Harecastle Tunnel
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Harecastle Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal. It is made up of 2 separate tunnels named Brindley (2880 yards) and the later Telford (2926 yards) after the engineers that constructed them. Today only the Telford tunnel is navigable. The tunnel is one way and boats are sent through in groups. Ventilation is handled by a large fan at the south portal.
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[edit] Brindley Tunnel
The Brindley tunnel was constructed by James Brindley between 1770 and 1777. Brindley himself died during its construction. At the time of its construction it was twice the length of any other tunnel in the world. It had no towpath and so boatsmen had to leg their way through the tunnel. This was done by lying on the roof of the boat and pushing on the sides of the tunnel with your feet. It could take up to three hours to get through the tunnel. The tunnel suffered subsidence in the early 20th century and was closed after a partial collapse in 1914. The portals can still be seen from the canal.
[edit] Telford Tunnel
Due to the amount of traffic and the slow process of legging, the Harecastle Tunnel was becoming a major bottleneck on the canal. It was decided to commission a second tunnel to be built by Thomas Telford. Due to advances in engineering it took just 3 years to build and was completed in 1827. It had a towpath so that horses could pull the boats through the tunnel. After its construction it was used in conjunction with the Brindley tunnel with each tunnel taking traffic in opposite directions.
Between 1914 and 1954 an electric tug was used to pull boats through the tunnel. In 1954 a large fan was constructed at the south portal. While all the boats are within the tunnel an air tight door is shut and all the air is pulled through the tunnel by the fan. This allows diesel boats to use the tunnel without suffocating the boaters. Today the journey takes about 40 minutes.
[edit] The Ghost of Harecastle Tunnel
The decapitated body of Kit Crewbucket was thrown into the canal in the 1800s. It is believed that she now haunts Harecastle Tunnel. Some boatmen took long detours to avoid the tunnel and today the tunnel keepers report occasional mismatches in the number of boats going in and coming out.
