Wapping Tunnel
Encyclopedia
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, was constructed to enable goods services to operate between Liverpool docks and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, and all points between, as part of the planned Liverpool and Manchester Railway
Liverpool and Manchester Railway
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway was the world's first inter-city passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives. The line opened on 15 September 1830 and ran between the cities of Liverpool and Manchester in North...
. It was the first tunnel in the world to be bored under a metropolis. The tunnel is 6660 feet (2,030 m) m long, and runs downhill from Edge Hill cutting, near the Crown Street Station goods yard in the east of the city, to Park Lane
Park Lane railway goods station
Park Lane was the world's first goods terminus on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway serving the south end Liverpool Docks. The station was opened in 1830. Its initial name was Wapping Station...
Goods Station near Wapping Dock
Wapping Dock
Wapping Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the southern dock system, connected to Salthouse Dock to the north, Queens Dock to the south. Kings Dock was originally located to the west, but has since been filled in.The dock was opened in...
. It now passes beneath the Merseyrail Northern Line
Northern Line (Merseyrail)
The Northern Line is one of the two commuter rail lines operated by Merseyrail in Merseyside, England. The other line is the Wirral Line. A third line of the Merseyrail Network, the City Line, is not owned or operated by Merseyrail, although funded by Merseytravel.The Northern Line passes...
approximately a quarter of a mile south of Central Station.
The original proposal for the railway out of Liverpool ran north along the docks, but this route proved very unpopular with local landowners. The new route required considerable engineering works in addition to the tunnel. The 1 in 48 gradient was much too steep for the steam locomotives of the day. A stationary steam engine was installed at Edge Hill cutting in a short tunnel bored into the rock near the Moorish Arch to haul goods wagons by rope up from the Park Lane good station at the south end docks. The goods wagons were connected to locomotives at Edge Hill for the continuing journey to Manchester. The tunnel opened in 1830 and closed on 15 May 1972.
The dockside entrance to the tunnel is clearly visible on Kings Dock Street Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. This was the middle of three short exit tunnels at the western end, which junctioned in a short open ventilation cutting between Park Lane and Upper Frederick Street. The quoted length of 2030m includes both the main tunnel and the short exit tunnel.
The Edge Hill entrance is still open to the air, but not accessible to the public. The portal is the central of three tunnels at the western end of the cutting. The right hand tunnel is the original 1829 tunnel into Crown Street Station. The left hand tunnel being a the later 1846 tunnel into the Crown Street good yard. This tunnel currently has tracks and overhead electric wires in place, for use as a headshunt and locomotive run-round for goods trains. However, artwork from before the third tunnel was constructed shows that a portal was already present from the outset - this was purely for architectural symmetry being a store room.
Other visible evidence of the tunnel still exists, in the form of three imposing red brick towers, which act as ventilation shafts for the tunnel. One is on the landscaped park between Crown Street and Smithdown Lane, one on Blackburne Place (illustration), and one close to Grenville Street South. There were at least two others that were later demolished, one adjacent to Great George Street, and one by Myrtle Street.
Recent plans for partial reinstatement of tunnel
Merseyrail
Merseyrail is a train operating company and commuter rail network in the United Kingdom, centred on Liverpool, Merseyside. The network is predominantly electric with diesel trains running on the City Line. Two City Line branches are currently being electrified on the overhead wire AC system with...
underground in Liverpool city centre, there were two proposals to use parts of the Wapping Tunnel or Waterloo Tunnel
Waterloo Tunnel
The Waterloo Tunnel in Liverpool, England is a former railway tunnel, 862 metres long, which opened in 1849. At its western end was Waterloo Goods railway station, after 1895 continuing beyond to Liverpool Riverside railway station, and onto the dock railway system...
(Victoria Tunnel) to connect Liverpool Central
Liverpool Central railway station
Liverpool Central railway station is a railway station in Liverpool, England, and forms the central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. In the years 2008/09, Liverpool Central station was shown to be the busiest station in Liverpool, despite being...
and Edge Hill junction
Edge Hill railway station
Edge Hill railway station serves the district of Edge Hill in Liverpool, England.There have been two stations of that name. The first stood a short distance south-west of the present station and its remains are still visible, although the site is not open to the public.Edge Hill is the first...
.
In May 2007 it was reported that Merseytravel
Merseytravel
Merseytravel Merseytravel Merseytravel (MPTE, or Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive, is the Passenger Transport Executive responsible for the coordination of public transport in the metropolitan county of Merseyside, England...
Chief Executive Neil Scales had prepared a report outlining the possibilities for reuse of the tunnel.
External links
- http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/sites/l/liverpool_edge_hill_cutting/index.shtml
- http://www.colinfparsons.btinternet.co.uk/twinp/colhome/edgehill/edgehill.htm
- Photo of Blackburne Place shaft at flickr
- Photo of White Street shaft at flickr
- Photo of Crown Street shaft at flickr