TUNEIS HIDROVIÁRIOS

Husband Bosworth Tunel

Irish Waterways

Rochdale Canal
The Rochdale Canal is a navigable broad canal in Northern England, between
Manchester and Sowerby Bridge, part of the connected system of the canals of Great
Britain. Its name refers to the town of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, through which
it passes.

The Rochdale is a broad canal because its locks are wide enough to allow vessels of
14 feet width. The canal runs for 32 miles (51 km) across the Pennines from the
Bridgewater Canal at Castlefield Basin in Manchester to join the Calder and Hebble
Navigation at Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire.

As built, the canal had 92 locks. Whilst the traditional lock numbering has been retained
on all restored locks, and on the relocated locks, the canal now has 91. Locks 3 and 4
have been replaced with a single deep lock, Tuel Lane Lock, which is numbered 3/4.
Huffler and Arkholm rising in lock no 2 before the Tuel Lane Tunnel
Severn (Inglaterra)

Harecastle Tunnel

The original Harecastle Tunnel was was designed by James Brindley. The longest
tunnel in the world at the time, it took eleven years to build, was one and three-quarter
miles long, and opened in 1777, five years after Brindley's death. Teams of "leggers"
propelled boats through the towpathless tunnel, taking two to three hours for the
 journey. Not surprisingly, the tunnel became a serious bottleneck, and a second tunnel
was built with Thomas Telford as consultant engineer. With advances in tunnel
engineering, the new tunnel was completed, including a towpath, in just three years,
opening in 1827.

Until the early years of the 20th century, Brindley's tunnel was used for southbound
boats and Telford's for northbound, but in 1914 Brindley's tunnel, badly affected by
mining subsidence, was abandoned.

Sapperton Tunnel

Sapperton Tunnel on the Thames and Severn Canal was opened on 20 April 1789, under
the highest part of the Cotswolds. At 3817 yards (3490 metres) it was at the time the
longest tunnel ever dug in England, though now it is the third longest canal tunnel. It
took five years to dig (mostly by hand though gunpowder was also used through the
rocky sections) which was only a year longer than originally intended, and was much
faster than most contemporary tunnels.

The tunnel passes through solid limestone and Fullers earth. In the limestone sections
the tunnel is carved out of the greater oolite rock and is unlined. Fullers earth is a clay-
like substance which expands and shrinks depending on its water content. The tunnel
was lined with brick arching through the Fullers earth. This section of the Thames and
Severn Canal was abandoned in 1927, and roof falls in the brick lined sections blocked
the tunnel.

At the Coates end the tunnel passes through solid limestone for over 1km (half a mile)
and it is from here that the boat trips operate on winter Sundays. The water level
fluctuates wildly depending on the amount of rainfall and it is not always possible for
the trip boat to operate. Trips run every Sunday from November starting at 12:00pm and
finishing at dusk. The trip takes about 35 minutes. Trust volunteers steer and crew the
boat which is powered by a quiet, pollution free electric motor. Flood lights illuminate
the way.

The Old Brindley Harecastle Tunnel

Scans from a  photo of the Harecastle Tunnel keepers board of photos. 

The original photographs were taken by Robin Witter during a canoe expedition in
1979.
After inspection
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Development issues: Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan accompanied by adviser to

the Government on Inland Waterways Admiral B.R. Menon coming out after inspecting
the 127-year-old Sivagiri tunnel near Varkala on Friday. -
Varkala
 Hotels/Resorts in Varkala
Varkala - Photogallery
Other Destinations in Kerala
More about Kerala

Varkala is a coastal and pilgrim town located 51 km north of Thiruvananthapuram. The place
is a natural paradise for tourists.It is an attraction for its unlimited potential and infinite charm
where tourists enjoy a wide range of pursuits like boat riding, sun bath and ayurveda. Varkala
is also an important religious place for the Hindus.The Papanasam Beach at Varkala is a
quiet, secluded beach known for its white, silvery stretch of sand, mineral springs and rocky
cliffs. The final resting place of Sree Narayana Guru, the great social reformer of Kerala, is
near Varkala, atop a hill named Sivagiri. High cliffs with mineral springs rising majestically is a
scene typical of Varkala.

According to a myth, sage Narada was approached by a group of mendicants who confessed
to having sinned. Narada threw his valkkalam (the bark of tree which the mythical sage used
to wear) into the air, and the place where it landed was subsequently named Varkala. The
mendicants were directed by Narada to offer their prayers in the newly created place by the
seashore. The place where they prayed for redemption came to be known as the
Papanasham Beach (Papanasham means redemption from sins). For more information, visit :
varkkala.com

Varkala Map
           
  

Sapperton Tunnel

On the Thames and Severn Canal

Blisworth Tunnel , Blisworth, Northamptonshire, UK.

All pictures are presented at relatively low resolution.  There will be hundreds of pictures
on this site - there is an economic limit to the webspace available.  The point of this
presentation is that you can see for yourself the extent of the collection and return later
as the collection expands - as it surely will.  Any interest in copies of a picture at a
higher resolution (ie. clarity) should be directed through contacts given in the Blisworth
"Round and About" parish council publication or using the comment form on the home
page.  In some cases the pictures are not available due to copyright restrictions. 
However, permission has been obtained, where possible, to include them here.  Printed
below each image is the photographer's name, if known.

