Tunnels of Nottingham

Weekday Cross Tunnel South Portal. The cutting has been deepened and the heating pipes lowered to accommodate the CCAN in 2007

Many of the tunnels of Nottingham were built by three railway companies in and around Nottingham, England because their lines crossed substantial hills. The companies were the Great Northern Railway (GNR), the Great Central Railway (GCR), and the Nottingham Suburban Railway.

The LNWR built a station in Nottingham on Manvers Street with its own lines and sidings running off the GNR, whilst it had no tunnel on its short route it did have a large underground storage depot (still there) under the station site. The Park Tunnel was built for more fanciful reasons. Nottingham is home to many underground structures but only those built for transport are mentioned here.

Great Central Railway

Weekday Cross Tunnel South Portal November 2007. Last view of the tunnel mouth before it is covered up by the CCAN.

Great Northern Railway

Mapperley Tunnel Eastern Portal photographed in 2007

Nottingham Suburban Railway

The Nottingham Suburban Railway was completed in 1889; it was only 3.5 miles long but had four tunnels. The line ran between a junction with the Great Northern Railway's Nottingham to Grantham line at Trent Lane in Sneinton, and the Great Northern Railway's Derbyshire and Staffordshire Extension line at Daybrook. It had stations at Sherwood, St Ann's Well and Thorney Wood.

Park Tunnel

The Park Tunnel photographed from Tunnel Road in the Park, Nottingham in 2006

The Park Tunnel (52°57′16″N 1°09′34″W / 52.9544°N 1.1594°W / 52.9544; -1.1594) was built in 1855 to allow horsedrawn carriages access to The Park Estate from Derby Road in Nottingham. This area was formerly a private hunting park for the Duke of Newcastle who was also the owner of Nottingham Castle Mansion. The Fifth Duke of Newcastle retained architect Thomas Chambers (T.C.) Hine (1813–1899) to design and build the Park Tunnel (primarily as the main entrance to the Park) and to develop the Park as a residential area in central Nottingham for the wealthier members of society. T.C.Hine was also made responsible for the later repair of Nottingham Castle and its conversion into a museum.[4] The Duke of Newcastle's original requirement was for a tunnel with a maximum gradient of 1 in 14; the tunnel actually has a gradient of 1 in 12 which was considered too great for horsedrawn carriages thus defeating the object of its construction. The tunnel is still in use, providing pedestrian access from Derby Road, Upper College Street and The Ropewalk to the Park.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Nottingham Suburban Railway". The Railway Magazine: 373 to 379. June 1961.
  2. Kingscott, G.,. Lost Railways of Nottinghamshire. Countryside Books.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Nottingham Suburban Railway Route".
  4. "Nottingham Park". Nottingham Park.

Bibliography

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