Combe Down Tunnel
Encyclopedia
Combe Down Tunnel is on the now-closed Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
main line, between Midford
and Bath Queen Square
, below high ground and the southern suburbs of Bath, England
, emerging below the southern slopes of Combe Down
village.
Opened in 1874, this 1829 yard long disused railway tunnel was once the UK’s longest without intermediate ventilation. It is planned that the tunnel will form part of the £1.8 million Two Tunnels Greenway walking and cycling path due to open in 2012. Its custodian is Wessex Water.
to the viaduct at Midford
, but the substantial civil engineering works associated with the tunnel and the steep approach into Bath, including the shorter Devonshire Tunnel, caused the northernmost section to remain single-track throughout its working life. Freight trains heading south from Bath were often banked (assisted in rear) by a locomotive that detached itself from the train at the entrance to Combe Down tunnel, and then returned back down the gradient to Bath. This operation was a very rare example of two trains being permitted to run within a single-line section at once, although the train engine carried an electric token
and the banking engine a staff
, both of which had to be returned to the appropriate signalling instruments before other trains could be dispatched into the section. Under very rare circumstances the banking engine would be conveying additional goods vehicles for Bath Co-op Siding (situated within the single line section) and on these occasions the banker carried both the electric token and the banking staff. This exceptionally unusual method of working meant that the goods train (legitimately) passed through the section without a token, a practice unique to British Railways. This arrangement operated right up to the closure of the S&D in 1966.
Combe Down tunnel had no intermediate ventilation and there were significant problems with fumes. On 20 November 1929, the driver and fireman of a northbound goods train were overcome by smoke. The train was moving very slowly in the tunnel due to a heavy load and due to starting from a standstill at . The locomotive, 2-8-0 No. 89
, plodded on and eventually breasted the summit of the gradient. Its downward course to Bath was accomplished more quickly, and the train ran away, crashing into the goods yard on the approach to Bath Green Park railway station
, killing the driver, Henry Jennings, and two railway employees in the yard.
The fumes that overcame the footplate crew were a consequence of the restricted bore, lack of ventilation shafts, the exceptional humidity and lack of breeze, and the very slow speed of the train, running tender first. The inspecting officer, Colonel A. C. Trench recommended that maximum loads should be reduced or assistant engines provided to prevent a recurrence.
The fourth and final £100,000 tranche of Council funding is due in financial year 2011/12 when the tunnel will be equipped with a cycle-friendly surface, mobile phone coverage and lighting related to motion detectors. Bat-friendly LED technology is being considered as an alternative to high-pressure sodium lamps.
Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway
The Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway – almost always referred to as "the S&D" – was an English railway line connecting Bath in north east Somerset and Bournemouth now in south east Dorset but then in Hampshire...
main line, between Midford
Midford railway station
Midford railway station was a single-platform station on the Bath extension of the Somerset and Dorset Railway, just to the north of the point where the double-track became a single track. It served the village of Midford...
and Bath Queen Square
Bath Green Park railway station
Green Park railway station is a former railway station in Bath, Somerset, England. For some of its life, it was known as Bath Queen Square.-Architecture and opening:...
, below high ground and the southern suburbs of Bath, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, emerging below the southern slopes of Combe Down
Combe Down
Combe Down is a village suburb of Bath, England in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Somerset. Combe Down sits on a ridge above and about 1.5 miles to the south of Bath city centre. "Combe" or "coombe" is a West Country word meaning a steep-sided...
village.
Opened in 1874, this 1829 yard long disused railway tunnel was once the UK’s longest without intermediate ventilation. It is planned that the tunnel will form part of the £1.8 million Two Tunnels Greenway walking and cycling path due to open in 2012. Its custodian is Wessex Water.
Overview
The tunnel was on the Bath extension line of the Somerset & Dorset Railway, built in 1874. The extension effectively bankrupted the independent company. The extension line was later made double-track northwards from Evercreech JunctionEvercreech Junction railway station
Evercreech Junction was a railway station at Evercreech on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway.Originally opened in 1862 as "Evercreech" on the original S&D line from Burnham-on-Sea to Broadstone, it became in 1874 the junction for the northwards extension towards Bath that bankrupted the company...
to the viaduct at Midford
Midford
Midford is a village approximately miles south south east of Bath, Somerset, England within the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
, but the substantial civil engineering works associated with the tunnel and the steep approach into Bath, including the shorter Devonshire Tunnel, caused the northernmost section to remain single-track throughout its working life. Freight trains heading south from Bath were often banked (assisted in rear) by a locomotive that detached itself from the train at the entrance to Combe Down tunnel, and then returned back down the gradient to Bath. This operation was a very rare example of two trains being permitted to run within a single-line section at once, although the train engine carried an electric token
Token (railway signalling)
In railway signalling, a token is a physical object which a locomotive driver is required to have or see before entering onto a particular section of single track. The token is clearly endorsed with the name of the section it belongs to...
and the banking engine a staff
Annett's key
In railway signalling, an Annett’s key or Annett key is a large key that locks levers or other items of signalling apparatus, thereby functioning as a portable form of interlocking. When not in use, the key is normally held in an Annett's lock that is fixed to the lever or apparatus concerned...
, both of which had to be returned to the appropriate signalling instruments before other trains could be dispatched into the section. Under very rare circumstances the banking engine would be conveying additional goods vehicles for Bath Co-op Siding (situated within the single line section) and on these occasions the banker carried both the electric token and the banking staff. This exceptionally unusual method of working meant that the goods train (legitimately) passed through the section without a token, a practice unique to British Railways. This arrangement operated right up to the closure of the S&D in 1966.
Accident
Combe Down tunnel had no intermediate ventilation and there were significant problems with fumes. On 20 November 1929, the driver and fireman of a northbound goods train were overcome by smoke. The train was moving very slowly in the tunnel due to a heavy load and due to starting from a standstill at . The locomotive, 2-8-0 No. 89
S&DJR 7F 2-8-0
The Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway 7F 2-8-0 is a class of steam locomotive designed for hauling heavy coal and goods trains. Eleven were built in two batches in 1914 and 1925, and were used until withdrawn between 1959 and 1964...
, plodded on and eventually breasted the summit of the gradient. Its downward course to Bath was accomplished more quickly, and the train ran away, crashing into the goods yard on the approach to Bath Green Park railway station
Bath Green Park railway station
Green Park railway station is a former railway station in Bath, Somerset, England. For some of its life, it was known as Bath Queen Square.-Architecture and opening:...
, killing the driver, Henry Jennings, and two railway employees in the yard.
The fumes that overcame the footplate crew were a consequence of the restricted bore, lack of ventilation shafts, the exceptional humidity and lack of breeze, and the very slow speed of the train, running tender first. The inspecting officer, Colonel A. C. Trench recommended that maximum loads should be reduced or assistant engines provided to prevent a recurrence.
Two Tunnels Shared Path
This section of the Somerset and Dorset Railway, including the tunnels, is proposed for a shared-use walking and cycling path, and planning permission for this was approved in May 2008, with much of the funding via a Sustrans 'Connect2' lottery grant.The fourth and final £100,000 tranche of Council funding is due in financial year 2011/12 when the tunnel will be equipped with a cycle-friendly surface, mobile phone coverage and lighting related to motion detectors. Bat-friendly LED technology is being considered as an alternative to high-pressure sodium lamps.