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with two sets of
Campbell producer plant for 77 b.h.p. engines, two 77 b.h.p. Campbell gas engines, two 45 Kw direct current “Witton” dynamos and switchboard equipment. This charged a set of accumulators which were fitted in two accumulator boats built by Bullivant and Co. of Millwall, one being in use whilst the other was being charged. The tug fitted with electric motors was fed by the accumulators. The tug hauled itself through the tunnel by means of winding a cable which lay on the bottom of the canal and was secured at each end of the tunnel. The tug was capable of hauling a train of 17 boats through the tunnel in about 40 minutes at a charge of 6d a boat (equivalent to £3.03 in 2023).
486:, was contracted to carry out the work. Construction started on Tuesday 13 April 1824 when the first clod was cut on the Pottery side. Due to advances in civil engineering, the larger tunnel was completed after only three years of work, and at a cost of £113,000 (equivalent to £12.4 million in 2023). The principal works were completed on 24 November 1826 when James Caldwell, chairman of the company, laid the last brick. It was opened for navigation on 30 April 1827.
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504:. As the tunnels led directly to the underground workings of the collieries, coal could be loaded straight into boats avoiding the need for it to be hauled to the surface. The tunnels also helped provide much-needed drainage for the mines. Only small narrowboats with 10 t (11 tons) capacity could use these side tunnels.
507:
Settlement in the tunnel lowered the headroom, and the towpath subsided beneath the water in places. As a result, an electric tug was introduced in 1914 at a cost of £1,563 (equivalent to £190,000 in 2023). A generating station and gas producer house were erected at the southern end of the tunnel
444:
had resulted in rapid growth and increased demand for coal and other raw materials in the
Potteries. However, as the canal tunnel was only 12 ft (3.7 m) high at its tallest point and had a maximum width of 9 ft (2.7 m), its limited capacity had become a major problem. In the early
456:
Regular engineering inspections of the disused
Brindley tunnel ceased in the 1960s. Since then, no further exploration of the interior has been made beyond any significant distance from the north or south portals. Both entrances are gated and are no longer reachable by boat. Water entering the canal
368:. Construction began in 1770 when the surveyed route of the tunnel was marked over the hill. Fifteen vertical shafts were then sunk into the ground from which navvies mined outwards from the bottom of the shafts to create the canal line. However, changes in rock type which ranged from soft earth to
481:
Due to the amount of traffic and the slow process of legging, Brindley's
Harecastle Tunnel had become a major bottleneck on the Trent and Mersey Canal by the start of the 19th century. By the early 1820s, a commission decided that a second tunnel was required. The esteemed Scottish civil engineer,
489:
As it had a towpath, horses could now pull boats through the 2,926 yd (2,676 m) tunnel greatly shortening journey times. The towpath was built on a series of arches which allowed for circulation of water as boats were hauled through the tunnel. The boats using the tunnel had a beam of 7
511:
A second tug was added in 1931. The tug operated until 1954 when system of 3×38 inches (97 cm) fans was constructed at the south portal to improve ventilation for diesel-powered craft. While boats are within the tunnel an airtight door is shut so fresh air is constantly drawn through the
379:
were introduced to operate pumps. Stoves were installed at the bottom of upcast pipes to overcome the problem of ventilation. Despite the death of
Brindley in 1772, the first tunnel – which measured 2,880 yd (2,630 m) long – was completed in 1777. On opening, it overtook
399:
their way through the tunnel. Legging was done by lying on the roof of a boat and using the feet to push forward against the tunnel walls. It was slow hard work. Travel times through the tunnel averaged three hours. While the narrowboats went via the tunnel,
348:. As the Telford tunnel is only wide enough for a single boat, canal traffic is managed by sending alternating northbound and southbound groups of boats through the tunnel. Ventilation is provided by large electric fans at the south portal.
519:, chairman of the British Waterways Board. During this time, the long-disused towpath was removed to increase the width of the tunnel and improve air capacity in the tunnel.
123:
515:
In the latter part of the 20th century, the
Telford tunnel suffered further subsidence resulting in its temporary closure in 1973. It was reopened on 2 April 1977 by
314:. The tunnel, which is 1.6 mi (2.6 km) long, was once one of the longest in the country. Its industrial purpose was for the transport of coal to the
333:
Although described singularly as a tunnel, Harecastle is actually two separate but parallel tunnels built almost 50 years apart. The first was constructed by
1006:
490:
feet (2.1 m) and their maximum load was 30 tons. The time occupied in a single journey with a boat hauled by a horse was about 90 minutes.
437:) monitored the movement of the tow-horses, who were often led by boat children, as they crossed the high ground between Kidsgrove and Tunstall.
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tunnel. The fans protect boaters from the harmful build-up of diesel fumes. Modern journey times are now about 30–40 minutes.
563:
117:
78:
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It was used in conjunction with the
Brindley tunnel, with each tunnel taking boat traffic in opposite directions.
344:
Only the
Telford tunnel remains navigable after a partial collapse closed the Brindley tunnel shortly before the
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449:. Brindley tunnel was used for the rest of the 19th century until it began to suffer an increase in
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Inside the
Telford tunnel are the remains of a series of smaller canal tunnels that connected to
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Within years of the
Brindley tunnel opening, its limitation in design soon became evident. The
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were led over Harecastle Hill via "Boathorse Road". A lodgekeeper (now Bourne Cottage at
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in the early 20th century. In 1914 it was closed permanently after a partial collapse.
