The Standedge Tunnel

Monday 7th September, 2015 at Diggle.
We slept well, despite the rather spooky proximity of the tunnel mouth and the frequency of the trains next to the canal. It was an early start, the C&RT staff began to arrive at 7:30 with the valley still full of mist.

Our friend Jenni from Huddersfield was due to arrive after 8:30 as she and M planned to walk across the top of the tunnel, hoping to find the old horse trail. In the meantime, R was kitted out with hard hat, life-vest and high-vis jacket. A C&RT chaperone has to go with him, similarly equipped.

At 8:30, M waved them off as they set off into the Stygian gloom of the tunnel, wondering if they would ever emerge at the other end?

Meanwhile, R was wondering how M and Jenni would get on walking across Pule Hill on badly signposted paths and would they make it to the other end? In the meantime, steering MM into a very narrow and low tunnel became the priority.

Jenni arrived just after R and MM had disappeared into the tunnel. M was so pleased to see her again and, armed with a set of directions from Michelle at the C&RT Office and a small scale map copied from the canal guide book, they set off up the hill watched by this curious fellow, who could probably have led them along the correct old horse trail!

Despite the instructions and the map, before long they had to admit that they were lost! The "Public Footpath" signs that are supposed to mark the horse trail just weren't there. Later in the day they met a delightful old chap walking, who said that many local residents deliberately remove the signs because they don't want people walking past their houses.
With no obvious footpath in sight, they struggled up the rough fellside through very long grass that was saturated with dew.

Eventually, M saw a National Trust sign across to their right and below them and they headed for that in the hopes that it marked the trail. It did!

What a relief finally to find a proper footpath that was going in the right direction! The path took them past two of the ventilation shafts for the tunnels and, if you look carefully, you can just see steam or smoke coming out of one.

It was after another hour of fairly rough trudging when, descending the moor towards the village of Diggle, M spotted R and MM in the far distance and still a long way below. You can just see MM as a white dot in the centre left of the photograph between the trees.

Fifteen minutes later, they joined R on the towpath and found that he had beaten them to this side by a good two hours; but, as M pointed out, he had gone (almost) straight and level for three and a quarter miles, whereas she and Jenni had walked up and over rough ground for at least six miles!
Their journey had certainly been arduous but R and MM's had been fascinating to say the least!
As you enter the tunnel, it becomes pitch black - but MM has a tunnel light (like a headlight) and MM's internal lights were on so that they shone through the windows on to the walls. This makes it easier to see the tunnel walls and roof, and so to steer her without hitting anything.
This is not easy as the tunnel is not straight nor are the sides flat. At times the clearance on either side of the front of MM's roof was only 2 inches each side, so keeping her in the middle required constant small adjustments.
Some parts of the tunnel have been sprayed with concrete to stabilise them so they appear ghostly white like this, but when you are in the tunnel, you are looking along the length of MM, so you can only see the very edges. You can clearly see that the tunnel is not straight!

At other places, there is just bare rock with bits sticking out on either side, but again, as the bulk of MM fills the tunnel before you, it is only possible to see around the edge of MM, so your vision is very restricted.

In a few places the tunnel was brick lined or there were brick arches supporting the roof.
The original canal tunnel was completed in 1811 after 17 years work with picks, shovels and black powder, it is 645ft above sea level and at three and a quarter miles long, a staggering achievement. In 1848, a single track rail tunnel was constructed parallel to the canal tunnel and in 1871 a second single track rail tunnel was built. In 1894, a twin-track rail tunnel was constructed - so there are actually four tunnels at Standedge. Connecting tunnels link the four tunnels together and were originally used to take the spoil from the rail tunnels' construction out by canal boat. Of the rail tunnels only the twin track one is now used for trains. However, our C&RT friend Phil, who helped us out in Huddersfield when we had no water, drove his C&RT van along one of the disused single track tunnels and tracked our progress via the connecting tunnels. About every three quarters of a mile, we would see Phil's smiling face standing in one of the connecting tunnels and waving to us as we passed in the darkness! Weird! Each of these check points has an intercom so that progress can be notified to Michelle, the C&RT tunnel controller, at the Marsden end. A 45 minute gap is left between each boat in the tunnel, so that, in the event of a problem with any boat, the boat following can be stopped at one of the check points and so would not run into the boat ahead.
When the canal tunnel was built, one of the techniques used to line it up from each end involved magnetic compasses. Unfortunately, they didn't understand that the hill itself affected the compasses - so, when they got to the middle of the tunnel, the two tunnels, bored from each end, were 25 feet apart!
As a result, there is a very significant kink in the middle that goes right and then left to join up the two ends. Tricky to steer through!
After one and three quarter hours, R and MM emerged from the other end of the tunnel without any damage to MM and R was able to relax at last. R didn't take any of his own photos in the tunnel because steering MM required constant attention.
Two hours later, as indicated above, M and Jenni finally arrived.

 

We all walked up to the nearby Diggle Hotel for lunch and had a good catch-up.

Then it was time for Jenni to leave us, as she has her choir's rehearsal this evening. We walked down to the bus stop together, along came a No. 184 almost immediately, and Jenni hopped on to go back to Marsden, where her car was parked. It was really super to have a day with her.
Shortly after, a C&RT chap appeared and closed the gates to the tunnel entrance.

The artwork depicts the old practice of "legging" boats through the tunnel by walking along the walls. A husband and wife team hold the record of "legging" a boat through the tunnel in one hour twenty-five minutes. Faster than MM with a diesel engine!
By now the sun had re-appeared and we enjoyed a quiet evening in this lovely spot.

Today: 3 miles, 0 locks and 3.1 hours.
Trip: 287 miles, 215 locks and 203.9 hours.