Penmanshiel Tunnel is a now-disused railway tunnel near Grantshouse, Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland. It was formerly part of the East Coast Main Line between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Dunbar.
The tunnel was constructed between 1845 and 1846 by contractors Ross and Mitchell, to a design by John Miller, who was the engineer to the North British Railway.[1] Upon completion, the tunnel was inspected by the inspector-general of railways, Major-General Charles Pasley, on behalf of the Board of Trade.[1]
The tunnel was 244 metres (267 yd) long, and carried two running lines in a single bore.[1]
During its 134-year existence, the tunnel was the location of two incidents investigated by HM Railway Inspectorate. The first was in 1949, when a serious fire destroyed two carriages of a south-bound express from Edinburgh. Seven passengers were injured, but there were no deaths.[2]
The second incident occurred on 17 March 1979 when, during improvement works, a length of the tunnel suddenly collapsed. Thirteen workers managed to escape, but two were killed. Later it was determined that it would be too dangerous and difficult to rebuild the tunnel, so it was sealed up and a new alignment was made for the railway, in a cutting to the west of the hill.[3]
The tunnel was also affected by severe flooding in August 1948.
^ abcdMcNaughton 1983, para. 1.
^Walker 1950, introduction.
^McNaughton 1983, introduction.
and 29 Related for: Penmanshiel Tunnel information
PenmanshielTunnel is a now-disused railway tunnel near Grantshouse, Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland. It was formerly part of...
the Penmanshieltunnel collapse in the Scottish Borders in 1979 necessitated urgent works to divert the line around the irreparably-damaged tunnel; ultimately...
introduced in May 1979, but was delayed until late August due to the PenmanshielTunnel collapse. The HSTs reduced the London-Edinburgh journey time by up...
alterations were successfully completed at Stoke and Peascliffe, but PenmanshielTunnel collapsed in March 1979 while work was underway, killing two workers...
The infrastructure of the East Coast Main Line consists of the tunnels, viaducts and bridges on the East Coast Main Line as well as the line-side monitoring...
56-year-old driver. The crash forced the first carriage into the roof of the tunnel at the front and back, but the middle remained on the trackbed; the 16-metre-long...
coordinates) This is a list of road, railway, waterway, and other tunnels in the United Kingdom. A tunnel is an underground passageway with no defined minimum length...
Channel Tunnel fire of 18 November 1996 occurred on a train carrying Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and their drivers through the Channel Tunnel from France...
the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War. 1979 – The PenmanshielTunnel collapses during engineering works, killing two workers. 1985 – Serial...
was inevitable. The express caught the light engines just after Moorcock Tunnel near Aisgill summit in Mallerstang and was almost wholly derailed. Casualties...
The Summit Tunnel fire occurred on 20 December 1984, when a dangerous goods train caught fire while passing through the Summit Tunnel on the railway line...
Africa's continuous acts of aggression in Angola. March 17 – The PenmanshielTunnel in the UK collapses, killing two workers. March 19 – C-SPAN, an American...
people died and 46 were injured as a result of a rear-end collision in a tunnel, caused by driver error after a signal failure. This was the worst accident...