Nottingham's Lost & Forgotten Railway Tunnel
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- čas přidán 2. 10. 2021
- Please watch: "The Most Beautiful Closed Railway in the UK? Scarborough to Whitby Railway Episode 2"
• The Most Beautiful Clo... -~-
Nottingham's Lost Tunnel
In this video we are back on the former Great Central Railway in Nottingham.
We visit a long forgotten and abandoned Railway Tunnel sat sleeping below the streets of Nottingham for more than 50 years.
Bricked up & buried, we dive in and explore this time capsule of railway history and uncover what sits undisturbed in the darkness below as the city above sleeps.
Welcome to Sherwood Rise Tunnel
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#disusedrailway #greatcentralrailway #mansfieldroadtunnel #sherwoodrisetunnel Additional Music by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0.
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Great video mate but sad at the same time. My grandad was a footplate man on the GC based at Staveley in Derbyshire. He worked trains via Nottingham Vic so would have passed through this tunnel many times. The GC Main Line should never have closed, it was fast straight route to London, a ready-made HS2! Nottingham VIctoria was also a masterpiece of Victorian engineering and design and put the Midland Station to shame. Oh how things should have been different, closing the line was official vandalism at its worst and one of the tragedies of the 60s.
The Midland couldn't wait to close the GC and British Rail was full of Midland men. I live one mile from Rothley Station where the heritage railway still runs on double tracks in places. Interesting to see anything GC related thanks.
I’ve worked in a lot of tunnels on the Rail…. This is very dry…. Oh! I get really cross when I see anything disused particularly GCR… what level of lunacy closes a transport system that goes underground!?!
The tunnels in Nottingham north of Victoria Station were begun in 1894. Four shafts were sunk two at each portal and two spaced evenly between the two, A bottom heading was constructed 14 feet by 14 feet. Steam cranes situated at the top of each construction shaft lifted out the muck for the heading. The tunnels were later widened out to the finished size. The sandstone was deemed strong enough to use for the side walls, the tunnel roof was only a precaution. Brick side walls were used for the first 9 meters or so from the north and south portals. The large refuges 10 feet by 10 feet were spaced every 1/4 mile for the use of the plate layers. For more information about Nottingham's tunnels consult a book entitled THE ENGINEERS AND CONTRACTORS published in 2020 Five Leaves Nottingham.
Thank you so much for this amazing amount of information. I shall keep a look out for this book too 🙂
Thank you for watching 😃
This railway was built as a fast route to London and should have been the HS2 route from the North to London
The original plan from Sir Edward Watkin was for the line to head to the channel and a rail tunnel to Paris…
HS2 shouldn't be happening
I have been in the Mansfield Road tunnel, as a child, we entered from where the hole/car park of Victoria Centre is now we came out somewhere near the Goose Fair Island , I think near where the Open University is now
Nottingham has plenty of history to offer. I am very thankful that this chanel show me what I always wanted to see. I waited 23 years to see these footages. Thank you very much
I'm so very pleased you enjoyed it. I'll do my best to keep finding places around the city
Thank you very. I learn a lot from the video
I have walked through the tunnel with some of my mates back in the early 70s .when we were teenagers.
I don't think I'll ever get the opportunity to do Mansfield Road Tunnel. Thanks for watching 🙂
The closure of our forth north to south mainline in this country will never stop infuriating me. I know that it doubled the Midland Mainline in many places, but it still had so much potential, either as a relief line, or a freight line at the very least
Stunning photos inside the tunnel with the yellow breaking through the old layers of ash, brilliantly captured.