 Please use the Search Box on the homepage to get the most out of this
website
Back to Home Page

Link to the Northampton Branch of the Inland Waterways Association

A revised Story of the c. 1800 Construction of Blisworth Tunnel

This link takes you to a two page feature on the 1982 -1984 Tunnel repairs
07-01 Pre-1903 as
evidenced by the
failing brickwork at the
north portal. As shown
by Millner's photos at
BW Archives, the
repair work was carried
out between Dec 1902
and Oct 1903 by
removing only the
facing layer of bricks,
building a new arch
just in front and filling
the space between with
concrete.  Note that the
stable hut is absent in
this photo circa 1900
but it is present in
some of Millner's
photos of 1903.

It may be assumed that

the stable building at
the top of the path was
taken down c 1903.
07-02  This picture
shows the substantial
backwards angle to
which the brickwork of
the portal was set.  The
same set was made at
the South Portal - the
brickwork is still in
reasonable condition.

 
07-03  The special
harness for the horse
can just be made out. 
Date uncertain - the
north portal re-built
many years by this
time.
 07-04  The boat is the
steam tug "Hasty"
which was employed to
pull a group of narrow
boats (08-09) through
the tunnel.  At the end,
the tug would turn and
return with a group of
boats going in the
opposite direction. 
This routine was
introduced after serious
accidents and some
loss of life, in
Victorian times, due to
steam boats meeting in
the tunnel - see
footnote below.

Tugs were in
continuous use from 26
April 1871, when the
members of the
Leggers Fraternity
were pensioned off,  to
30 Sept 1936.

A log for one typical

week in 1928 is to be
found here. 

Footnote:   A serious accident in 1861 was followed by a ghost story that persists to this
day.
07-05
07-20   A team of
tunnel workers
photographed by the
chief engineer Thomas
Millner.  Date 1910
 

07-21   Bricklayers
team led by Frank
Ratledge (in the centre)
c. 1950.

 
07-06 George
Gunthorpe in Blisworth
Tunnel (either 1960 or
Oct/Nov 1965) - a
bricklayer for British
Waterways.  The wall
is specified as two
brick lengths in
thickness.  He is
standing in a boat as
the work is above the
water level.  If repairs
have to be done at a
lower level the section
of canal has to be
pumped out between
tight fitting wooden-
framed stanks as shown
in 07-07a below.
07-07
07-22   Also dated
circa 1960 - grout
injection into cavities
behind the brick wall
through protruding
pipes which can be
seen towards the top of
the picture.
07-07a  This was
photographed in 1910,
being one of the years
in which a considerable
amount of repair work
was needed.  The
carefully fixed wooden
barrier to retain canal
water is called a stank.
07-21a   An archival
picture of the tunnel
showing bulging
sections.
07-07b   A common
weakness of the
tunnel's brick lining is
the ventshafts and their
junction with the
tunnel.  Shown here is
an access from the top
of the shaft using a gin
wheel for lowering
both materials and
labourers.
  

07-08  The extra

railings and the small
shed above the portal
brickwork were there
around 1948 - 53.   The
shed housed a pump to
extract water from a
spring and pump it to a
holding tank by the
rear of the new
Connegar Leys
development.  The tank
was set up on an angle
iron frame and
provided water in the
early years until mains
water was established
in c. 1953/4.

Footnote:   The Towcester Rural District Council also filled tanks set upon wagons to
distribute water to village houses with a failed supply in the early 1950's  - see the
Miscellaneous section and the article on village sewers and water supplies.
07-09 Taken in 1982
while the tunnel was
emptied for major
repairs to a long
section in the centre. 
This became a road for
trucks shifting
materials and concrete
sections.

The subject of the 1982

- 1984 tunnel repairs is
dealt with in more
detail in separate
feature pages.
07-09a  Once dry for
the 1982 repairs, the
canal tunnel was
converted to a road
tunnel and a ramp and
turning area was
established. Truck
drivers had to become
accustomed to
reversing a distance of
half a mile.
07-09b  The whole
length of the dry tunnel
was lit by power from
a temporary grid
connection.  Note that
the row of  lights
appear to go upwards. 
This seems to be the
effect of taking the
photograph from a
higher than usual
viewpoint.
07-10  Date c. 1984  
The appearance of the
renewed section based
on a circular profile.
07-12a   Pictured
1983/4 the substantial
township which had
grown in the field to
the south of the tunnel
entrance is enhanced
with a snow dusting.

The tunnel at 3056

yards long is very
nearly dead straight
and much credit must
go to the Georgian
engineers.  On clear
days with low traffic,
the other end can be
easily seen from the
towpath at the
Blisworth end.  This is
best in winter.  Use of
binoculars is
advisable.  In this
photo I have enlarged
the sight of the far
end by 10 times to
give an impression of a
tunnel only 305 yards
long.

The tunnel actually

"wriggles" by over 1
metre in and out and
something similar
happens to the roof. 
The far end can be seen
only over a rather
narrow range of
positions.  Start by
standing, with both feet
on the brick wharf,
near to the edge and
work backwards, away
from the tunnel mouth,
until you get to the end
of the wharf. Now, if
you move, you can see
the view being cut off
because of the non-
straight sides.  Hang on
to kids doing this!!
      
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