Whitehaven Tunnel

Whitehaven Tunnel
Southern portal of the tunnel
Interactive map of Whitehaven Tunnel
Overview
Other nameBransty Tunnel
LineCumbrian Coast Line
LocationWhitehaven, Cumbria, England
Coordinates54°32′49″N 3°34′55″W / 54.547°N 3.582°W / 54.547; -3.582
OS grid referenceNX977179
StatusClosed (temporarily)
Operation
Work begun1850
Opened30 September 1952
Rebuilt1932–1958 (see text)
OwnerNetwork Rail
Technical
Length1,283 yards (1,173 m)[1]
No. of tracks1
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Operating speed40 miles per hour (64 km/h) (normal)
20 miles per hour (32 km/h) 2022-2025

The Whitehaven Tunnel (also known as Bransty Tunnel), is a railway tunnel on the Cumbrian Coast Line linking Whitehaven with Corkickle in Cumbria, England. Work on the tunnel started in 1850, with it opening in September 1852, and between 1932 and 1958, it was shortened at the southern end after re-lining works. The tunnel was closed temporarily in 2025 due to water from defunct mines leaking into the tunnel and then draining away into the harbour at Whitehaven. It is expected to re-open in 2026.

History

Construction of the tunnel by the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway as a link line to the Whitehaven Junction Railway was started in 1850, and it opened to all traffic on 30 September 1852, but the local newspaper observed that freight was using the tunnel by 18 September 1852.[2] Permission was granted under the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway (Whitehaven Extension and Kirksanton Deviation) Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. cccxx), with a clause in the act that did not permit the substitution of a tunnel for a cutting without the consent of Lord Lonsdale.[3] The tunnel was built on a slight curve (going north-westwards) and several gradients, and was originally 16 feet 8 inches (5.08 m) high, and at its widest it was 13 feet 6 inches (4.11 m).[4] Progress in building the tunnel was slow due to the number of old mineshafts in the area, and it was lined with red sandstone and brick.[5][6] The narrowness of the tunnel prevented sleeper carriages from going through, so the overnight service from Euston to Workington detached these carriages at Corkickle, before proceeding north.[7] When the station at Corkickle was opened, it meant that the tunnel had a station at either end; Corkickle at the south, opened in December 1855, and Whitehaven (originally named Bransty) at the northern end.[8][9] David Joy marvelled at the irony of "..the longest railway tunnel in England's most mountainous county was almost at sea level."[10]

When the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway opened in 1857, trains ran through the tunnel to terminate at Bransty, but this working soon ceased as the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway demanded 2 shillings for every train that used the tunnel.[11] Passenger trains using the tunnel had to go further north than the original station at Bransty, and then reverse opposite William Pit into the platforms. This situation was changed when platforms were built at the northern tunnel portal in December 1874.[5]

In May 1886, whilst a goods train was travelling north through the tunnel, the last few wagons and guard's van became detached form the train and stopped within the tunnel. The stranded wagons were then involved in a collision with the next passenger train northwards (travelling in the same direction on the single line), and this resulted in a crash at around 14 miles per hour (23 km/h), injuring 30-40 passengers and badly scalding the driver of the train. The fireman was killed in the crash, with Quayle suggesting he was riding on the buffer beam of the locomotive, sanding the tracks.[12][13][14] Although an electric telegraph had been laid through the tunnel in 1852, it was not working, and the company relied on a pilotman to make sure that trains were safely guided through the tunnel.[12] The tunnel was closed for some months in 1874 due to a "90-foot (27 m) section bulging inwards", although some freight was allowed through hauled by engines with cut-down cabs.[6] In 1882, the maximum dimensions of loads allowed through the tunnel were 8 feet (2.4 m) wide, and 12 feet (3.7 m) from the rail to the centre of the roof of the tunnel.[15] In 1890, new rail, baseplates and ties were used which where physically lower than the old track allowing a further 3 inches (76 mm) of headroom.[16]

By the 1920, the tunnel bore was distorted in places, and it was continually having to be repaired.[5] In 1932, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway started a process of re-lining the tunnel, at a rate of 8 feet (2.4 m) every three weeks; they estimated that at that rate, it would take four years, but it actually was not completely re-lined until 1956, though work ceased for eight years at the outbreak of the Second World War.[17][18] The tunnel could only be closed for five hours overnight, and the works involved opening the southern portal into a cutting, curtailing the tunnel length from 1,333 yards (1,219 m) to 1,291 yards 2 feet (1,181 m).[19]

Due to the tunnel being flooded with minewater, it was closed for repairs in July 2025.[20] Minewater has been flooding the tunnel since 2022, and then draining from the tunnel into the harbour, discolouring the water in the harbour.[21] The water from the harbour has been tested and it revealed elevated levels of iron and manganese.[22] Network Rail found that a prolonged closure was necessary as the ground in the tunnel could not take the weight of the machinery it needed to work on the tunnel, so groundworks stabilisation needed to take place first.[23][24] The contaminated water has also caused additional wear on the rails inside the tunnel.[25] The movement of nuclear waste through the tunnel was also questioned as the trains had to proceed at 10 miles per hour (16 km/h) to avoid acidic minewater being splashed onto the freight wagons.[26] The posted speed limit within the tunnel is 40 miles per hour (64 km/h), but this was restricted to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) between 2022 and 2025 due to the floodwater within the tunnel.[27]

Whilst the tunnel itself is not a listed structure, the five air shafts are all listed at Grade II.[28][29][30][31][32]