A striking disused old industrial and once nightmarishly choking environment now becoming a thing of beauty. Great work on this vid. 👌
Greetings from Ontario Canada 🇨🇦, I used to play down there in the late 70’s prior to filling in - as a kid it was a spectacular place a lot of the buildings were intact and you could walk right through to Carrington then the Mansfield tunnel and cross through the parking garage and out to weekday cross, the foolishness of Beeching was evident insofar that this route could have been saved and tied in with the Nottingham Surburban Railway to make a radiating tram network and then later HS2 - hopefully they dig it all back up and utilize it ‘Down the Line
Thanks for doing this and the Jean Michel Jarre definitely a soundtrack to my youth as I feel a part of myself is perpetually in time with that sandstone ❤️
Awwww I'm glad you enjoyed this and it returned some happy memories. I feel Mansfield Road Tunnel will be one that shall always elude me sadly. I agree about what could have been an amazing addition to the tram network. If not for that both tunnels would have been superb used as traffic free routes into the city. Thank you for watching 🙂
@@TrekkingExploration - I have wonderful memories of Mansfield road tunnel - I should have filled a jar with its musty scent I can still remember the crunching of gravel too 😆
i used to play and go in these tunnels too in the mid 70's ....just a note here,it was the socialists , the labour party that closed the lines, beeching only compiled a report,he had no power .Labour did not close all his lines but closed 100s of miles on top of the report.Then gave beeching an award
@bobtudbury8505
Strange. It was Conservative transport minister, Ernest Marple, who instigated Beechings report and oversaw the closure of a considerable portion of the national railway network
We should be opening these for tours!
Enjoy your videos. Moms family came from Draycott in the 1600s to the US.
This brings back some childhood memories we used to enter that cutting from Formans Cricket ground and climb the sandstone cliffs. The hardest part was to climb on top of the portal it was a shear drop lol. We also used to enter from Haydn Road next to the station house (which is still there) prior to the new housing development mid 1980`s. Great time exploring as kids shame kids now days do not have that sense of adventure !
Thank you so much for sharing your excellent videos about the tunnels under Nottingham. I’ve been fascinated by the GCR ever since I was a student at Loughborough. Even though this fine railway seems gone for good, I like to keep optimistic about this line, and many like it. Times change, and so do people’s needs. One day these tunnels will be put put back good use again. Either as a high-speed line, as part of the tram network - or as a cycle route. It is just a matter of time. The tunnels have been capped, but they haven’t been demolished - that’s impossible! 😅
excellent video👍 yes just sleeping 😴so sad hope one day they will reopen it and put it to good use hopefully a railway again 👍
Thanks Barry. Glad you enjoyed it. I'm currently out on another part of the Great Central 😃
Interested because my great grandad was a fireman/driver way back in the early 1900's and the whole family were moved down to Bletchley, from Nottinghamshire, for his work.
Ant, you must have a great source for your still shots, their great, as they draw the viewer into the story. I like the way you pick something up check it out and put it back in situ. It would be great if the person that left one those soda cans in the tunnel were watch your video all these years later and said "I left that there." Another great watch from Trekking Exploration UK. Thanks for your time and work..........
Those cans.... They were so interesting to me as they were from my period growing up and school and to find a different brand everytime was amazing. The photos are very important I feel.... I get extremely disappointed when I can't get hold of anything. Thank you for watching
@@TrekkingExploration You should never feel bad about your work, it's great. Maybe check with Martin if you ever need help when looking for pic's...
""A Medieval Culvert in Whitwick Leicestershire Explore"" is still one of my favorite videos... Stay safe, Stay strong
That is one spooky tunnel! Very atmospheric ❤😮
Oh my days… I was a nipper around 1957/9 when we lived on Pelham Road and mum used to treat me to a chocolate bar, purchased from the shop at the top of the staircase leading down to Carrington Station…I can’t believe I’m seeing this!
Thank you for filming this beautiful tunnel, which appears to be in very good, dry condition. The GCML should never have been closed, but don't get me started on Beeching! Hopefully in the near future this and other parts of the line will be opened and used again in one way or another. So much effort went in to making all this infrastructure and it should not be wasted or left to collapse. I always look at these exploration with interest, but also with sadness and anger at those who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing...
