A view looking back to the North portal.
A view towards the South portal.
I did find one very rotten old railway sleeper in the tunnel.
Another refuge. (There are only four altogether.)
The engineer who marked out the sections of the tunnel was not the same person who marked out Horsmonden tunnel.
Yes, you've guessed it!
It is not so wet here.
(Looking north.) The curvature of the tunnel is quite noticeable here.
Outside the tunnel now, and again this tunnel has large retaining walls. (Horsmonden Tunnel has no retaining walls like this.) Here the tunnel number is displayed much more clearly showing no. 1532 (Horsmonden was 1472).
The South Portal is different from the North Portal and Horsmonden Tunnel! This has a four brick lining, I have never noticed this before or read about it.
This tunnel has always had problems with water ingress, even during it's working life. There is an old photograph in Peter Harding's possession showing the tunnel being constructed from the North Portal, I suspect that the engineers began constructing with a three brick lining but switched to four bricks at some time during construction because of their concerns over water ingress. I would say that the wettest part of the tunnel is probably about a third of the way in towards the North Portal.
The retaining walls keeping the banks in place are many bricks thick.
It was quite possible to clamber up one of the retaining walls for another snap. Watching a steam locomotive bursting out of the tunnel would have made a wonderful photograph!
Above the tunnel one of the capstones has been pushed down onto the track bed. These large lumps of masonry must have been very heavy. Did the builders use a crane to get them in place?
What a view! Again from above the tunnel the line begins to descend at last at 1 in 80 on a straight line.
Point of impact! The remains of the other capstone on the track bed.
I feel that the tunnel will become unsafe in a few more years if it is not maintained. I only found the remains of one old railway sleeper and there were no old rails that I could see.
The pile of bricks shown in one photo are the remains of what was the chimney of a lineside hut. The hut was originally built from railway sleepers with the addition of the brick chimney.
ReplyDeleteI assume Badgers Oak tunnel is still the responsibility of what is now known as Network Rail. It is clear to see the tunnel needs some structural maintenance and I am surprised the local borough and parish councils have not alerted Network Rail etc. the need for attention?
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