contractor for the construction of the line was Samuel Morton Peto through his company Messrs Grissell and Peto. [2] It was decided to construct the majority of the tunnel using the traditional cut-and-cover method, with only a limited section (the portion running directly underneath the London Road) being actually bored out. [1] Experienced miners from Cornwall were recruited for the project as their specialist skills were valued for the bored section. The pre-existing incomplete canal tunnel crossed the intended route of the new railway tunnel at an acute angle and a slightly lower level near their western ends. [4] A contemporary scale cross-sectional drawing dated June 1847 shows that, close to the point at which the two tunnels met, the base of the canal tunnel was only slightly lower than that of the railway tunnel and that the level of the water it contained was at a similar level to the base of the new tunnel. [3] The canal tunnel had itself proven difficult to construct, with various sections sinking or collapsing due to geological conditions, poor materials and improper supervision of the works. [5] It became apparent that the canal works had compromised the ground considerably, and despite removal of a section of the older tunnel where it was crossed by the new structure, geological problems accentuated by heavy rain and hard frosts in 1846/47 plagued the railway tunnel's construction. Buildings in the vicinity of London Road (later Above Bar Street) suffered subsidence and there were concerns expressed about the state of the road. [6]

The specific alignments and levels of the two tunnels meant that water was able to accumulate beneath the level of the new structure and saturate the surrounding gravels and clays. Just prior to the railway tunnel's planning opening date, saturation of the ground around the area of old the canal tunnel was reported to be responsible for a collapse of a recently constructed 100 yard section at London Road on 23 April 1847. [7] The collapse caused two bystanders to fall into the workings, but they were fortunately unhurt and able to walk out of the eastern entrance.

Just over two weeks later, on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 May 1847, Captain Coddington, the Government Surveyor of Railway, was able to inspect the line for the Board of Trade. He spent two to three hours in the tunnel and reported that the recent collapse had been repaired and that he considered the tunnel to be "a very well executed work". [8] [6] [1] However, on 30 May, before the route could be formally opened, a bulge in the brickwork of the tunnel revealed a 60-foot section had begun to sink and the tunnel needed further repairs. The Southampton and Dorchester Railway was officially opened in June 1847 but the Southampton Tunnel section was only able to be opened to traffic two months later when repairs had been completed. Whilst the tunnel alone was closed, passengers were conveyed to waiting trains at either side via specially-chartered buses. [1] Following repairs Captain Coddington visited the site again with Moorsom the engineer and Peto the contractor and reported:

"About 50 or 60 years ago a Tunnel was constructed for canal purposes which proved a failure and was abandoned, its direction was such as to cross the very obliquely the line of the New Railway Tunnel and its level was about a foot below the level of the new tunnel. I enquired what precautions had been taken at the crossing, and was informed that the old Tunnel had been completely taken out...and in addition a length of 20 feet of the old tunnel on each side of the new one had been built up solid with rubble masonry...

"It appears that Mr Peto the contractor, for the accommodation of those parties whose property lies above the line of the old Tunnel...agreed to strengthen it by building a certain number of cross walls at short intervals...The mode adopted in doing it was to drive a small gallery laterally from the side of the new Tunnel to reach the old one at a point some distance beyond the 20 feet which had been solidly built up. Through this gallery the materials were introduced and 3, 4 or more cross walls about 10 feet apart were built within it...

"The old tunnel having been on a level and open at its extremities whatever percolation of water entered it either from the sides or above flowed out at both ends. The crossing of the new tunnel in no way affected this drainage...so the soil (a black Clay) continued firm enough to support the brickwork laid upon it. But by the filling up solid of a portion of it, leaving a hollow interval...the accumulation of water in seeking an egress has entered into, saturated, and sodden the clay on which the new Tunnel stands, and it is now incapable of supporting its weight." [9] [2]

As constructed, the tunnel was 528 yards (482.8m) long and when inspected after construction had a maximum of 18 foot (5.5 m) of earth above it. Originally brick lined throughout, the line within rose at a gradient of 1:396 from each end to a point inside the tunnel. [4] Two workmen are recorded as having lost their lives during construction. [2]

Operating history and services

The tunnel remained in use fulfilling its intended purpose until, in the 1960s, the invert (tunnel base) was found to be rising at one point. [4] Following this and concerns over ground movements in the vicinity of the tunnel extensive remedial work was undertaken between November 1964 and March 1965, with single line working through the tunnel allowing traffic to continue. [8] During this work the heading was reopened between the railway tunnel and the canal tunnel in 1965. This revealed that the brickwork within was still in good condition at that point, but that the tunnel was largely filled with rubble as reported in 1847.

