Trubshaws Tramway Tunnel - Staffordshire
Attempted here with Gronk a few months back, and after finding our way to the western portal, we soon realised that trainers and wellies were laughably inadequate. We did however stumble upon a bottle collection stashed away nearby, so not a complete waste of time.
A few months later, we tried again but this time with waders. We were planning to enter via the eastern portal, but the thick vegetation and the close proximity to a farmer’s dwelling convinced us to walk a bit further on instead.
After almost giving up, having been chased and forced back over a fence by a herd of frantic calves, we eventually made it. It was a good thing we chose waders, as the silty, sulphuric, stinking mud had us trudging through water up to mid-thigh height for quite some time and progress was very slow.
The tunnel is smaller than a normal railway tunnel, as it was originally used as a tramway tunnel for the nearby quarries. For anyone interested, I managed to find a plotted route highlighting bridges and other remnants left behind from the tramway’s former course, which I’ll link Here.
There are multiple refuge points, some with original timbers still in place, a steel and wooden frame (presumably to support the road passing above), and about halfway through, the tunnel opens up into what feels like a normal-sized railway tunnel, although much of it remains buried under mud and rock.
A lot of the tunnel is heavily calcified, a clear sign of its aging brickwork leaking water over the years. After faffing about and waving a torch around for an hour or so, we exited through the eastern portal and pushed our way through the thick vegetation. Gronk even demonstrated to me GeoWizard’s technique for climbing farmers’ fences.
History
“Trubshaw’s Tramway Tunnel, also known as the Caldon Tunnel or Cottonplain Tunnel, is a disused industrial tunnel located near Froghall in the Staffordshire Moorlands.It was constructed as part of the fourth and final phase of the Caldon Low Tramroad system, which transported limestone from the Caldon Low quarries to Froghall Wharf on the Caldon Canal. The tunnel was engineered by James Trubshaw, a notable Staffordshire civil engineer who laid the first brick on 17 April 1844. Construction was completed around 1847, and the tunnel remained in operation until approximately 1920, when the tramway became obsolete following the introduction of standard gauge railways. Built of brick and stone, the tunnel features an egg-shaped bore and arched portals, the western one detailed with a keystone and string course. Its reported length varies between 330 and 480 yards, reflecting differing historical accounts. The tramway operated as a self-acting incline, using the weight of loaded descending wagons to pull empty ones back to the quarries via cables. It primarily carried limestone for lime production and industrial use, though occasional mixed goods and limited passenger movements were reported. Since closure, the tunnel has fallen into disuse, with both portals still extant but partially obscured by vegetation and showing signs of weathering, brick loss, and water ingress”.
