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The Oxendon Tunnels are disused railway
Northampton & Lamport Railway
Buildings and structures in Northamptonshire Rail transport in Northamptonshire Railway tunnels in England Pedestrian tunnels in the United Kingdom Tunnels in Northamptonshire Tunnels completed in 1859 Footpaths in Northamptonshire {{Northamptonshire-struct-stub
The Oxendon Tunnels are disused railway tunnel
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
s in Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...
, England. The Northampton to Market Harborough line
Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is situated on the River Nene, north- ...
opened in 1859 and had tunnels at Oxendon and nearby at Kelmarsh
Kelmarsh is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. The population (including Haselbech) of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 208. The village is on the A508, close to its junction with the A14 about south of Mark ...
. However, construction of the tunnels was a protracted process and they were not completed until February 1878.
The original tunnel was single-track, and when the line was doubled a second single-track tunnel was built. The "up" line tunnel is long while the "down" line is . Due to the small bore, the tunnels were known as "the rat-holes" by train drivers.
The former "up" line tunnel at Oxendon is open as part of the Brampton Valley Way
The Brampton Valley Way is a rail trail built on the way of the former Northampton to Market Harborough Railway in Northamptonshire, England. It forms what trail managers, Northamptonshire County Council, describe as a linear park.
The railw ...
, a linear park which runs from Boughton level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...
on the outskirts of Northampton to Little Bowden near Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the United Kingdom census, 2021, 2021 census. It is the ad ...
, on the former railway trackbed.
References
See also
*Tunnels in the United Kingdom
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...
External links
Northampton & Lamport Railway
Buildings and structures in Northamptonshire Rail transport in Northamptonshire Railway tunnels in England Pedestrian tunnels in the United Kingdom Tunnels in Northamptonshire Tunnels completed in 1859 Footpaths in Northamptonshire {{Northamptonshire-struct-stub