The remaining western section of the Canal Tunnel was drained and filled with flyash in the 1970s using shafts dug from the surface in order to stabilise the ground above. [4] Between 1983 and 1985, British Rail decided to perform extensive engineering works to facilitate the movement of larger containers through Southampton Tunnel. As part of these works, the railway through the tunnel was again operated as a single line and a narrow-gauge railway was constructed to convey materials from the western end. As a result of this work three sections of the tunnel's interior were rebuilt with segmental steel linings, sealing off the canal tunnel heading again in the process. [10]

Presently, Southampton Tunnel is mostly used by trains on the South West Main Line from London Waterloo to Bournemouth and Weymouth, on the Wessex Main Line from Portsmouth to Bristol, and for journeys on the local line from Portsmouth to Southampton. Additional journeys are made on the West Coastway Line from Southampton to London Victoria via Gatwick Airport, and on the Cross Country services from Bournemouth to various points in the north of England. [11] The tunnel is signalled for reversible working (trains can travel in either direction on both lines) and controlled from the Eastleigh Area Signalling Centre.

Southampton Tunnel West Portal Southampton Tunnel Western Portal 6.9.20.jpg
Southampton Tunnel West Portal

There is also extensive use for freight, the majority which is containers to and from the Southampton Container Terminal just to the west of Southampton Central.

Slab track installed within the tunnel to lower rail level and increase clearances for container traffic. Southampton Tunnel West End North Side with slab track.jpg
Slab track installed within the tunnel to lower rail level and increase clearances for container traffic.

Twenty-first century redevelopment

Engineering activity outside the tunnel, December 2009 Southampton railway tunnel engineering works 5.JPG
Engineering activity outside the tunnel, December 2009

Between 27 December 2009 and 3 January 2010, the tunnel was temporarily closed while it underwent reengineering work and at other times it again operated with just one track in use. [12]

Southampton Tunnel East end during track lowering work in 2009 Southampton Tunnel East end 16.12.09.jpg
Southampton Tunnel East end during track lowering work in 2009

Inside the tunnel the track was lowered by laying the rails and their fixings directly onto a new concrete floor. This allowed the tunnel to meet the W10 (freight container) route clearance. Previously, Hi-Cube intermodal container traffic had to be carried on special low wagons with areas which could not be loaded, resulting in both traffic planning issues and lower train capacity. Additionally, all container trains were restricted to 20 mph when passing through the tunnel due to the limited clearances for the top edges of the loaded containers. Since rebuilding, no speed or loading restrictions apply to the tunnel and container trains can travel at up to the line speed of 40 mph, the upper limit for the tunnel; accordingly, container trains could be more easily run to and from the Port of Southampton. [13] Network Rail projected that the scheme would see 50,000 fewer lorries on the national road network due to the increased viability of freight services as a result of the wider scheme, which was reportedly costed at £71 million. [14] [15]

Film

Footage at the start of the film Oh, Mr Porter! features the tunnel at Southampton, filmed from the rear of the train and reversed for showing. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London and South Western Railway</span> British pre-grouping railway company

The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter and Plymouth, and to Padstow, Ilfracombe and Bude. It developed a network of routes in Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire, including Portsmouth and Reading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wessex Main Line</span> Railway line in England

The Wessex Main Line is the railway line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. Diverging from this route is the Heart of Wessex Line from Westbury to Weymouth. The Wessex Main Line intersects the Reading to Taunton Line at Westbury and the West of England Main Line at Salisbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South West Main Line</span> British railway route linking London and Weymouth

