Venturing Off Limits - Railway and Urbex

17/03/2025

Let's help this petition get the amount of signatures they need.

It's proposed to close and demolish tollerton airport to build 1600 houses.

There's plenty of empty land to do this, they don't need to keep erasing our history for housing.

Prevent the Demolition of Tollerton Airport, Preserve our Heritage

03/03/2025

Victoria / Thurland Street Tunnel

Former Great Central Railway trains travelled through a tunnel of 392 yards in length, officially named Victoria Street but also known as Weekday Cross or Thurland Street, the latter being passed beneath for a distance of 100 yards before shops, warehouses and offices were encountered.

Its construction entailed costly and difficult work, the buildings overhead having to be carefully supported whilst tunnelling operations continued.

At the north end, the Thurland Street portion was progressed using cut-and-cover methods, although its dimensions were identical to those of the bored section, 27 feet wide but an arch spanning 29 feet, with the springings being set back on ledges 1 foot from the face of the rock.
The rise of the arch was 8 feet 6 inches whilst the crown was 20 feet above rail level. Driven though bunter sandstone, sidewalls were deemed unnecessary except for short lengths at both ends.

Excavations for the cut-and-cover section were taken down to arch springing level where the centring was fixed and brickwork turned, built in lime mortar.
The arch was 1 foot 10 inches thick at the crown and 2 feet 3 inches at the haunches.
Work on the bored tunnel began by means of a heading driven at springing level which was afterwards enlarged to the required width and height to accommodate the brickwork, 3 feet thick in places.

The foundations of several buildings were cut through and had to be supported on timbers until the arch was turned.
Afterwards they were carefully underpinned with brickwork in cement.

Although the Great Central’s freight service ended in 1968, the tunnel continued to be used as a headshunt by trains serving the plasterboard works at Rushcliffe and army depot at Ruddington.
This arrangement ended when the Loughborough curve opened in 1974, creating a connection between the Midland and Great Central main lines.
The tunnel officially closed on 8th April 1974.

Today, the site of Nottingham's Victoria Station is occupied by a soulless multi-storey car park.
The tunnel currently accommodates steam heating pipes from the city’s Cattle Market waste incinerator to flats above the shopping centre.
The southern approach cutting is now occupied by the Centre for Contemporary Art Nottingham, preventing access to the portal.

Inside the tunnel is dry and benign.
A few items of railway furniture remain fixed to the sidewalls, including signal brackets and wooden cable supports.
There is also a partly infilled bothy used by the route’s former trackworkers.

In 2018, Nottingham City Council granted access for three tours of the tunnel with around 25 guests. Since then the council revoked that access with the Council stating that the tunnel is “simply not safe”.
More than 3,000 people have since signed a petition calling for the tours to be reinstated., but nothing has come of it yet.

This is a repost as I know a few of the followers love the Nottingham tunnels and a lot of the newer followers may not have seen them, coupled with the fact this is a very rarely seen tunnel I think it deserves to be out there.

24/02/2025

Silkstone No2 Tunnel

Opened : 1880
Closed : 1981
74 Yards long

South Yorkshire Railway & River Dun Navigation extended its Worsborough Colliery branch through to Moor End pit at Silkstone in 1852.

22 years later, the line was taken over by the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway which then set about connecting it to the company’s main line at West Silkstone Junction.

This link opened on 2nd August 1880 and required two tunnels – Silkstone No.1 was the longer at 289 yards whilst, to its east, No.2 was just 74 yards.
Sadly Silkstone No 1 has a very heavy duty barrier preventing access, and a sign that states "tunnel closed danger!"

They sat near the summit of the notorious Worsborough incline which involved trains labouring up a 1:40 gradient for 3½ miles this would demand up to four locos including one or two bankers.
Even then, heavily laden coal trains would often have slowed to a crawl before reaching the top.

Fulfilling the banking role between 1925 and 1955 was a LNER Class U1 – a solitary Beyer-Garratt locomotive, built specifically for that purpose.
It was both the longest and the most powerful steam engine ever to run in Britain, featuring a motion at each end.

As a result of the climb, the tunnels were particularly poor for air quality so the Garratt’s footplate crew trialled a respirator kit which took air from close to rail level.