Wow that was fantastic, what a beaut tunnel. It’s incredible the colours thru there. You may not believe this but I was hoping he would have a little trip over, haha. Thanks so much for taking me along. Please stay safe and take care
That's an enthralling video. It shows the effort which was put in to almost obliterate the existence both of the tunnel and of the Grand Central railway.
Excellent presentation as always 👍
Thanks Phil. It was a unique opportunity and I'm glad I could make the most of it 😃
Howdy Ant. Great day out this one. It’s sad to think Sherwood Rise like the other tunnels are just sleeping. Hopefully they will be put in to some use again in the future. Lovely video mate.
If nothing else I'd love to see these repurposed as traffic free routes into the city centre. Glad to have you onboard for this one 🙂🙂
@@TrekkingExploration it was a pleasure and a privilege
Another cracking video , and I agree it’s a shame they can’t repurpose these as walkways.
@@musehic1953 thank you 🙂
Thank you for the sad ending of the tunnel. Thanks to Andrew for an accomplished trip. Cheers Andrew and Ant!
Me and a bunch of mates did both tunes in the 90's would of been about 14 years old. Started at Camelot Ave out at the college then in again which leads to back of vic centre car park we had to climb the car park to get home again or go back through tunnel which we didn't want to do again. We had one torch between us which the holder turned off now n then and scared us all to death. I remember the Camelot entrance went through a few changes in the years from being a full opening to a small entrance which was barred off until it was ripped off the barracading wall. The bit that scared me the most is when we got to the other end we had to climb up through an opening which was well out of my reach and friends had to leg me up and pull from top at same time. Things we do as kids. My parents would of killed me if they knew.
Fascinating to see these excellent shots of the construction, one advantage of the GCR being built so much later than many routes. That may explain why this one's in such great condition too. Thanks for taking us along.
You're a genius I love your films and your commentary clearly research each topic. Being a railway anorak I also love the old pics, but your music is sublime especially when combined with your drone footage. Thank god for shazam as I now have a new music catalog. You're on a narrowboat now and I owned one a few years ago travelling the network. Keep up the good work cheers mate.
looking forward to this , thanks from wigan ,still in lancashire , an enigma of lost railways too
Thank you. I hope you enjoyed it 🙂🙂
I love the Great Central so this was very interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed it, thank you.
I thought I'd give this a quick view whilst waiting for dinner but watched it right through and found this really, really engaging! Thank you! What a wonderful place! Thank you for sharing this. It is also a bonus that it was well filmed which (sadly) not all explores are.
A great explore and it shows how well the GCR built it's infrastructure.
Thanks for watching. Really pleased you enjoyed this one 😃
Thank you great railway industrial archeology video. Respect
Thank you so much for watching 🙂
That was great. Fabulous filming. Great find. Enjoyed that . Thank you
Thanks so much I'm pleased you enjoyed it 😃
It saddens me to see how the industrial architecture of the past is abandoned and not reused. What a waste of time, effort and money.
Great footage - I didn't know about these Tunnels!!! 🙂🚂🚂🚂
Hi Ant hope your well that was amazing I'd like to try this one out 😃
Glad you enjoyed it. It's a tricky one though....
Hello mate great video, love this content. I collected some parts from todmorden the other day. Noticed the breather tubes in the hills to then realise the village had a 2 mile long tunnel. And I then saw on CZcams the disaster when the train derailed. Absolutely fascinating, I’m sure you know all about it.
Another great video of Nottinghams Lost & Forgotten Railway Tunnel👍👍💖💖💖💖
Thank you Michael. It's nice doing the local stuff again 😃
wow we played in these tunnels in the 70s all of us from hyson green went .. the tunnel your in was as straight as a die u could just c light the other end the opp tunnel to vic centre had a slow right hand bend before you seen light also in the 70s sherwood rise tunel had army vehicles stored there for a short time and the vic tunnel was used as a air raid refuge hence the iron gate still there 2day opp grave yard on mansfield road
Facinating video, just a shame the tunnel will most likely never be used again as most of our old railway infrastructure.
