There's trouble on t'Moors...

No, it's not a thick early morning mist, but the smoke from the huge moor fire on Saddleworth Moor, near Stalybridge, in late June 2018. All around was a hot, clear day, with unbroken blue sky, but in the fire zone, this...

This was the scene on Wednesday (27th) on Buckton Vale Road, Carrbrook, as strong winds drove thick smoke down into the lower reaches of the area. Local advice was to stay indoors with your windows shut - what, in that heat!!

Further photos can be found on my Flickr at:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/midlandexplorerboy/albums/72157695312419882 

Thurgoland tunnels, in t'Pennines

The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne & Manchester Railway is probably best known for not only crossing the Pennines but for the massive Woodhead tunnels. Other bores exist along the way and these are the south portals of the two at Thurgoland, a short distance NW of Sheffield.

The part-backfilled one in the foreground is Thurgoland Old, opening 1845, and 315 yards / 288 metres in length. In the 1930s, the decision was taken to electrify the Woodhead route, so a new bore was dug to the south, Thurgoland New, opening in 1948, the year of railway nationalisation.

New is slightly longer at 339 yards / 310 metres, and is concrete lined. The portals display two datestones to show the change of ownership that took lace during construction - started in 1947 by LNER, the tunnel opened under BR in 1948, thus two datestones (the 1947 one is visible in the background). New is open, lit and in use as part of the Trans Pennine Trail.

Greenside tunnel, Pudsey, Leeds

To the SW of Leeds, is a suburb called Pudsey. Nearby lies one of the many disused tunnels in West Yorkshire, Greenside, aka Pudsey. This is its west portal at SE2127032630, locked, protected and smothered in anti-climb grease (nasty)!!

At 618 yards (565 metres), it's one of the shorter ones in the region (think Gildersome, Woodhead, etc). Built for the Great Northern, it was in use from 1893 to 1964. The east portal is in danger of being buried by spoil from a nearby building site – photo may follow.

To the west of the portal, lies one of the highest railway embankments in England, as the railway crossed Tyersal Beck - it's nigh on 110 feet high!