The tunnels are separated by a deep cutting of around 150 yards in length.
A curve to the south of 20 chains radius begins at the eastern end of No.1, extending through No.2. Lined entirely in stone, signalling cables were hung from the Up-side (north) wall whilst a troughing route was provided at the foot of the other.
Only the longer No.1 tunnel was fitted with refuges for anyone working within it.

After the Second World War, the Woodhead route, including the line through the tunnels, was prepared for electrification.
This involved cutting small holes in the lining to house supporting structures for the overhead equipment.
The remains of three such structures are to be found in No.2 tunnel.

The line from West Silkstone Junction was officially taken out of use on 20th July 1981, coinciding with Woodhead’s closure.
The trackbed was used as an unofficial footpath for some years thereafter and played a small part in a major crime: in January 1992, Michael Sams made his escape on a moped through the tunnels after collecting a ransom for the release of estate agent Stephanie Slater, whom he had kidnapped.

Since then, following mining subsidence, the east portal of No.1 tunnel has been buried and the other end securely fenced off, blocking the way.
The Trans Pennine Trail, which occupies part of the trackbed, runs above ground to the east side of the tunnels.

Silkstone No2 Tunnel is fenced one end and the other end is wide open.

22/02/2025

Ashleigh House Care Home

This care home closed down in May 2023 after a inspection by the Care Quality Commission inspection brought to light unsanitary living conditions, safety hazards and poor care within the facility.

The care home catered to 18 elderly individuals with a range of conditions including dementia, learning disabilities, substance abuse, sensory impairments and mental health needs.

The report outlines unsettling discovers which included urine soaked mattresses, faeces in residents bathrooms and unauthorised people living in private flats with free access around the building.

The report also emphasised concerns about fire safety protocols and the management teams failure to identify these issues before the inspection took place.

Nottingham Fire and Rescue service also took part in the inspection process and due to concerns about fire safety, issued a prohibition notice on the day of the inspection.

Other issues highlighted in the report, includes, the mishandling of medication by the management team, degrading treatment, neglecting ‘soft and moist’ diets for five individuals putting them at jeopardy and ‘culture of control’ as staff would not provide care plans and mental capacity assessments when asked.

The CQC was told of an incident where a resident gained access to wrongly stored medicines and ate it 'like smarties', resulting in them being hospitalised.

The care provider declined to make any comments on the findings or 'inadequate' rating but confirmed they closed their doors permanently in may.

I just find this utterly disgusting, we're meant to be able to trust these places with our family, and these users are meant to feel safe and looked after in these places, anyone who can mistreat vulnerable people (or anyone for that matter) to this extent are just a vile human beings.
Sadly some people are in it for the money and couldn't give a care at all.

Makes me sad to think even tho all the residents were mistreated, they were also settled here.. And because of the owners lack of care they've all had to up and move and most likely been separated and lost friendships and belongings in the process 😔😠.

14/02/2025

Barnston (East Leake) Tunnel

Barnston (also known as East Leake Tunnel) is a very short tunnel at only 98 yards long on the old Great Central Railway Line, which passes under what is now the A6006 and is situated a mile or so south of East Leake station.

It had a signal box located close by to control Barnstone sidings which served Normanton Hill Lime Works.

The tunnel is a little overgrown at both ends but is structurally is good condition and is ready for traffic to pass through it.
The track is single but in good condition.
The signal box and sidings have been completely removed.

This tunnel is on a heritage line, however I believe it has not seen any traffic for some time now.

I couldn't find anymore I formation about this tunnel online.

These photos were taken when the line was closed due to maintenance issues and the replacement of the A60 bridge, so no trains were running.

Explored with Walk about wazzock Steve Follows

03/02/2025

Clarence High School

Clarence High School opened in December 1984 and sadly confirmed it will close for good at the end of the summer term in 2008 (July) because of ‘financial pressures.’
(I believe the building was built in the 1960's but I'm unsure what it was used as before opening as a school)

Clarence High School is operated by Nugent Care, with the company citing ‘ongoing financial pressures’ as the reason behind its ‘extremely difficult decision’ to close.

