Old Warden Tunnel is an abandoned railway tunnel near the village of

Old Warden Old Warden is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England, about south-east of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census shows its population as 328. The Shuttleworth Collection ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

History

The tunnel was built as part of the Midland Railway connecting Bedford and Hitchin, and from there to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

between 1853 and 1857. Contrary to popular belief the line lost its passenger services before the cuts of

Dr. Beeching Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching (21 April 1913 – 23 March 1985), commonly known as Dr Beeching, was a physicist and engineer who for a short but very notable time was chairman of British Railways. He became a household name in Britain in the e ...

, they were withdrawn on 1 January 1962 along with goods services between Hitchin and Shefford. Goods services between Shefford and Bedford succumbed to the Beeching Axe on 28 December 1964. Built of blue engineering bricks, the tunnel is ovoid in shape and runs at a very slight gradient to allow drainage; however, it is perfectly straight. The tunnel has no blast relief ducts, due to its lack of curves and relatively short length, allowing good air passage. Regular niches were cut into the wall to allow maintenance on the permanent way during running hours. Finally, both portals were capped with stone and it covers a total length of . This was also seen in the film Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines The location where Sir Percy's aircraft lands on a train is the now closed line from Bedford to Hitchin. The tunnel into which they fly is the Old Warden Tunnel near the village of the same name in Bedfordshire; the tunnel had only recently been closed, and in the panning shot through the railway cutting, the cooling towers of the now-demolished Goldington power station can be seen.

The tunnel today

The tunnel has lain derelict for over 40 years, but is in fair condition, with the Hitchin end back-filled to within of the tunnel roof and the Bedford end bricked up with gratings to allow access for bats. However, public access holes have been closed at both ends. Entrance to the tunnel is not recommended, due to bats and standing water accumulation. The Bedford Portal is still visible in its cutting, but the Hitchin Portal is entirely covered in undergrowth.

Nature reserve

The land above the tunnel is Old Warden Tunnel nature reserve, which is managed by the

Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN) is a registered charity which manages 126 nature reserves covering . It has over 35,000 members, and 95% of people in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshi ...

.Wildlife Trust: Old Warden Tunnel
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References

{{coord, 52.088347, -0.37581, region:GB, display=title Railway tunnels in England Rail transport in Bedfordshire Nature reserves in Bedfordshire Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire reserves Tunnels in Bedfordshire https://www.abandonedengland.com/oldwardentunnel

History

The tunnel today

Nature reserve

See also

References