The railway tunnel between Walsden and Littleborough was begun in 1837 for the Manchester & Leeds Railway Company.
The line from Hebden Bridge to Summit was opened to public transport on 1st March 1841 as a section of the Manchester-Normanton line of the Manchester & Leeds Railway Company. The opening had been delayed by a railway accident during an experimental run through the Tunnel.
It cost £251,000 to construct. At any one time, between 800 and 1200 men were working on the tunnel. 9 workmen died during the construction. It used 23,000,000 bricks and 8,000 tons of cement. George Stephenson regarded the Tunnel as the greatest piece of railway engineering he had achieved.
The original contracted cost was £33 per yard. In April 1845, the cost was said to have been £97 per yard.
At 21 ft 6 ins high, 23 ft wide, and 2937 yards in length, it was the longest Tunnel in the world at that time. It held the record for about 4 weeks until Box Hill Tunnel beat it by 400 yards.
A facade at Summit Tunnel West has the only known example of the arms of the Manchester & Leeds Railway.
On 10th December 1839, a train crashed during an experimental run.
A man was killed in the Tunnel on 12th May 1860.
On 12th November 1901, the Tunnel flooded.
There was a collision in the Tunnel on 8th February 1922.
On 31st March 1932, 2 men were killed by a train in the tunnel.
On 16th September 1966, a man was killed when he fell down a ventilation shaft.
About 6:00 am on 20th December 1984, a goods train was pulling 13 petrol tankers through the Tunnel at Todmorden, when 4 of the tankers derailed and caught fire 300 ft below ground. There was an explosion, and flames roared 150 ft into the air through the ventilation shafts making a spectacular sight. The heat melted the bricks lining the tunnel. The fire was finally extinguished 3 days later. No-one was injured. Because of the fire, the tunnel was closed until August 1985
See Philip Crowther, Dean Royd Tunnel, Walsden, Eastwood Congregational Chapel and Hebden Bridge Station
Page Ref: MMS260
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