Clarence High School provided both residential and day placements in a therapeutic setting for girls and boys aged 7 - 19 years old, with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and who may also experience associated difficulties, including those on the autistic spectrum.
Clarence High School is part of Nugent Care, a voluntary organisation that has been supporting adults, children and communities since 1881.

The most recent Ofsted report quoted: "Last year’s school leavers gained a good range of accreditations and every student moved on to further education"

Today this school sits disused with lots of school equipment left to decay.
Hopefully something is done with this building in the near future.

These are one of my favourite type of explores, I love the nostalgia and the memory's they bring back, very sad to see what would have once been a thriving school sitting in the state it is.

23/01/2025

RAF Manby Officers Mess and Quarters.

The Officers Mess and Single Officers Quarters was built in 1937 and is by A. Bulloch, the architectural advisor to the Air Ministry's Directorate of Works and Buildings. It has a complex extended H-Plan set out on formal Beaux-Arts lines.
The main range includes the principal dining room, reception room, lounge and other public rooms as well as the kitchen.

The bedroom blocks form the outer arms of the H.
It is an impressive example of a neo-Georgian officers' mess and quarters, typical of those built on airfields in the 1930s.

RAF Manby was opened in 1938 as home to the Empire Air Armament School.
Many bomb disposal techniques were invented at Manby, often a trial by fire.

By June 1940, RAF Manby housed the Joint Services Bomb Disposal School.
Royal Engineers and Royal Navy demolition parties being trained alongside their RAF counterparts.
In August 1940, the bomb disposal workload, generated by ever-increasing enemy activity, led to the establishment of 25 mobile BD squads, increased in manpower strength from three to 25 personnel each.

RAF Strubby came under RAF Manby RAF Flying College from VJ Day until closure in 1972.
The nucleus of the staff of the Empire Central Flying School was transferred to RAF Manby to open the Flying College in 1946.
Manby later became the home of the College of Air Warfare, part of which was the School of Refresher Flying.

As a member of the crash crew in 1951/52 at RAF Strubby, Les Featherstone attended a Vampire crash into a farm yard.
The pilot was Wing Commander Steventon. He bailed out, but his parachute did not open, and he crashed through the farmhouse roof. The farm was local between Strubby and Mablethorpe.

In Oct 1954 a Canberra bomber belonging to the RAF Flying College, Manby, makes the first jet flight over the North Pole.

In 1963 the Navigation Wing of the Central Navigation and Control School moved to RAF Manby from RAF Shawbury, leaving Shawbury the task of all aspects of ATC training as the Central Air Traffic Control School.

The base closed in 1974. Today the site is used for Agriculture, the hangers are used as a grain store, with other buildings being used for industry. It is also home to Manby and District Model Aero Club.

20/01/2025

Weedley Railway Tunnel

Opened: 1885
Closed: 1959
132 Yards Long

The original survey of the Hull and Barnsley Railway (H&BR) did not have any tunnels at Weedley on its route through the Yorkshire Wolds.
However, during excavations it was found that the chalk was unstable and a diversion was required.

This diversion required two short tunnels: Weedley and Sugar Loaf.
Both tunnels are 132 Yards (121m) long and are located on the grounds of the Drewton Estate.

Weedley Tunnel is located near the local beauty spot of Weedley Springs and was constructed with a slight curvature.
It was originally built to carry two tracks.

Access to the tunnel is now restricted, as gates were installed on both portals in 2010.

The tunnel is cut through chalk and brick lined throughout and is in relatively good condition when compared to Sugar Loaf Tunnel further east and the much longer Drewton Tunnel, both were visited at the same time.

An occupation crossing was also located at Weedley Tunnel, and a signal box was located at Weedley Springs. Sometime between 1934 and 1954, the signal box was removed and the foundations were used for a platelayers' hut. Mr. A. Howden, a signalman on the H&BR recalls the signal box:

"I remember one terrible night at Weedley Box the first winter I was there. Snow fell heavily all night accompanied by a fierce north wind, the snow coming tumbling down the hillsides onto the line. I was very much afraid the trains would leave the rails or become stuck. I reported the matter to the South Cave Station Master who told me to carry on as there was nothing we could do until anything happened. The trains did keep getting through, the engines being able to keep the line clear. Mr. Bailey, the Chief Engineer, a very genial person, frequently visited Weedley and always called at the box to borrow a mug. Then he would go down to the spring close by and have a good drink of the excellent water"

According to Google, Weedley Tunnel is now used as an access route for the Drewton Estate, There is tyre tracks that appear well used running into and through the tunnel so it does appear to be true, Could anyone confirm? Or was it used for this purpose before the gates were installed?

