Whitrope Tunnel

Location type

Tunnel

Name and dates

Whitrope Tunnel (1862-1969)

Where: Scottish Borders, Scotland
Opened on the Border Union Railway (North British Railway).

Description

This is a disused twin track tunnel, 1208 yards long. It is the 6th longest railway tunnel in Scotland. It is located between the former Shankend and Riccarton Junction stations on the closed Waverley Route.

The tunnel passes below Sandy Edge where there is a natural spring. It has suffered rockfalls since closure, something it suffered from in its operation history, partly due to the burn above the tunnel. As a result, the tunnel is now gated at both ends. The owner is currently the Forestry Commission.

Above the tunnel, particularly at the northern end, can be found former tram line routes and spoil heaps from the construction period.

Tags

Tunnel

External links

Canmore site record
NLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67
NLS Map



Chronology Dates

  /02/2003Border Union Railway (North British Railway)
Portals of the Whitrope Tunnel fitted with locked gates by the Forestry Commission.

News items

10/03/2002Rockfall in Whitrope Tunnel

Books


A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Scotland - The Lowlands and the Borders v. 6 (Regional railway history series)

An Illustrated History of Carlisle's Railways

Border Country Branch Line Album

Border Railway Portfolio

Borders Railway Rambles

Carlisle to Hawick: The Waverley Route (Scml)

Forgotten Railways: Scotland

Hawick 1897: Roxburghshire Sheet 25.07 (Old Ordnance Survey Maps of Roxburghshire)

Last Years of the Waverley Route

North British Railway, Vol. 1 (Standard Railway History)

North British Railway, Vol. 2 (Standard Railway History)

Railways Of Scotland 2: The Waverley Route DVD - Cinerail

The North British Railway a History

The Waverley Route Through Time

The Waverley Route: The District Controller's View 'Edinburgh (Waverley) - Carlisle Via Hawick'

Waverley Route: The battle for the Borders Railway

Waverley Route: The Life, Death and Rebirth of the Borders Railway

Waverley: Portrait of a Famous Route