Gisburn Tunnel

Gisburn Tunnel is a short railway tunnel on the Ribble Valley line in Lancashire, England. The tunnel is 157 yards (144 m) long, just to the east of Gisburn railway station, curving slightly under Gisburne Park. The tunnel was reputedly built at the behest of Lord Ribblesdale, who didn't want the railway across his land. The line through the tunnel connects Blackburn, Clitheroe and Hellifield, and is an important railway route for freight trains.

Gisburn Tunnel
West entrance to Gisburn Tunnel
Overview
Other name(s)Gisburn Park Tunnel
Gisburn Hall Tunnel
LineRibble Valley line
LocationGisburn, Lancashire, England
Coordinates53.936°N 2.263°W / 53.936; -2.263
OS grid referenceSD827489
Operation
Work begun1876
Opened1880
OwnerNetwork Rail
TrafficFreight (main)
Diversionary traffic (occasional)
DalesRail (seasonal)
Technical
Length156 yards (143 m) (7 chains (460 ft; 140 m))
No. of tracks2

History

The tunnel, which is 157 yards (144 m) long, is sometimes referred to as either Gisburn Park, or Gisburn Hall Tunnel.[1][2] It was opened to goods traffic in March 1880, when the railway line from Gisburn station (just to the west of the tunnel) was opened to Hellifield. Previous to this, the railway had a temporary terminus in Gisburn railway station.[3][4][5] Full opening of the line to passengers occurred on 1 June 1880. The extension of the East Lancashire Railway (by that time, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) needed to go through Lord Ribblesdale's estate (Gisburn Park). Ribblesdale refused to allow the railway to cross his grounds in case it frightened his horses, so a cut-and-cover castellated tunnel was built instead,[6][7][8] and the course of the railway was altered from the plans so that the trackbed could not be seen from Gisburne Hall.[9] The castellated entrances to the tunnel were built when Ribblesdale refused the compensation money from the railway company, with Ribblesdale instead asking that the money be spent on the look of the tunnel portals over normal brick edifices.[10]

Various measurements exist for the tunnel - most agree on 157 yards (144 m), however the chain listing shows it to be 7 chains (460 ft; 140 m) long, and a newspaper report from 1880, lists the tunnel as being 154 yards (141 m) long.[11][2] In 2018, Network Rail undertook a refurbishment programme to restore the stonework on the portals of the tunnel.[12] The project cost £100,000 and was nominated in the 2018 National Railway Heritage Awards.[13][14] Whilst the tunnel itself is not listed, both portals are (grade II listed), being noted for their use of local stone, with Liverpool red sandstone dressings, and castellated nature with octagonal turrets.[15][11]

The tunnel is on the Ribble Valley line, some 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Hellifield, and 8 miles (13 km) north of Clitheroe.[2][16] The line through the tunnel is an important freight artery, and serves as a useful diversionary route when the West Coast Main Line is closed.[17][18]

Portal locations

See also

References
  1. "Railway tunnel lengths, G-P". www.railwaycodes.org.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  2. Kelman, Leanne (2018). Midlands & North West (4 ed.). Beckington, Frome: Trackmaps. 36A. ISBN 978-1-9996271-1-9.
  3. "Gisburn". maps.nls.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  4. Haworth, Brian; Kirby, Nigel. "Gisburn station and tunnel" (PDF). ribblevalleyrail.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  5. Biddle, Gordon (1981). Railway stations in the north west : a pictorial history. Clapham, N. Yorkshire: Dalesman. 69. ISBN 0852066449.
  6. Brennan, Joseph (4 May 2022). "When the railways met stately homes". Rail. No. 956. Peterborough: Bauer Media. p. 61. ISSN 0953-4563.
  7. Blakemore 1984, p. 34.
  8. Parris, Matthew (29 January 2013). "Baying over trains? It's not the first time". The Times. No. 70794. p. 64. ISSN 0140-0460.
  9. Freethy, Ron (1988). The river Ribble. Lavenham: Dalton. p. 43. ISBN 0861380584.
  10. Fenton, Amy (4 December 2021). "Iconic railway tunnel built into Lancashire countryside that looks like a castle - The Ribble Valley turrets were built in 1876 after local landowner Lord Ribblesdale refused compensation in exchange for an aesthetically-pleasing railway tunnel". infoweb.newsbank.com. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  11. "Proposed opening of the Chatfield to Hellifield extension line". The Blackburn Standard. No. 2327. Column F. 15 May 1880. p. 7.
  12. Erridge, Chris (25 February 2019). "The Ribble Valley turrets: a unique restoration". Network Rail. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  13. "Historic turrets restored by rail company". Burnley Express. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  14. "Winners 2018 | National Railway Heritage Awards". nhra.org.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  15. Johnson, Thomas (1882). A Pictorial Handbook to the Valley of the Ribble (2 ed.). Manchester: Smith & Son. p. 125. OCLC 25351581.
  16. Blakemore 1984, p. 2.
  17. Suggitt, Gordon (2003). Lost railways of Lancashire. Newbury: Countryside Books. p. 72. ISBN 1853068012.
  18. Shannon, Paul (June 2010). "Red in the atlas". Railways Illustrated. Vol. 8, no. 6. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 57. ISSN 1479-2230.
  19. Historic England. "Tunnel Entrance Approximately 70 Metres East of Mill Lane in Gisburne Park (Grade II) (1072103)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  20. Historic England. "Tunnel Entrance Approximately 180 Metres West of A682 in Gisburne Park (Grade II) (1362315)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 2 September 2022.

Sources
  • Blakemore, Michael (1984). The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. London: I. Allan. ISBN 0711014019.
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