Box Tunnel
Encyclopedia
Box Tunnel is a railway
tunnel
in Western England
, between Bath and Chippenham
, dug through Box Hill
, and is one of the most significant structures on the Great Western Main Line
. It was originally built for the Great Western Railway
under the direction of the GWR's engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel
.
The tunnel is just under two miles (1.83 miles/3,212 yards/2,937 m) in length, straight, and descends a 1 in 100 gradient from the east. Construction started in 1836, and the tunnel opened in 1841. The lives of about 100 navvies
(railway construction workers) were lost during construction. At the time of opening it was the longest railway tunnel in the world, though the Standedge Tunnel and several other canal
tunnels were longer. The dramatic western portal, near Box
, is designed in a grand classical style
, while the eastern portal, at Corsham
, has a more modest brick face with rusticated
stone. When the two ends of the tunnel were joined underground there was found to be less than 2 inches (50.8 mm) error in their alignment.
Box Tunnel is to be electrified
with catenary as part of the GWML electrification scheme which includes service to Bristol Temple Meads and is scheduled for completion around 2016.
On the other hand, it has been asserted that it is impossible to guarantee the effect on a particular calendar day, because the angle at which the sun rises on a given date varies slightly with the cycle of leap years. However, the sun subtends an angle of about half a degree, which is more than the year to year variation, and more than the field of view through the tunnel, so it quite possibly seems to fill the tunnel every year. It is also asserted that Brunel failed to account for atmospheric refraction
and the effect is visible a few days too early.
Buchanan (ibid., p. 226) concludes:
It is tempting to think that with a suitable vantage point, the effect (if not Brunel's intentions) can easily be checked on 9 April. However, the appropriate point is in the middle of a high-speed railway line and is thus potentially very dangerous. Photographs of the effect have reportedly been taken with appropriate assistance from railway officials.
A similar situation exists with the Voortrekker Monument
in Pretoria
, South Africa
. At midday on the Day of the Vow
, the sun (if the weather is clear) shines straight down onto a stone with the Afrikaans
inscription, "Ons vir jou, Suid-Afrika" ("Us for you, South Africa").
. During the 1930s a significant portion of the quarries were developed by Royal Engineers
for the storage of munitions. This became known as the Central Ammunition Depot and served the ammunition requirements of much of the South of England. A Royal Air Force
station was also established using one area of the tunnels, RAF Box
, and during the war a fallback aircraft engine factory was established to the north of Box Tunnel.
To service the Central Ammunition Depot a spur line was opened, breaking off from the main line at the eastern end of the tunnel, entering alongside the main portal. This spur leads to two platforms within the quarries, used for the delivery and removal of munitions.
Following World War II
portions of the Ammunition Depot were variously redeveloped to house the Central Government War Headquarters
, RAF No1 Signal Unit, Controller Defence communication Network and the Corsham Computer Centre
. Much of this has now been decommissioned with only Corsham Computer Centre remaining in the quarries.
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
in Western England
West of England
The West of England is a loose and locationally unspecific term sometimes given to the area surrounding the city and county of Bristol, England, and also sometimes applied more widely and in other parts of South West England.-Use in the Bristol area:...
, between Bath and Chippenham
Chippenham, Wiltshire
Chippenham is a market town in Wiltshire, England, located east of Bath and west of London. In the 2001 census the population of the town was recorded as 28,065....
, dug through Box Hill
Box Hill, Wiltshire
Box Hill, Wiltshire is a village in Wiltshire, England. It is most notable for its position above Brunel's famous Box Tunnel and the popular Quarryman's Arms pub is a partial museum to its building....
, and is one of the most significant structures on the Great Western Main Line
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
. It was originally built for the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
under the direction of the GWR's engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
.
Navvy
Navvy is a shorter form of navigator or navigational engineer and is particularly applied to describe the manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects...
(railway construction workers) were lost during construction. At the time of opening it was the longest railway tunnel in the world, though the Standedge Tunnel and several other canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
tunnels were longer. The dramatic western portal, near Box
Box, Wiltshire
Box is a village located in Wiltshire, England, about east of Bath and west of Chippenham. It is quite a large parish with several settlements, apart from the village of Box, within its boundaries....
, is designed in a grand classical style
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
, while the eastern portal, at Corsham
Corsham
Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in north west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south western extreme of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 which was formerly the main turnpike road from London to Bristol, between Bath and Chippenham ....
, has a more modest brick face with rusticated
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
stone. When the two ends of the tunnel were joined underground there was found to be less than 2 inches (50.8 mm) error in their alignment.
Box Tunnel is to be electrified
Railway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
with catenary as part of the GWML electrification scheme which includes service to Bristol Temple Meads and is scheduled for completion around 2016.
Geographical location
- East portal: 51.423685°N 2.20536°W
- Ventilation shaft: 51.42277°N 2.21303°W
- Ventilation shaft: 51.42176°N 2.22179°W
- Centre of tunnel: 51.42128°N 2.22617°W
- Ventilation shaft: 51.42084°N 2.23010°W
- Ventilation shaft: 51.41970°N 2.23982°W
- West portal: 51.41888°N 2.24698°W
Brunel's birthday
There is a story which states that Brunel deliberately aligned the tunnel such that the rising sun is visible through it on 9 April each year, his birthday. Opinions vary widely as to whether this is true. Angus Buchanan (2002, p. 269) writes:- The alignment of the Box Tunnel has been the subject of serious discussion in the New Civil EngineerNew Civil EngineerNew Civil Engineer is the weekly magazine of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the UK chartered body that oversees the practice of civil engineering in the UK. It is published by EMAP who acquired the title and editorial control from the ICE in 1995...
and elsewhere. I am grateful to my friend James Richard for making calculations which convinced me that the alignment on 9 April would permit the sun to be visible through the tunnel soon after dawn on a fine day.
