Summit Tunnel (Littleborough)
One of twelve ventilation shafts on the hill above Summit Tunnel, seen in July 2022. These shafts became nationally famous in December 1984 when a train of petrol tankers derailed and caught fire in the tunnel. Ignited fuel vented through the shafts and flames and molten metal were ejected over the hillside causing properties in nearby Walsden to be evacuated. In the intense heat, a section of the brick tunnel lining tunnel had fallen away and an examination of the geological section revealed the presence of a thin coal seam within the tunnel wall. A mining engineer from the NCB undertook a survey using an infrared camera to confirm that there was no combustion within the coal seam that would hamper repair work. Although much work was required on the track and electrical systems, the 1841 tunnel itself survived relatively unscathed and reopened to trains the following August.
Location: Summit Tunnel (Littleborough)
Original line: Manchester and Leeds Railway
Photographer: Mark Bartlett
Contact photographer: Mark Bartlett
Date: 20/07/2022
Image number: 81884
Other photographs of Summit Tunnel (Littleborough) on RailScot
 |  |  |  |  |  |
