Haddon Tunnel

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Haddon Tunnel is a tunnel in Derbyshire, England built by the Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midlands Junction Railway between Rowsley and Bakewell, opened in 1863.

Although the line closed in 1967, it has historic interest, for it was on the Midland Railway and LMS main line from London to Manchester, and there are ambitious plans by Peak Rail to reopen it.

It had been constructed entirely to hide it from the view of the Duke of Rutland where the line passed Haddon Hall. It is 1058 yards long and, being close to the surface, it was mostly built by the 'cut and cover' method. There are five ventilation shafts, one being the full width of the double-track tunnel, the deepest being only twelve feet.

Shortly after the headings met, part of it collapsed, killing four workers outright, and wounding another so seriously that he died the following day. The railway paid £100 compensation to each of their families.

Following closure, the trackbed and tunnel was reincorporated into the Haddon Estate. The long campaign by Peak Rail and others culminated in a feasibility study by Derbyshire County Council in 2004, the Haddon Estate being a major opponent of the plan.

[edit] References

Radford, B., (1988) Midland Though The Peak Unicorn Books
Derbyshire County Council (2004) Derby to Manchester Railway Matlock to Buxton / Chinley Link Study. Main Report, Volume 1A: Version: Final.