Tunnel length

Various different lengths have been claimed for the tunnel; the original bore was listed as being 1,333 yards (1,219 m), but Joy states 1,330 yards (1,220 m) in one publication, whilst maintaining it is 1,333 yards (1,219 m) in another.[5][10][33] Alan Blower states the tunnel to be 1,316 yards (1,203 m),[34] and Bairstow states that after the works which finished in 1958, the tunnel was 33 yards (30 m) shorter, which made it 1,300 yards (1,200 m) long.[5] During the ongoing works to repair the tunnel between 2025 and 2026, Network Rail stated the structure is "[a] circa 1km tunnel,[35] and the railway data website states it is 1,292 yards (1,181 m) long.[36]

Modern-day sources agree the length is 1,283 yards (1,173 m).[1][37]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Kelman, Leanne (2022). Railway track diagrams 4: Midlands & North West (5 ed.). Frome: Trackmaps. p. 35A. ISBN 978-1-9996271-5-7.
  2. ^ Quayle 2008, p. 34.
  3. ^ Quayle 2008, p. 33.
  4. ^ Slater, John, ed. (May 1982). "The why and the wherefore; Whitehaven Tunnel". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 128, no. 973. Horncastle: Mortons Media Group. p. 247. ISSN 0033-8923.
  5. ^ a b c d e Bairstow, Martin (1995). Railways in the Lake District. Halifax: Bairstow. p. 25. ISBN 1871944112.
  6. ^ a b Quayle 2008, p. 75.
  7. ^ Hedderly, Mike (28 April 2018). "Cumbrian Classics". Steam Railway. No. 479. Peterborough: Bauer Media. p. 97. ISSN 0143-7232.
  8. ^ Broughton, John (1996). The Furness Railway : a fascinating 150th anniversary excursion along all the company's lines. Peterborough: Past & present. pp. 58–59. ISBN 1858951267.
  9. ^ Quayle 2008, p. 37.
  10. ^ a b Joy 1990, p. 151.
  11. ^ Joy 1990, p. 163.
  12. ^ a b Quayle 2008, p. 44.
  13. ^ "Accident Returns: Extract for the Accident at Whitehaven Tunnel on 10th May 1866". www.railwaysarchive.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  14. ^ Broughton, John (1996). The Furness Railway : a fascinating 150th anniversary excursion along all the company's lines. Peterborough: Past & present. p. 58. ISBN 1858951267.
  15. ^ Regulations. London: Railway Clearing House. 1882. p. 107. OCLC 269234732.
  16. ^ Sandberg, Christer P. (1890). On steel rails considered chemically and mechanically. London: Institution of Mechanical Engineers (Great Britain). p. 333. OCLC 1050780956.
  17. ^ "Repairs to Whitehaven Tunnel, LMSR". The Railway Gazette. Vol. 60, no. 14. London: Railway News. 6 April 1934. p. 578. ISSN 0373-5346. OCLC 1367286708.
  18. ^ Quayle 2008, p. 86.
  19. ^ Joy 1990, p. 151, 188.
  20. ^ Mawson, Brandon (18 February 2026). "'Too early' for completion date on tunnel work, says Network Rail". Whitehaven News. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  21. ^ Bedendo, Frederica (13 August 2025). "West Cumbria train service hit by tunnel work to partly return". BBC News. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  22. ^ "Concerns over chemicals in Whitehaven harbour's orange water". BBC News. 5 February 2026. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  23. ^ Hakimian, Rob (31 July 2025). "Bransty Tunnel closed indefinitely as Network Rail discovers unstable ground". New Civil Engineer. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  24. ^ "Whitehaven to Corkickle rail line closed after tunnel tests". BBC News. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
  25. ^ Ross, Dickon, ed. (2 April 2025). "Tunnel's track replacement due to contaminated water". Rail. No. 1, 032. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media. p. 14. ISSN 0953-4563.
  26. ^ Hodnet, Miles (11 July 2024). "Nuclear waste rail transport protest - ProQuest". News and Star. ProQuest 3078242528. Retrieved 8 March 2026.
  27. ^ Cooper, Isaac (11 November 2023). "Whitehaven railway tunnel testing to seek source of mystery orange water". infoweb.newsbank.com. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
  28. ^ Historic England. "Air Shaft Cap to Former Railway Tunnel (Grade II) (1263937)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  29. ^ Historic England. "Air Shaft Cap to Former Railway Tunnel (Grade II) (1247816)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  30. ^ Historic England. "Air Shaft Cap to Former Railway Tunnel (Grade II) (1263939)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  31. ^ Historic England. "Air Shaft Cap to Former Railway Tunnel (Grade II) (1247863)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  32. ^ Historic England. "Air Shaft Cap to Former Railway Tunnel (Grade II) (1247815)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 March 2026.
  33. ^ Joy, David (2017). Introduction to Cumbrian Railways. Cumbrian Railways Association. p. 58. ISBN 0957038755.
  34. ^ Blower, Alan (1964). British railway tunnels. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 106. OCLC 271633354.
  35. ^ "Whitehaven tunnel repair update for passengers and residents". Network Rail Media Centre. 18 September 2025. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  36. ^ "Whitehaven Tunnel [CBC1]". www.railwaydata.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
  37. ^ Holland, Julian; Spaven, David (2017). Britain's Best Railways. London: Harper Collins. p. 204. ISBN 9780007965960.

Sources

  • Joy, David (1990) [1983]. The Lake Counties (2 ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 135. ISBN 0-946537-56-9.
  • Quayle, H. I (2008). Whitehaven : the railways and waggonways of a unique Cumberland port. Pinner: Cumbrian Railways Association. ISBN 0954023250.
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