Harecastle Tunnel closed 8 October

[Arthur Marshall]

Please be advised that the Harecastle Tunnel has been closed with immediate effect and will remain closed to navigation until further notice.

This decision has been made due to a fault with the landline at the South Portal, resulting in a complete loss of communication at that end of the tunnel. As there is no reliable mobile phone signal in the area, we are currently unable to safely operate the tunnel without effective communication between both portals.

We are awaiting repairs to the landline by Vodafone and will reopen the tunnel as soon as it is safe to do so.

We appreciate your patience while we work with Vodafone to resolve this issue and will provide a further update by the end of the week

[matty40s]

How did they cope before Alexander Bell...

[Rob-M]

I know of one working boatman who spent a night in the tunnel when he got stuck and had to wait for another boat to come through and free him.

[Cheese]

Couldn't they at least offer alternate working?  Just find a one-off large / colourful / unusual object to act as a token, that everyone has to carry through the tunnel and hand in at the other end. Just like single track rail lines used to do.

 

You might have to wait for a few (or many) hours for a boat coming the other way, if the most recent traverse was in your direction, but it would be better than a complete closure.

Edited October 8 by Cheese
Speeling

[Rob-M]

It already works with timed transits, I expect the issue is safety related so tunnel keepers at either end can communicate with each other, maybe to notify when to open the doors.

[Stroudwater1]

5 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

It already works with timed transits, I expect the issue is safety related so tunnel keepers at either end can communicate with each other, maybe to notify when to open the doors.

It does though some people still have to bang on the door. It was a long time ago but we had to, twice in a year. 
 

I can see this taking needlessly long to sort out. Was it last year the tiller fell off the rescue boat and it was shut for a while?  

[DShK]

1 hour ago, matty40s said:

How did they cope before Alexander Bell...

wasn't there a second tunnel before, ie not a one way tunnel for two way traffic

[Baralacha]

An enterpring tunnel keeper would run a length of two-core telephone cable through and connect it up. Even Morse signals would be enough - they still teach Morse code at tunnel management school, don't they?

[ditchcrawler]

20 minutes ago, Baralacha said:

An enterpring tunnel keeper would run a length of two-core telephone cable through and connect it up. Even Morse signals would be enough - they still teach Morse code at tunnel management school, don't they?

And that would save them a fortune on phone calls ringing each other for every transit plus a few more.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

57 minutes ago, DShK said:

wasn't there a second tunnel before, ie not a one way tunnel for two way traffic

The original Brindley tunnel is still there. It was abandoned due to mining subsidence. You can see it at the Kidsgrove end, to the right of the current portal. Can't remember if anything is visible at the other end. The current bore was built as a replacement, not an addition. It later lost its towpath, again from mining subsidence, so boats could use the centre where it is still high enough. 

[BEngo]

The book " Harecastle's Canal and Railway Tunnels"  has a section which covers a canoe trip into Brindley's tunnel  from both ends.  There are some rather good colour pics as well.

 

The rest of the book was pretty interesting too.

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

The original Brindley tunnel is still there. It was abandoned due to mining subsidence. You can see it at the Kidsgrove end, to the right of the current portal. Can't remember if anything is visible at the other end. The current bore was built as a replacement, not an addition. It later lost its towpath, again from mining subsidence, so boats could use the centre where it is still high enough. 

You can see the old tunnel entrances at both ends.

The original tunnel was a serious bottleneck for traffic, and the second tunnel was built to provide more capacity. For a time they worked with one used for northbound traffic and the other for southbound. Boats were legged through the old tunnel and horse drawn through the new. It was only when the old tunnel had subsided too far to be used that two way traffic in the new tunnel became the normal practice.

 

[Laurie Booth]

Now opened

[Rob-M]

Couple of bean tins and a long piece of string implemented...?

Edited October 10 by Rob-M
Fix auto correct

[matty40s]

5 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Couple of bin tins and a long piece of string implemented...?

Bean tins even....🙂

[Laurie Booth]

11 minutes ago, matty40s said:

Bean tins even....🙂

Heinz I hope, not Bramwells

[doratheexplorer]

13 minutes ago, matty40s said:

Bean tins even....🙂

Or a couple of wheelie bins and a length of string.  The larger size of the bins would help counteract the long distance.

[Wafi]

18 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Couple of bin tins and a long piece of string implemented...?

Carrier pigeons should work well. Pigeons that have delivered messages can be sent back to the other end on the next boat.

[IanD]

34 minutes ago, Laurie Booth said:

Heinz I hope, not Bramwells

Why -- is this anti-Aldi snobbery?

 

Many tests have concluded that Bramwell (Aldi) are cheaper and as good or better, and having compared the two I'd agree. I prefer Branston to either though, they're noticeably less sweet... 😉 

[doratheexplorer]

48 minutes ago, Wafi said:

Carrier pigeons should work well. Pigeons that have delivered messages can be sent back to the other end on the next boat.

Or why not install one of those sucky pipe things which supermarkets used to send cash from the tills upstairs with?

[Mike Tee]

That sounds a bit rough on the pigeons 

[doratheexplorer]

2 minutes ago, Mike Tee said:

That sounds a bit rough on the pigeons 

Who are you to say what pigeons enjoy?

[Wafi]

5 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

Or why not install one of those sucky pipe things which supermarkets used to send cash from the tills upstairs with?

Genius. I very rarely see them in supermarkets these days, so it might be possible to pick up second-hand parts very cheaply.

[BEngo]

The technical term is Lampson Tube.  They are still quite popular- I think  BA has quite an extensive system for getting aircraft spares round Heathrow for example.

[matty40s]

2 hours ago, Wafi said:

Carrier pigeons should work well. Pigeons that have delivered messages can be sent back to the other end on the next boat.

With night vision goggles...