 Northern Rail Class 158 emerges from Summit Tunnel southern portal near Littleborough | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Line | Calder Valley line |
| Coordinates | 53°41′02″N 2°05′31″W / 53.68389°N 2.09194°W |
| OS grid reference | SD940208 |
| Status | Open |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1 March 1841 |
| Closed | 20 December 1984 |
| Reopened | 19 August 1985 |
| Technical | |
| Design engineer | Thomas Longridge Gooch |
| Length | 1 mile 1,125 yards (2.638 km) |
| No. of tracks | 2 |
| Grade | 1-in-330 (southwards) |
Summit Tunnel in England is one of the world's oldest railway tunnels. It was constructed between 1838 and 1841 by the Manchester and Leeds Railway Company to provide a direct line between Leeds and Manchester. When built, Summit Tunnel was the longest railway tunnel in the world.
The tunnel, between Littleborough and Walsden near Todmorden, was bored beneath the Pennines, a natural obstruction to most forms of traffic. The tunnel is just over 1.6 miles (2.6 km) long and carries two standard-gauge tracks in a single horseshoe-shaped tube, approximately 24 feet (7.2 m) wide and 22 feet (6.6 m) high. Summit Tunnel was designed by Thomas Longridge Gooch, assisted by Barnard Dickinson. Progress on its construction was slower than anticipated, largely because excavation was more difficult than anticipated. On 1 March 1841, Summit Tunnel was opened by Sir John Frederick Sigismund Smith; it had cost of £251,000 and 41 workers had died.
On 20 December 1984, the Summit Tunnel fire occurred. There were no deaths and five months later, the tunnel reopened after repairs. The tunnel has remained in continuous use with little interruption since it opened.