July 2009

It's easy to take for granted the awesome endeavours of 19th Century railway pioneers which thread us through, around or over the nation's natural barriers. It was an age of speculative adventure, built on innovation, will power and elbow grease.

But many magnificent creations were abandoned during the industrial vandalism of the Fifties and Sixties. Forgotten Relics of an Enterprising Age celebrates some of them.
Operating Notices

Welcome to the July update of Forgotten Relics.

I'm not alone in enjoying a good root around old railway tunnels; far from it.

Last weekend, Combe Down Tunnel had an open day attended by several hundred people, keen for a taster of what Bath's Two Tunnels Greenway will offer when it opens for business in a couple of years time. We headed south for the preview.

Des Phillips has been exploring a tunnel too but without venturing underground. He took a tour from Scarcliffe towards Bolsover, checking out any surface clues to the area's notorious subterranean tube.

One of our main features for July is of Sandsend Tunnel which, like Combe Down, is a substantial structure at around one mile in length. Our gallery is supplemented by pictures from Neil Cholmondeley's collection showing both portals in operational times. Our Ravenscar and Kettleness tunnel pages have also been updated with shots from Neil's archive.
New this month
Alston Arches
Viaducts, first and foresome, are functional structures. But some, thanks to the Victorians' ethos of quality, are so much more than that.
Sandsend Tunnel
Sandsend is a tunnel which never should have been. And if nature gets her way, bits of it will never be again.
Combe Down Open Day
What did you do on June's last Saturday? For several hundred south-westerners, venturing underground was the order of the day.
as well as...
Rugby
Viaduct
One of our oldest disused viaducts awaits its new life as a foot and cycle path.
Above Bolsover Tunnel
Des Phillips finds clues to the subterranean world beneath Bolsover's limestone ridge.
Cefn Glas Tunnel
What do you do with a tunnel when the railway has done with it? Mine it for coal.

You can reach pages about these relics by clicking on their name.

Across the site, new content is identified by a symbol whilst updated pages have a .
Main site areas
The site has stories about some of our more notable railway relics, with a hike through their history and reminiscences from those who worked there. You'll also find galleries showing dozens of bridges, viaducts, tunnels, earthworks, stations and junctions.
News stories
Recent online coverage of our disused network.
Bridges & viaducts
Great structures spanning a gap.
Tunnels & earthworks
Holes blasted through hills.
Stations & junctions
Destinations torn from the timetable.

All the site areas are available via links in the tab bar and right hand column.

We'll add more relics over the coming months. We hope you enjoy your visit and come back to see more Forgotten Relics soon.

Back to the top
Forgotten Relics is part of the UK Rail Enthusiast's Webring. To visit other sites with related content, click on the links below.