You can't really appreciate the size of these tunnels until the shot shot of you climbing up the landfill, only then you can really truly realise the actual size.
Thank you so much. I agree about the infill. It made me feel pretty small
Fantastic video as always. Annoys me to think of all the manual effort the navies put into building the line, then Beeching to close it, with the ease of which most was subsequently swept away by mechanical machinery. Oh, and Monster Munch bags packets now weight a pathetic 20g....yet cost a lot more!
Unbelievable video. Thanks so much for this. I never thought I’d see behind the Northern portal, never mind the whole tunnel. God only knows how you got in here, but the lack of mention in the video makes me think cough cough wink wink Clarendon College manhole.
Question: do you ever get tempted to leave a bottle, can or crisp packet from today, for someone in 2040 to find?
Praying for Mansfield Road and Thorneywood tunnel one day!
ooohh, mind telling me where the manhole is exactly? On the old college site or on surrounding roads or? Looking to get down there with some urban explorer folks, see how far we can get. Too much of notts is hidden under the ground - about time the people reclaimed the caves mate lol.
You on fb or twitter etc? Always looking to make connects with people in the know. If you don't mind elaborating on how to get to it I can reply once I've read the comment then you can just delete it?
Soz for the ramble mate just been on a mish for ages to try and get down into the tunnels/caves around notts, especially the ahem, less spoken of ones further 'west' if you get my meaning ; P
@@DistrictWitch czcams.com/video/s9amsc3n95o/video.html
There it is. Earnest Marples and Dr Beechings work for all to see. Duplicate route was the reason and probably land real estate to be realised in prime city centres -along the former GCR. Brown envelopes abounded
Great film
I reckon the pulleys you saw are for signal wires and possibly disused for some time before the railway closed as the pictures at the start show colourlight signals outside the tunnel and these replaced the semaphore signals that the wires are for
Yes you are absolutely correct about the colour signals now you mention it. I did another stretch of this line at Wilford last week and evidence was ask there of light signal's. Glad you enjoyed it and thank you for watching
Thanks for this one Ant, something I never thought I'd get to see.
I was exactly the same, this was one I'd consigned to the never going to happen box. It just shows other places may yet be possible
@@TrekkingExploration i guess the way in is on private land Ant?
Another great video and love seeing the old tunnels of Nottingham. Did you know there a manhole cover in Clarendon college that was that leads to the Mansfield rd tunnel. Are there any plans to explore the Sherwood tunnels leading to mapperley and Thorneywood and beyond. Like I said great video keep them coming 👍
What a huge undertaking to build this and in less 80 Years it is no longer required odd that now with hs2 we may have to put things back if is to cover the areas promised..
Here in London we have not lost many lines except around Docklands or Canal Warehouses for example Camden Goods now shops and exhibition area .
Docklands has changed utterly with huge building reusing Docklands any viewers who visit London should go on DLR and Cable Car so this fascinating area can be seen….
I work near here and I have no clue where these entrances are... scratching my head.
Lots of detail in this video, keep them coming Ant 👍
Proper brickies back in the day
Absolutely. Thank you for watching
We are still around today
@@colclumper you’re so funny 🤣 they don’t use bricks it Concrete now
I believe the apparatus you found part way along one wall was part of a signal relay lever, or a 'slot' signal which was situated withing the tunnel. Relay lever to help operate a signal a long way from it's box. Would have had weight attached to ease the Signalman's pull. A Slot signal is one for which both Signalmen at each end of the block would have to pull in order for the signal to show clear. (Also meaning either man could return that signal to Danger or Caution.)
Thanks for that Ant Another great video. Loads of good detail. 👍
Thanks so much I'm pleased you enjoyed it 😃
Many thanks another interesting vlog
Thanks so much Roger 🙂
Hi mate, a tremendous explore, early start? Those long shots of the tunnel were excellent, and the one from the top of the mound was especially good. I've seen some of ALW's videos and they are excellent. Next time I see you I want to know how you got in!!!! Mansfield Road any time soon?