13/01/2025

Goodmorning all!

Check the sky out this morning outside mine! I love a beautiful sunrise, or sunset.
Makes me wanna be wild camping on a beach or atop a cliff/mountain to really enjoy it.

Anyone else got a beautiful sky this morning? Maybe some of you have a better view than me, let's see em 😍 🌅

06/01/2025

Dodge Hill Air Raid Shelter.

The Stockport Air Raid Shelters are a system of almost 1 mile of underground air-raid shelters dug under Stockport, for civilian use during World War II to protect local inhabitants during air raids.

Dodge Hill is one of three (along with Brinksway and Chester gate) underground air raid shelter tunnels dug into the red sandstone rock below the town centre.

The deep level shelters were the largest purpose built civilian air raid shelters in the country, Dodge Hill being the smallest of the three with a capacity of around 2,000.
The largest of the three shelters could accommodate 3850 people before an expensipn doubled the capacity to 6500, that is Chestergate shelter.

Preparation started in September 1938 and the first set of shelters was opened on 28 October 1939, although Stockport was not bombed until a year later on the 11th October 1940.

The tunnels at Dodge Hill run for 200m, passing below St Mary’s Church.
The tunnels are carved into the large sandstone embankment beneath Heaton Norris, Due to the soft composition of the hillside the work was completed in only 4 months by a team of men with pneumatic drills and other hand tools.

The design of the shelters ensured a fresh air supply from the street level; cool fresh air flowed down into the tunnels while the warmer stale air rose back up and out again.

In 1948, the shelters were sealed off from the public.

The largest of the Stockport Air Raid Shelters (Chestergate) has been open to the public since 1996 as part of the town's museum service.

In 2013, two youths became trapped in the Dodge Hill tunnels for over three hours, resulting in over twenty firefighters and seven emergency vehicles attending to rescue them.
The following year, over thirty five firefighters arrived to extinguish a fire possibly ignited by rough sleepers.
Since then the entrance located to Dodge Hill Rd was filled with reinforced concrete, and covered with a steel plate, I'd had my eye on this for a while and thankfully someone opened it up once again so we jumped on it to take a look for ourselfs.

The photos are very repatative, because basically it is 😂 I tried to get some different angles, view ect, maybe it looked better in person, I dunno, but anyhow, I hope you enjoy 😁.

Explored with the best exploring partner ever Steve Follows Walk about wazzock

03/01/2025

Chesterfield Railway Tunnel

Since Chesterfield hotel seems to have a lot of interest, I thought I'd follow that up with a post of Chesterfield Railway Tunnel, now I have posted this before in 2020 but I've since revisited with the hope to photograph it better, like usual I'm still not 100% satisfied with the photos so maybe another revisit is in order 🤔😁.

A bit about the tunnel:
Opened : 1893
Closed : 1964
474 Yards long

June 1892 saw the arrival of the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway in Chesterfield, having built a line from its main north south route at Staveley.

Within months, a southern extension was opened to form ‘the Chesterfield loop’, passing immediately through a straight tunnel of 474 yards which emerged from under Hollis Lane.
Towards its southern end was a single full width ventilation shaft.

The through route was severed in June 1963 but the tunnel continued to serve Hydes Siding until 13th January 1964.

By the summer of 1985, its northern portal and 25 yards of brickwork had been cut back to accommodate Chesterfield’s new Inner Relief Road.

At the south end, the 85 yard section from the shaft to the portal was also lost, with an access ramp constructed for inspection and maintenance purposes.

Today, the southern end remains open, hemmed in by concrete retaining walls. However, without effective drainage, the tunnel is now prone to flooding, the depth of which is reported to reach several feet on occasions.

Any locals been to visit here themselfs?
Did you not know it even exist?
Any fond memory's?
Do you think it should have been kept a railway?
Let me know in the comments.

01/01/2025

Happy new year!!!

I hope 2025 is the best year for you all yet! 🎇 🎇