Clayton Tunnel - May 2021.
Constructed in 1874, the 1,057yd Clayton Tunnel in West Yorkshire was part of the Great Northern Railways Bradford - Queensbury & Bradford - Keighley routes, unfortunately during construction in 1874 two workers suffered fatal injuries caused by an intoxicated colleague in charge of the winding gear on the 4th November, the accident resulted in the two workers falling to their deaths in the lift situated within No.1 shaft, both casualties Thomas Coates (20) and William Elliot (27) are buried in the graveyard of Clayton Parish Church where a headstone commemorates the accident. Built mainly from red brick with a stone base Clayton Tunnel has two air shafts both remain today albeit sealed, the eastern portal has been completely infilled due to fears of subsidence, Opened in 1878 Clayton Tunnel survived until 1965 with passenger traffic finishing a few years before freight in 1955, The line from Bradford to Thornton via Queensbury was opened as a joint venture between the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway and the Great Northern Railway between 1876 and 1878. Once out of Bradford, the line was mostly rural and necessitated the construction of many earthworks, viaducts and tunnels. Its hilly nature earned it the nicknames of 'the Alpine route' or 'the switchback' from its loyal drivers. Goods services ceased in 1961, but the line through Clayton remained in use until 28/06/65 for trains serving the goods yard at Thornton. In 2012 having lay dormant for almost 40years, during an annual inspection by Carillion/ Balfour Beatty workmen a cannabis farm was discovered near to No.1 Air Shaft containing some 600 plants which were duly destroyed by the local constabulary upon being reported, the event made most local newspapers at the time...
At some point during 2018 and 2021 Clayton Tunnel has become accessible again, Myself and a good friend found ourselves in the locality of Clayton so decided a quick wander was in order, arriving at the top of the now infilled trackbed of the western portal we both felt confident Clayton was still locked and inaccessible... even pulling the door then seeing the huge padlock we assumed it was a non starter we were just about to walk away when I lent on the door and it swung open (INWARDS!!) Once the adrenaline had settled we made our way in closing the door behind.. not sure why....We both felt an uneasy presence but shrugged it off and made our way through heading for the sealed eastern end, once we’d passed No.2 Air Shaft we began to see debris on the floor at this point we had no clue what lay ahead... upon closer inspection it’s was instantly recognizable we’d discovered a long abandoned weed farm, A sure first for me in a tunnel! Absolutely baffled stood there a bit speechless really...hats of for dedication that’s for sure, some money’s worth of equipment left rotting and rusting away... I was unable to find much information on Clayton Tunnel most sites are heavily focused on the tragic deaths of the two men, a very clean Tunnel inside, little graffiti or litter (other than the weed farming) both air shafts visible heavy water ingress down No.1 shaft and what appears to be a huge collapse just east of this couldn’t work out if it’s the infill or a collapse? I did try to scale this but the rocks were too slippery... I’d estimate 800/850yds of the original 1,057yds remain.
Thanks all as always hope it’s interesting to read & view
^ Collapsed eastern end.
^Air Shaft No.1 & Some discarding cultivation equipment... Note the large cast iron grate presumably once crowned the air shaft..
^Looking west from Shaft No.1.. not sure what the ladders / plastic are about..
^Looking West.
^Shaft No.2 looking west..
^Again looking west from Shaft No.2
^ Notable change here full stone construction..
^Western portal and some discarded rails & sleepers.
^sole surviving track in Clayton
^Standard “Yeo & Hyde“ tag
^taken from just within the western portal.
^freedom?!
^ Looking our the door shows the scale of the infilled trackbed..
^Western Portal being reclaimed by Mother Nature.
Thanks for looking
- Not a Tunnel often featured...
Constructed in 1874, the 1,057yd Clayton Tunnel in West Yorkshire was part of the Great Northern Railways Bradford - Queensbury & Bradford - Keighley routes, unfortunately during construction in 1874 two workers suffered fatal injuries caused by an intoxicated colleague in charge of the winding gear on the 4th November, the accident resulted in the two workers falling to their deaths in the lift situated within No.1 shaft, both casualties Thomas Coates (20) and William Elliot (27) are buried in the graveyard of Clayton Parish Church where a headstone commemorates the accident. Built mainly from red brick with a stone base Clayton Tunnel has two air shafts both remain today albeit sealed, the eastern portal has been completely infilled due to fears of subsidence, Opened in 1878 Clayton Tunnel survived until 1965 with passenger traffic finishing a few years before freight in 1955, The line from Bradford to Thornton via Queensbury was opened as a joint venture between the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway and the Great Northern Railway between 1876 and 1878. Once out of Bradford, the line was mostly rural and necessitated the construction of many earthworks, viaducts and tunnels. Its hilly nature earned it the nicknames of 'the Alpine route' or 'the switchback' from its loyal drivers. Goods services ceased in 1961, but the line through Clayton remained in use until 28/06/65 for trains serving the goods yard at Thornton. In 2012 having lay dormant for almost 40years, during an annual inspection by Carillion/ Balfour Beatty workmen a cannabis farm was discovered near to No.1 Air Shaft containing some 600 plants which were duly destroyed by the local constabulary upon being reported, the event made most local newspapers at the time...
At some point during 2018 and 2021 Clayton Tunnel has become accessible again, Myself and a good friend found ourselves in the locality of Clayton so decided a quick wander was in order, arriving at the top of the now infilled trackbed of the western portal we both felt confident Clayton was still locked and inaccessible... even pulling the door then seeing the huge padlock we assumed it was a non starter we were just about to walk away when I lent on the door and it swung open (INWARDS!!) Once the adrenaline had settled we made our way in closing the door behind.. not sure why....We both felt an uneasy presence but shrugged it off and made our way through heading for the sealed eastern end, once we’d passed No.2 Air Shaft we began to see debris on the floor at this point we had no clue what lay ahead... upon closer inspection it’s was instantly recognizable we’d discovered a long abandoned weed farm, A sure first for me in a tunnel! Absolutely baffled stood there a bit speechless really...hats of for dedication that’s for sure, some money’s worth of equipment left rotting and rusting away... I was unable to find much information on Clayton Tunnel most sites are heavily focused on the tragic deaths of the two men, a very clean Tunnel inside, little graffiti or litter (other than the weed farming) both air shafts visible heavy water ingress down No.1 shaft and what appears to be a huge collapse just east of this couldn’t work out if it’s the infill or a collapse? I did try to scale this but the rocks were too slippery... I’d estimate 800/850yds of the original 1,057yds remain.
Thanks all as always hope it’s interesting to read & view
^ Collapsed eastern end.
^Air Shaft No.1 & Some discarding cultivation equipment... Note the large cast iron grate presumably once crowned the air shaft..
^Looking west from Shaft No.1.. not sure what the ladders / plastic are about..
^Looking West.
^Shaft No.2 looking west..
^Again looking west from Shaft No.2
^ Notable change here full stone construction..
^Western portal and some discarded rails & sleepers.
^sole surviving track in Clayton
^Standard “Yeo & Hyde“ tag
^taken from just within the western portal.
^freedom?!
^ Looking our the door shows the scale of the infilled trackbed..
^Western Portal being reclaimed by Mother Nature.
Thanks for looking
- Not a Tunnel often featured...
Last edited:
.. More great piks and Brill write up 
:.. Tunnel King strikes again 
