Woodhead Tunnel
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The Woodhead Tunnels are three parallel trans-Pennine 3-mile (4.8 km) long railway tunnels on the Woodhead Line, a former major rail link from Manchester to Sheffield in Northern England. The western portals of the tunnels are at Woodhead in Derbyshire and the eastern portals are at Dunford Bridge, near Penistone, South Yorkshire.
The western portals of the Woodhead tunnels in 1953. On the left, a train emerges from one of the original tunnels. Tunnel 3 is under construction on the right.
The western portals of Woodhead 1 & 2 in the background, with Woodhead 3 under construction in the foreground, 1953
A coal train emerging from Woodhead Tunnel, in April 1950
The eastern portal of Woodhead 3 shortly before opening in 1954
Woodhead line
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The Woodhead line was a railway line linking Sheffield, Penistone and Manchester in the north of England. A key feature of the route is the passage under the high moorlands of the northern Peak District through the Woodhead Tunnels. The line was electrified in 1953 and closed between Hadfield and Penistone in 1981.
An electric freight train headed by two Class 76s, about to enter Woodhead Tunnel in 1981
The line in 1951 before electrification, looking westwards from above Woodhead Tunnel. Woodhead railway station is visible in the foreground.
Goods train near West Silkstone Junction in 1950
The Longdendale Trail, on the former trackbed between Hadfield and Woodhead