Liverpool Overhead Railway Southern Extension Tunnel
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.
 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 | 53.3801°N 2.9705°W |
| Status | Disused |
| Start | Herculaneum Dock |
| No. of stations | Dingle railway station |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 31 December 1896 (passenger service) |
| Closed | 30 December 1956 (passenger service) |
| Operator | Liverpool Overhead Railway Company |
| Traffic | Single ended passenger rail with terminus station |
| Technical | |
| Design engineer | Charles Douglas Fox |
| Length | 0.5 mi (800 m) |
| No. of tracks | Double |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
| Tunnel clearance | 19 feet (5.8 m) |
| Width | 25 feet (7.6 m) |
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]
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. 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]
References
Media related to Dingle extension tunnel at Wikimedia Commons
Notes
- Dingle Tunnel refers to the tunnel between Brunswick railway and St Michaels railway stations that this tunnel passes over
- Images show L.O.Ry. Southern Extension with Chairman, engineers and construction contractors all credited
Footnotes
- Liverpool Echo (2013).
- Catford & Bolger (1999).
- Rosney & Rosney (2015), The Dingle Tunnel.
- Weston (2020).
Sources
- Catford, Nick; Bolger, Paul (1 July 1999). "Liverpool Overhead Railway". Subterranea Britannica. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- "The Docker's Umbrella: End of the line". Liverpool Echo. 8 May 2013 [2008]. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- Rosney, Mark; Rosney, Michelle (2015). Secret Liverpool. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1445640860. OCLC 921191793.
- Weston, Alan (5 April 2020). "The amazing pictures taken down the years at Dingle Overhead Railway tunnel". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 16 August 2020.