Spinkhill Tunnel is a disused twin-track railway tunnel south of Spinkhill railway station in

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, England.

History

The 501 yards long tunnel was opened by the

Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway The Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway (LD&ECR) was built to connect coalfields in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire with Warrington and a new port on the Lincolnshire coast. It was a huge undertaking, and the company was unable to raise ...

(later part of the

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its Great Central Main Line, London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company ...

and subsequently the

LNER LNER or L.N.E.R. may refer to: *London and North Eastern Railway (1923–1947), a former railway company in the United Kingdom *London North Eastern Railway (2018–), a train operating company in the United Kingdom * Liquid neutral earthing resi ...

) on 21 September 1898. It was the only tunnel on its Beighton Branch (occasionally referred to as the "Sheffield Branch") which ran north westwards from

Langwith Junction Langwith Junction is a suburb of Shirebrook, in Derbyshire, England. Its name derives from the former Shirebrook North railway station, which was on the now-defunct Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway The Lancashire, Derbyshire and E ...

to Beighton Junction. The LD&ECR and its successors always referred to Spinkhill station, tunnel and signalbox as "Spink Hill", though the spelling "Spinkhill" is now universal. See, for example, railway tickets in the Glynn Waite collection. The Beighton Branch lost its local passenger traffic at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

but remained in use for excursions, diversions and relief, together with its prime purpose - coal. Spinkhill station had an extra role - schools specials at the start and end of term at Mount St Mary's SchoolMSM: via ''their website''
/ref> in Spinkhill. The line through the tunnel was closed on 9 January 1967 and was subsequently lifted, though tracks almost to the tunnel mouth from the north remained in use until 1984 for wagon storage and shunting at Westthorpe Colliery, Killamarsh.

Relics

At 2007 the tunnel had not been infilled and could be accessed on foot, though it is not a public right of way. By 20 July 2013 foliage had finally rendered the northern portal invisible from the former railway bridge on the Spinkhill to High Moor road known as "Station Road." As of 2015, the tunnel portals have been sealed with possible infilling to take place

References

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External links

{{coord, 53, 18, 19.54, N, 1, 18, 44.08, W, type:landmark_region:GB-DBY, display=title Railway tunnels in England Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway structures Tunnels in Derbyshire