Dinmore Tunnel
Construction
When the S&HR was opened in November 1863, it was a single track throughout. However, all infrastructure was made wide enough to accommodate twin tracks throughout apart from the Dinmore Tunnel which, owing to the uncertain rock strata, was left as a single bore. The engineer, Mr Pollard, recommended that if the line were to be doubled, then a second tunnel should be constructed. When the S&HR became a joint line of the London & North Western and the Great Western and West Midland Railways, they pursued the second tunnel option.
The tunnels are split-level - the track on the up line to Leominster being at a higher level than the down line to Hereford, both are 1,054 yards (964 m) long and the line speed through both is 80 miles per hour (130 km/h).
References
- ^ "Dinmore Tunnel - Suck it and See". Rail Engineer UK. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ Conolly, W. Philip (January 1976). British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer (5th ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 9, section B1. ISBN 0-7110-0320-3. EX/0176.
- ^ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 79. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
- ^ "149" (Map). Hereford and Leominster. 1:50,000. Landranger. Ordnance Survey. 2014. ISBN 978-0-319-26247-4.
- ^ "What and Wherefore - Dinmore Tunnels". Railway Magazine. Vol. 127, no. 959. March 1981. p. 159. ISSN 0033-8923.
- ^ Simpson, Helen J (1997). The day the trains came; the Herefordshire railways, those who built them and those who rejoiced when they arrived. Leominster: Gracewing. p. 44. ISBN 0-85244-374-9.
- ^ Bridge, Mike (2010). Railway Track Diagrams; Western (Fifth ed.). Bradford-On-Avon: Trackmaps. p. 27B. ISBN 978-0-9549866-6-7.
External links
- Photographs of the tunnels and geographical references
- Dinmore Tunnel Ranked 15th Longest Surviving GWR Tunnel
52°09′25″N 2°42′56″W / 52.15699°N 2.71555°W