Thanks Jim. Glad you enjoyed it. I feel Mansfield Road Tunnel shall Sadly be one that eludes me 😔
Andy is a good lad we'll be doing stuff together again 😃
Amazing video, how did you manage to get in there? I suspect the mention of it being 5am had something to do with it? The pulley wheels were for the signal wires for the mechanical distant signals at each end of the tunnel. When I was about 3 I went through on a train from Nottingham Victoria to Derby Friargate, all I remember is it being dark and smoky in the carriage. The line was never single track while open. When Nottingham was first considering light rail the route through this tunnel and Mansfield Road tunnel was considered but the loss of the line of route north plus missing the Forest park and ride out caused the decision to build along streets instead.
Excellent video,thanks
Thanks so much Simon
SMASHING PRESENTATION
Thanks very much
Great video as always Ant, fascinating 👍
Cheers Dave. I was undecided on this one for a while then just went for it 😃
Yet another really good little film.
How about looking at the remains of what was the Midland Main line till the Bedford- London Extention opend as part of the Midland Main line. The route runs from Bedford to Hitchin and the route was used in the late 1960s for the filming of the well know film 'Those Magnificent Men in There Flying Machines' the railway tunnel on the route is the very same one that is in the film.
well done ,intresting video keep up the good work
Thanks so much Stephen I'm pleased you enjoyed it 😃
Another great video Ant
Thanks Mathew 😃😃
Excellent Video Man
Thanks so much 🙂
Great video
Thanks so much Ian
Great work guys very interesting. One of my sisters lived in West Bridgford in the 1970's so I got quite interested in the Great Central railway in fact there was a test track there, wonder if that is the one you featured in an earlier vlog? I was always fascinated by the tunnel at the North end of the Victoria centre. In those pre internet days it wasn't easy to find photos etc. Enjoyed many a trip to Loughborough, Ruddington. Hoping they will bridge the gap in my lifetime. Many thanks Ant for your really great productions they are so enjoyable.
The test track in West Bridgford was from the old Edwalton station on the Midland line to Melton Mowbray - I lived in Edwalton in the early 1970's and I remember that track being used for crash testing.
@@eddiewillers1 Many thanks for the info.
Very interesting video from New Zealand thank you as we are lockdown
Thank you for watching I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope things improve for you soon 👍👍
Nice very interesting
Thanks so much for watching
Damn subscribed to some mad notingham lad ... glad to av met yer (derby lad me. Watch it!)
great vid ant
Thanks very much 🙂
That would make a great cycle route linked up to other cycle ways!
You'd have a bit of a job getting you bike down through the man hole though.
these tunnels portholes where already there the pictures to me look like they just dug it out again maybe after a mudflood like event that happenend in the past.also we see mudflooded buildings everywhere with windows in the cellar and the building is now on a slanted landscape.
Your use of the word portal adds a certain mystery and intrigue to the whole video compared to opening or hole thanks. Was watching a doc on DNA the other day, believe it or not they could probably lift the DNA of the person / persons who have drank / touched that can since the day it was made, now that's scary.
Excellent video again! Wondering have you done the Little Eaton Jn to Denby branch before ?
All those man hours, back breaking work, possibly some deaths, for what ?? Not even 100 years of use.
Another great video, Ant. Can we hope for Mansfield Road tunnel one day?
I'd love to.... I keep trying.... Going through the official channels etc. Thank you for watching
Great video. Interesting. But couldn’t help thinking you needed more powerful torches as many of the scenes were lost in the darkness.
The torches used are already at 5100 lumens which is usually more than enough brightness. The problem was the lack of anything for the light to rebound off like brick. The extreme soot made it super dark. Thanks for watching
@@TrekkingExploration thanks for coming back and explaining
The alcoves are called "refuges" for workment to seek "refuge" in when a train passes
Thanks for a freat tour, no ventilation shafts seen, were there any ?
Excellent video - thank you. Could the tunnels be used as bat havens?
Thanks again for another great video.