The South West Main Line (SWML) is a 143-mile major railway line between Waterloo station in central London and Weymouth on the south coast of England. A predominantly passenger line, it serves many commuter areas including south western suburbs of London and the conurbations based on Southampton and Bournemouth. It runs through the counties of Surrey, Hampshire and Dorset. It forms the core of the network built by the London and South Western Railway, today mostly operated by South Western Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salisbury railway station</span> Railway station in Wiltshire, England

Salisbury railway station serves the cathedral city of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. It is 83 miles 43 chains (134.4 km) from London Waterloo on the West of England line to Exeter St Davids. This is crossed by the Wessex Main Line from Bristol Temple Meads to Southampton Central. The station is operated and served by South Western Railway (SWR), and is also served by Great Western Railway (GWR).

The Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DN&SR) was a cross-country railway running north–south between Didcot, Newbury and Winchester. Its promoters intended an independent route to Southampton and envisaged heavy traffic from the Midlands and North of England to the port, but they ran out of funds to complete the line to Southampton. The intended heavy through traffic never materialised, and the line was dependent on larger railways—the Great Western Railway and the London and South Western Railway—for support, which was not freely given. The line opened in two stages, in 1882 and 1885.

The Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway (WS&WR) was an early railway company in south-western England. It obtained Parliamentary powers in 1845 to build a railway from near Chippenham in Wiltshire, southward to Salisbury and Weymouth in Dorset. It opened the first part of the network but found it impossible to raise further money and sold its line to the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1850.

The Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway was an early mineral railway running from a colliery at Monklands to the Forth and Clyde Canal at Kirkintilloch, Scotland. It was the first railway to use a rail ferry, the first public railway in Scotland, and the first in Scotland to use locomotive power successfully, and it had a great influence on the successful development of the Lanarkshire iron industry. It opened in 1826.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salisbury and Southampton Canal</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Salisbury and Southampton Canal was intended to be a 13-mile long canal in Hampshire and Wiltshire, southern England. Its proposed route ran from Redbridge, now a western suburb of Southampton at the head of Southampton Water, to Salisbury, and connecting with the Andover Canal at a junction near Mottisfont. Another section, through Southampton, was to connect via a tunnel to the River Itchen. Part of the canal was built and was in use by 1803, but it closed amid financial failure in 1806.

The Sprat and Winkle Line was the common name of the Andover to Redbridge railway line which ran between Andover and Redbridge in Hampshire, England. In the Romsey area it joined, and then left, the Salisbury to Southampton line. It was built by the Andover and Redbridge Railway, which was incorporated in 1858. In 1863 the uncompleted railway was taken over by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), which opened the line in 1865. The line had been conceived as part of a trunk route from Manchester to Southampton, but when the Midland and South Western Junction Railway opened, the anticipated long-distance traffic was disappointing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Verwood railway station</span> Disused railway station in Dorset, England

Verwood railway station served the town of Verwood, Dorset, England from 1866 to 1964.

The Salisbury and Dorset Junction Railway was a railway company, that built a line from a junction near Salisbury to another near West Moors on the Ringwood to Wimborne line. It ran through the counties of Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset in England. It opened the line in 1866, and was worked by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southampton and Dorchester Railway</span> Former railway company in southern England

The Southampton and Dorchester Railway was an English railway company formed to join Southampton in Hampshire with Dorchester in Dorset, with hopes of forming part of a route from London to Exeter. It received parliamentary authority in 1845 and opened in 1847.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wimborne railway station</span> Disused railway station in Dorset, England

Wimborne was a railway station in Wimborne Minster in the county of Dorset in England. Open from 1 June 1847 to 2 May 1977, it was sited just north of the River Stour in what is still Station Road. Built for the Southampton and Dorchester Railway, the station was operated from the start by the London and South Western Railway, which took over ownership in 1848. It was later operated by the Southern Railway from 1923 to 1947 and, from 1948, by the Southern Region of British Railways, which traded as British Rail from 1965.