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822:"Move to Speed up Canal Traffic. New System of Ventilation through Harecastle Tunnel"
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19:
This article is about the canal tunnel. For the railway tunnels at Harecastle, see
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into the canal (responsible for the rusty colour of the water). Installation of
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from the Brindley tunnel has been blamed for much of the prominent iron ore
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388:(also bored by Brindley) as the longest tunnel on Britain's canal network.
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473:
601:
A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland
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The first tunnel through Harecastle Hill was designed by canal engineer,
322:. The canal runs under the 195 m (640 ft) Harecastle Hill near
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in the late 18th century and the second larger tunnel was designed by
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19th century, it was decided that a second tunnel should be built by
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651:
The Mechanics' Magazine, Museum, Register, Journal, and Gazette
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at the northern portal to filter the water has been proposed.
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The fan room above the southern portal of the Telford tunnel
741:"Canal Tunnel Haulage on the North Staffordshire Railway"
908:(8th ed.). Central Waterways Supplies. p. 17.
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The overgrown southern portal of the Brindley tunnel
589:
British History Online, accessed 21 September 2016.
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375:The tunnel sites also flooded regularly until
906:Pearson's Canal Companion: Four Counties Ring
587:, ed. J G Jenkins (London, 1963), pp. 81-104.
585:A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 8
40:Northern end of Telford's Harecastle Tunnel (
8:
28:
925:
34:
27:
794:"Electrical Haulage in Harecastle Tunnel"
575:
44:) next to the disused Brindley tunnel (
893:– via British Newspaper Archive.
865:– via British Newspaper Archive.
837:– via British Newspaper Archive.
809:– via British Newspaper Archive.
756:– via British Newspaper Archive.
725:– via British Newspaper Archive.
697:– via British Newspaper Archive.
559:List of canal tunnels in Great Britain
16:Canal tunnel in Staffordshire, England
667:The BP Book of Industrial Archaeology
7:
734:
732:
878:"Harecastle open to traffic again"
14:
682:"Tunnel through Harecastle Hill"
543:
529:
341:, and opened in the late 1820s.
1007:1827 establishments in England
855:Wolverhampton Express and Star
624:Richardson, Christine (2004).
1:
850:"Tunnel trouble closes canal"
626:James Brindley: Canal Pioneer
564:Listed buildings in Kidsgrove
372:caused engineering problems.
857:. England. 18 September 1973
1023:
992:Transport in Staffordshire
829:. England. 9 December 1954
326:, the highest district in
266:2,675 metres (2,926 yards)
18:
997:Tunnels completed in 1827
950:
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933:
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904:Pearson, Michael (2007).
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21:Harecastle railway tunnel
987:Tunnels in Staffordshire
977:Canal tunnels in England
801:. England. 8 August 1914
799:Staffordshire Advertiser
767:Rolt, L. T. C. (2000) .
710:"Trent and Mersey Canal"
689:. England. 21 April 1824
424:53.0825722°N 2.2432639°W
208:53.0845667°N 2.2442333°W
170:53.0629500°N 2.2265667°W
982:Works of Thomas Telford
885:. England. 2 April 1977
599:A. W. Skempton (2002).
320:Staffordshire Potteries
242:Canal & River Trust
972:Trent and Mersey Canal
954:Sapperton Canal Tunnel
883:Staffordshire Sentinel
827:Staffordshire Sentinel
748:. England. 4 July 1914
669:. David & Charles.
665:Cossons, Neil (1987).
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429:53.0825722; -2.2432639
361:
300:Trent and Mersey Canal
213:53.0845667; -2.2442333
175:53.0629500; -2.2265667
143:Trent and Mersey Canal
771:. Sutton Publishing.
717:. England. 5 May 1827
537:United Kingdom portal
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442:Industrial Revolution
391:As the tunnel had no
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101:53.07417°N 2.23639°W
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715:Birmingham Journal
654:. M. Salmon. 1841.
603:. Thomas Telford.
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395:, boatsmen had to
386:Chesterfield Canal
377:Watt steam engines
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106:53.07417; -2.23639
960:
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951:Succeeded by
915:978-0-9549116-8-3
289:Harecastle Tunnel
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220:(Northern Portal)
182:(Southern Portal)
118:OS grid reference
29:Harecastle Tunnel
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382:Norwood Tunnel
370:Millstone Grit
366:James Brindley
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328:Stoke-on-Trent
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415:2°14′35.75″W
412:53°4′57.26″N
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274:No (removed)
199:2°14′39.24″W
161:2°13′35.64″W
158:53°3′46.62″N
25:
769:Narrow Boat
427: /
402:boat horses
230:Constructed
211: /
196:53°5′4.44″N
173: /
104: /
79:Coordinates
966:Categories
948:1777–1789
570:References
502:Goldenhill
498:coal mines
451:subsidence
324:Goldenhill
1002:Kidsgrove
463:reed beds
308:Kidsgrove
248:Technical
233:1824–1827
225:Operation
92:2°14′11″W
89:53°4′27″N
73:, England
63:Kidsgrove
929:Records
523:See also
459:leaching
312:Tunstall
306:between
139:Waterway
124:SJ843529
67:Tunstall
59:Location
54:Overview
500:around
393:towpath
384:on the
318:in the
298:on the
271:Towpath
912:
889:26 May
861:26 May
833:26 May
805:26 May
775:
752:26 May
721:26 May
693:26 May
632:
607:
296:tunnel
263:Length
131:Status
316:kilns
293:canal
291:is a
238:Owner
149:Start
46:right
910:ISBN
891:2024
863:2024
835:2024
807:2024
773:ISBN
754:2024
723:2024
695:2024
630:ISBN
605:ISBN
310:and
134:Open
42:left
397:leg
302:in
282:Yes
187:End
65:to
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731:^
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69:,
48:).
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23:.
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