Deepdale/Miley Tunnel - Preston

History

Miley Tunnel, often associated with the Deepdale area of Preston, is a long disused, three section Victorian railway tunnel built around 1840 as part of the Preston and Longridge Railway, originally created to carry sandstone from Longridge quarries into the town before later supporting passenger services; when passenger operations were consolidated in 1856. Deepdale Street station closed and Deepdale railway station (formerly Deepdale Bridge) became the local stop, with trains running through the tunnel for decades afterward until freight operations too eventually ceased in the late 20th century. Stretching roughly half a mile and constructed with masonry walls and brick arched roofs separated by open ventilation gaps, the tunnel still contains old, rusted tracks but is now heavily overgrown, damp, decaying, and officially closed to the public for safety reasons. Its eerie isolation has helped cement a long reputation for hauntings, most famously the story of the “Grey Lady,” said to be the ghost of a young girl who allegedly fell from a train at Deepdale in the 1860s and whose spirit is rumoured to linger in the darkness, alongside other reports of phantom sounds, strange lights, and unsettling atmospheres. Occasional engineering activity near the site has sparked speculation about possible redevelopment or integration into proposed tramway schemes, though nothing definitive has materialised. Recently there has been a major clean up of the former line, led by a joint operation between Network Rail, community groups, The King's Trust, and volunteers, who aim to clear decades of fly tipped rubbish and transform the area into a community green space.