This article describes the history and operation of the railway routes west of Salisbury built by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) and allied companies, which ultimately became part of the Southern Railway in the United Kingdom. Salisbury forms a natural boundary between the Southern Railway core routes in the counties surrounding London, and the long route connecting with the Devon and Cornwall lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol and South Wales Union Railway</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Bristol and South Wales Union Railway was built to connect Bristol, England, with south Wales. The route involved a ferry crossing of the River Severn but was considerably shorter than the alternative route through Gloucester. The ferry was replaced by the Severn Tunnel in 1886 but part of the route continues to be used, forming parts of the Cross-Country Route and the South Wales Main Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway</span> Former railway line in Scotland

The Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway was a railway company formed in 1836 to connect the city of Edinburgh with the harbours on the Firth of Forth. When the line connected to Granton, the company name was changed to the Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Railway. It opened part of its route in 1846, but reaching the centre of Edinburgh involved the difficult construction of a long tunnel; this was opened in 1847. It was on a steep incline and was worked by rope haulage.

The Salisbury and Yeovil Railway linked Salisbury (Wiltshire), Gillingham (Dorset) and Yeovil (Somerset) in England. Opened in stages in 1859 and 1860, it formed a bridge route between the main London and South Western Railway (LSWR) network and its lines in Devon and Cornwall. Its trains were operated by the LSWR and it was sold to that company in 1878. Apart from a short section in Yeovil it remains open and carries the London Waterloo to Exeter service of South Western Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exeter–Plymouth line</span> Railway line in Devon, England

The Exeter–Plymouth line, also called the South Devon Main Line, is a central part of the trunk railway line between London Paddington and Penzance in the southern United Kingdom. It is a major branch of the Great Western Main Line and runs from Exeter St Davids to Plymouth, from where it continues as the Cornish Main Line. It was one of the principal routes of the Great Western Railway which became part of the Western Region of British Railways in 1948 and is presently operated by Network Rail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southampton West End railway station</span> Disused railway station in Southampton, Hampshire

Southampton West End served the city of Southampton, Hampshire, England, from 1847 to 1895 on the Southampton and Dorchester Railway.

The Eastleigh to Salisbury line is the railway line from Eastleigh (Hampshire) through Romsey to Salisbury (Wiltshire) in England. It was constructed by the London and South Western Railway in 1857 from Bishopstoke; the station's name was changed to Eastleigh in 1889. At Salisbury the line ran to Milford station on the south-eastern margin of the city, but in 1859 an extension to the present-day Salisbury station was built, and the lines from Andover through Salisbury to Yeovil were connected.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sackley, Neil (27 November 2009). "Southampton railway tunnel's past". BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight. BBC News. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Castlemans Corkscrew, Volume 1, The Nineteenth Century, B L Jackson, Oakwood Press 2007
  3. 1 2 The Bankrupt Canal, plate 11, Edwin Welsh, City Of Southampton 1966
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Course, Edwin. "Southampton Canal Tunnel" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "Southampton Canal Society - Southampton and Salisbury Canal". sotoncs.org.uk.
  6. 1 2 Castlemans Corkscrew, Volume 1, The Nineteenth Century, B L Jackson, Oakwood Press 2007
  7. ↑ Hampshire Advertiser 2 May 1847
  8. 1 2 Southampton's Railways, Bert Moody, Waterfront Publications 1991
  9. ↑ The Bankrupt Canal, Edwin Welsh, City Of Southampton 1966
  10. ↑ "Southampton Tunnel". Apedale Valley Light Railway. 23 April 2020.
  11. ↑ "National Rail Enquiries - Timetables". www.nationalrail.co.uk.
  12. ↑ "Engineering Works Soton". Threeriversrail.com. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  13. ↑ "Southampton Tunnel work – Changes to train times". South West Trains. Archived from the original on 15 November 2009.
  14. ↑ "Railway tunnel work set to start". BBC News. 19 October 2009.
  15. ↑ "Southampton to Midlands £70m rail route revamp complete". BBC News. 4 April 2011.
  16. ↑ "British Film Forum". Britmovie. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.