On the other hand, it has been asserted that it is impossible to guarantee the effect on a particular calendar day, because the angle at which the sun rises on a given date varies slightly with the cycle of leap years. However, the sun subtends an angle of about half a degree, which is more than the year to year variation, and more than the field of view through the tunnel, so it quite possibly seems to fill the tunnel every year. It is also asserted that Brunel failed to account for atmospheric refraction
Atmospheric refraction
Atmospheric refraction is the deviation of light or other things like humanelectromagnetic wave from a straight line as it passes through the atmosphere due to the variation in air density as a function of altitude...
and the effect is visible a few days too early.
Buchanan (ibid., p. 226) concludes:
- ...I have found no documentary evidence for the often-repeated story that Brunel aligned the Box Tunnel so that the rising sun shone through it on his birthday, even though careful examination shows that it could indeed do so, and it is certainly a good story.
It is tempting to think that with a suitable vantage point, the effect (if not Brunel's intentions) can easily be checked on 9 April. However, the appropriate point is in the middle of a high-speed railway line and is thus potentially very dangerous. Photographs of the effect have reportedly been taken with appropriate assistance from railway officials.
A similar situation exists with the Voortrekker Monument
Voortrekker Monument
The Voortrekker Monument is a monument in the city of Pretoria, South Africa. The massive granite structure, built to honour the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854, was designed by the architect Gerard Moerdijk who had the idea to design a "monument that would stand a...
in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. At midday on the Day of the Vow
Day of the Vow
The Day of the Vow is the name of a religious public holiday in South Africa until 1994, when it was renamed the Day of Reconciliation. The holiday is December 16...
, the sun (if the weather is clear) shines straight down onto a stone with the Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
inscription, "Ons vir jou, Suid-Afrika" ("Us for you, South Africa").
Defence use
The hill surrounding the tunnel had been extensively quarried, extracting Bath stoneBath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
. During the 1930s a significant portion of the quarries were developed by Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
for the storage of munitions. This became known as the Central Ammunition Depot and served the ammunition requirements of much of the South of England. A Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
station was also established using one area of the tunnels, RAF Box
RAF Rudloe Manor
RAF Rudloe Manor, formerly RAF Box, was a Royal Air Force station located north-east of Bath, United Kingdom between the towns of Box and Corsham, in Wiltshire...
, and during the war a fallback aircraft engine factory was established to the north of Box Tunnel.
To service the Central Ammunition Depot a spur line was opened, breaking off from the main line at the eastern end of the tunnel, entering alongside the main portal. This spur leads to two platforms within the quarries, used for the delivery and removal of munitions.
Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
portions of the Ammunition Depot were variously redeveloped to house the Central Government War Headquarters
Central Government War Headquarters
The Central Government War Headquarters is a complex built underground as the United Kingdom's Emergency Government War Headquarters - the hub of the country's alternative seat of power outside London during a nuclear war or conflict with the Soviet Union...
, RAF No1 Signal Unit, Controller Defence communication Network and the Corsham Computer Centre
Corsham Computer Centre
Corsham Computer Centre is an underground British Ministry of Defence installation in Corsham, Wiltshire, built in the 1980s. According to the MoD, the centre "processes data in support of the Royal Navy"...
. Much of this has now been decommissioned with only Corsham Computer Centre remaining in the quarries.
See also
- List of tunnels in the United Kingdom
- Stapleford Miniature RailwayStapleford Miniature RailwayStapleford Miniature Railway is a historic steam locomotive-hauled gauge railway at Stapleford Park, Stapleford near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England....
1/5 railway featuring stone replica of Box tunnel
Sources
- Adley, R. (1988) Covering My Tracks, Stephens, ISBN 0-85059-882-6, p. 54-77
- Buchanan, R. Angus (2002) Brunel: The Life and Times of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Hambledon and London, ISBN 1-85285-331-X
- Chittenden, Maurice (2005) For sale: Britain’s underground city, Times Online October 30, 2005, www site [accessed 18 May 2007]
- Hennessy, Peter (2002) The Secret State - Whitehall and the Cold War, Penguin BooksPenguin BooksPenguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
, ISBN 0-14-100835-0 - Karlson, Stephen H. (1999) Re: Six More Weeks of Prelims, Northern Illinois University message board, posted 3 February 1999 [accessed 18 May 2007]
- Lushman, Rory (1999) The Box Hill Tunnel: An Anorak's Paradise or a Passage To Narnia?, Updated news article on : MAGONIA Online, www site [accessed 18 May 2007]
- McCamley, Nick (2000) Secret Underground City, Pen & Sword Books, ISBN 0-85052-733-3
External links
- Subterranea Britannica entry on the Corsham bunkers
- Brunel portal
- Wiltshire's Secret Underground City: Burlington Articles, interactive map and video tour from BBC Wiltshire