Thank you Ian 😃😃
Multipack bags of Monster Munch are only 20g now 😉 Brilliant video 🙏🏻 Whilst I saw your map at the beginning, where is this on the street level?
In the same time span you can expect to pay double the price and that will be just for the wrapper contents will be extra so will the air to puff the bag up.
Necessary to protect the contents of course!.
Would you chaps be able to comment on Lady Bay Bridge and the BBC's filming there of Smiley's People with Alec Guinness in 1981 please.
its so funn they take the tracks up all over the world and then use the same routes again later tramms and trains.
the holes dug in the corners are from previous explorers wanted to see how far down the structure goes.
even in the tunnels you are mostly standing on a in fill and sediment the deeper you dig the more of the past is revealed.
Pity the line won't see another train going down the route ever again.... tragic!
Absolutely 😔 Thank you for watching
It's just crazy why this ever closed? Hs2 costing billions to make the same thing!
The GC never went anywhere near Birmingham and had to share tracks with other railways on the approach to London. It's not suitable for what HS2 is doing at all.
@@leeosborne3793 "Never went anywhere near Birmingham"
One of the best things about it! 😁
"Hunks of prawn"? How does something taste like a hunk? I certainly don't remember that Monster Munch flavour. I was alive at the time this crisp packet went out of date, but barely.
If both portals are blocked how do you get in?
Does anyone know where the wells on st Ann's Wells road are located?
What a sad waste of a beautifully engineered construction when you see some the hideous buildings around Nottingham now
I agree there are some shocking site's around sadly. Thank you for watching 🙂
Have you been in the Mansfield road tunnel I’ve seen the video from ALW but cannot find your video
It'll probably be the one after next. Next week I think.
Blimey, I thought you were going to find a pack of Spangles or even Pacers.😂
I live off Sherwood Rise and it’s a dump as is most of Forest Fields - would have rather lived back in the days when these lines were open .
Absolutely agree how nice it would have been to have seen it all at it's finest. Thank you for watching
I had no idea that tunnel was still there.
I knew it was however I never ever expected this opportunity
@@TrekkingExploration I knew about it because I have seen it on old maps and on a railway simulator video game. But I would have guess it had been completely destroyed and filled in.
I notice you insist on calling the cut outs 'Recesses', when they are specifically 'Refuges', for workers from trains.
Say a bit of both if I'm honest
Nice and dry in there, perhaps someone with a brain might consider using it as some sort of route into town, but then again it's a bit of a low headroom job, that lot would take some shifting. Did you not find an old Fanta can???!!!!😀
Fanta let me down sadly 😔 Both of these Tunnels would make fantastic traffic free routes into the city centre. Currently off to visit another short section of this route. Thank you for watching 😃
@@TrekkingExploration Always here!!👍🏻
If that hadn’t of been filled in it could of been reopened and used as train line which would be useful
Hey, that's very naughty to use one of my grandfather's photos (entrance to tunnel with horses).... no, I jest. Nice to see it. Don't know where you sourced it from but perhaps the little photo stream of mine? This can be found here: czcams.com/video/Gqz2xZwnkdc/video.html I was born just over this tunnel 76 years ago and since then I have been forever interested in mines, tunnels and whatnot. Must have been a coincidence. My grandfather took lots of pictures of Nottingham in the 1890s and there is a collection of his in the local studies section of Nottingham City libraries (or there was). Keep up the good work mate.
Be nice if someday get into mansfield road tunnel
Its not possible to get in mansfield road tunnel the only way previously was an inspection manhole but this is now welded shut to stop anyone descending the 60ft shaft to the bottom.
Ridiculous they were permitted to backfill with rubbish it’s bound to have hazardous waste in it shame on you Nottingham council
Theres a 1970s pepsi can in the mapperley tunnel
It seems crazy to be that a country can go to such lengths with its civil engineering only to abandon it all. All because they believe the car is king? I would much rather live in a world where public transport was king and you used your personal mode of transport during your days off for fun and leisure.