HISTORY | RAIL TUNNELS


OPEN AND CLOSED CASES


Two former old rail tunnels have the opposite futures - one having been fully closed up by final complete infilling while the other is being opened up to tourists. But their histories, in the UK and Australia, respectively, are just as varied


The surrounding area was subject to intense


urbanisation. Homes were built directly above the tunnel and there were several rounds of remedial works, including the addition of steel ribbing to provide additional support. A partial collapse happened on 13 April 1953. All trains


Above: Clifton Hall Tunnel before it was closed in 1953


were stopped and inspection carried out. Two weeks later, then the tunnel roof failed, directly beneath an old construction shaft. Local residents described hearing a loud cracking noise, in the early hours, followed by the fatal collapse of two houses. The tunnel never reopened. HRE engineer Andrew Willison said National Highways


Clifton Hall Tunnel, in the UK, and St James Tunnels, in Australia, are of different ages, have had quite different histories and also reasons for becoming disused. The British tunnel was built in the Victoria era but


tragedy struck decades later, with fatal collapses during its operational life. It was backfilled, though perhaps not quite fully which recently has led to further works. In Sydney, the St James Tunnels were built in the


1920s but economic woes, and some routing squabbles, kept two of the four tunnels out of operation. While the other two have had long operational lives, now the dormant two tunnels have been refurbished and are set to be a tourist draw, presenting historical tales, below the central business district (CBD).


CLIFTON HALL TUNNEL SEES BACKFILL VOIDS FULLY INFILLED Historical Railway Estate recently completed infilling work on the Clifton hall Tunnel, in Greater Manchester. Built in the Victorian rail tunnel era, the tunnel, in


Pendlebury, gained notoriety in the 1950s when the collapse of a construction shaft resulted in five fatalities. Four houses on the street above were also lost. Afterwards, the tunnel was closed and partially


infilled. But a few voids were left. Infilling work has been completed by contractors


working for the Historical Railway Estate (HRE). Constructed in 1846, Clifton Hall Tunnel is a


1,187m-long double-track horseshoe-shaped tunnel lined with brick. Its construction was difficult from the beginning as the ground was very unstable where mining had already taken place.


36 | May 2025


took over managing the HRE in 2013 and has carried out regular safety checks at Clifton Hall. “We decided to fill the remaining voids as a


precautionary measure and to ensure the site remains safe,” he said. AmcoGiffen recently has finished a three-month


programme of final infilling works at the tunnel to ensure it remains safe. Before work started, AmcoGiffen lowered a cavity


auto laser scanner into drilled holes to scan the remaining voids and establish there form, helped using 3D imaging. Contracts Manager Dave Martin said the technology was new to the company as there were few such scanners in the UK. “The imagery helped us to calculate the volume of


materials required to fill areas of the tunnel with voids present,” he said. One void was 200m in length, another 150m. “Both sections had five holes drilled that we used


to insert the cavity scanner and to pump the materials during the filling stage,” he added. In total, the infilling needed 2,200 tonnes of a mixture


of cement and flyash was used to fill the voids. Cement alone would be too strong and not flow far enough, as the material needed to be able to travel 30m. Flyash would increase workability and also durability of a mixture with cement. Waste was also reduced. Pumping the mixture during the filling stage took 10


weeks, working only day shifts to help keep noise from the works to a minimum for local residents. Some of the drill hole locations were changed to help protect trees and, following the works, the access areas have been reseeded.


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