History
Liverpool is built on an escarpment running down to the River Mersey. The original proposal for the railway out of Liverpool was a route north along the docks and riverbank. This route proved problematic with local landowners. The new route entering the city centre from the east required considerable engineering works in addition to the tunnel. The dockside portal to the tunnel is clearly visible on Kings Dock Street. This was the middle of three short exit tunnels at the western end, which met in a short open ventilation cutting between Park Lane and Upper Frederick Street. The quoted length of 2,030 metres (6,660 feet) includes both the main tunnel and the short exit tunnel.
The Edge Hill entrance is still open to the atmosphere, however not accessible to the public. The portal is the central of three tunnels at the western end of the Cavendish cutting. visible evidence of the tunnel still exists, is in the form of three imposing red-brick ventilation towers. One is on the landscaped park between Crown Street and Smithdown Lane, one on Blackburne Place, and one close to Grenville Street South. There were at least two others that were later demolished, one adjacent to Great George Street, and one by Myrtle Street.
Plans for partial reinstatement of tunnel
In the 1970s, during planning work for the Merseyrail underground in Liverpool city centre, there were two proposals to use parts of the Wapping Tunnel or Waterloo Tunnel (Victoria Tunnel) to connect Liverpool Central underground station and Edge Hill junction. During the construction of the Merseyrail network in the 1970s a part of the new tunnel south out of Central Station passed over the Wapping Tunnel at right angles. The new tunnel dropped into the upper part of the Wapping tunnel reducing its height. This would require lowering the floor of the tunnel at this point to allow trains to pass. When the junction on the Northern Line tunnel south of Central station was built in the late 1970s, two header tunnels were constructed to cater for branching into the Wapping Tunnel.
In May 2007 it was reported that chief executive of Merseytravel, Neil Scales, had prepared a report outlining the possibilities for reuse of the tunnel. The November 2016 refresh of Mersytravel's Long Term Strategy references a "Wapping Tunnel Scheme" in Network Rail's CP7 period. Merseytravel hope to re-use the tunnel to create new underground connections into burrowing junctions south of Liverpool Central station on the Northern Line to allow trains to run between Central station and Edge Hill station and beyond.
Merseytravel commissioned a feasibility study into the re-opening of the tunnel which was completed in May 2016. The study was focused on using the Wapping Tunnel to connect the Northern and City Lines together and the possible creation of a new station along the route to serve the city's Knowledge Quarter. The report found that the Wapping Tunnel was in good condition though suffered from flooding in places and would require some remedial work, however the concept of re-opening the tunnel was viable.
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapping_Tunnel
Explore
For my explores I do little research just to find the entrance and how to enter the site but i never look further than that so something I didn't expect cut this explore a bit short (will come back sometime though).
this is the entrance when entering I noticed that some company might be using the first tunnel to store materials or as a dumping ground.
past the fence there was all sorts of construction materials. and there was a few cuts into the rock on the left and mysteriously there was a manhole inside one of them who knows where that might lead?
Here I have arrived at an opening at the very tip of the Baltic triangle this place is filled with rubbish that people must of thrown over the high walls of the opening. such items (in the photo) include 2 pink bike wheels, a blue kids paddling pool, dirty mattress, pink kids table, a bench, a shopping basket and a plant pot can you spot them all?
Here is another photo of the opening on the other side here you can see someone even chucked a purple wheelie bin over the walls. that weird white rectangle is one of the diffusers from a telle. The 2 tunnels on the left and right of the entrance tunnel are partially filled in so lets take a look...
Here is one of the filled in tunnels I didn't make an effort to go in because the rubble they filled it in with looked like it was designed to break your ankle. I don't see the point of filling it in because you can still go though it, if anyone knows why they do this then put it in the comments.
who wants a free fresh pair of 110s?
Now lets enter the main section of the tunnel... ...spooky
...and this was the point when i realised that the tunnel was flooded i think it would be really cool to bring an inflatable boat or something another time! (we could also bring much better torches aswell).
That light in the far back of the tunnel isn't even the exit that's a circular airshaft, this tunnels length is proper bonkers!
BONUS!
Liverpool is built on an escarpment running down to the River Mersey. The original proposal for the railway out of Liverpool was a route north along the docks and riverbank. This route proved problematic with local landowners. The new route entering the city centre from the east required considerable engineering works in addition to the tunnel. The dockside portal to the tunnel is clearly visible on Kings Dock Street. This was the middle of three short exit tunnels at the western end, which met in a short open ventilation cutting between Park Lane and Upper Frederick Street. The quoted length of 2,030 metres (6,660 feet) includes both the main tunnel and the short exit tunnel.
The Edge Hill entrance is still open to the atmosphere, however not accessible to the public. The portal is the central of three tunnels at the western end of the Cavendish cutting. visible evidence of the tunnel still exists, is in the form of three imposing red-brick ventilation towers. One is on the landscaped park between Crown Street and Smithdown Lane, one on Blackburne Place, and one close to Grenville Street South. There were at least two others that were later demolished, one adjacent to Great George Street, and one by Myrtle Street.
Plans for partial reinstatement of tunnel
In the 1970s, during planning work for the Merseyrail underground in Liverpool city centre, there were two proposals to use parts of the Wapping Tunnel or Waterloo Tunnel (Victoria Tunnel) to connect Liverpool Central underground station and Edge Hill junction. During the construction of the Merseyrail network in the 1970s a part of the new tunnel south out of Central Station passed over the Wapping Tunnel at right angles. The new tunnel dropped into the upper part of the Wapping tunnel reducing its height. This would require lowering the floor of the tunnel at this point to allow trains to pass. When the junction on the Northern Line tunnel south of Central station was built in the late 1970s, two header tunnels were constructed to cater for branching into the Wapping Tunnel.
In May 2007 it was reported that chief executive of Merseytravel, Neil Scales, had prepared a report outlining the possibilities for reuse of the tunnel. The November 2016 refresh of Mersytravel's Long Term Strategy references a "Wapping Tunnel Scheme" in Network Rail's CP7 period. Merseytravel hope to re-use the tunnel to create new underground connections into burrowing junctions south of Liverpool Central station on the Northern Line to allow trains to run between Central station and Edge Hill station and beyond.
Merseytravel commissioned a feasibility study into the re-opening of the tunnel which was completed in May 2016. The study was focused on using the Wapping Tunnel to connect the Northern and City Lines together and the possible creation of a new station along the route to serve the city's Knowledge Quarter. The report found that the Wapping Tunnel was in good condition though suffered from flooding in places and would require some remedial work, however the concept of re-opening the tunnel was viable.
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapping_Tunnel
Explore
For my explores I do little research just to find the entrance and how to enter the site but i never look further than that so something I didn't expect cut this explore a bit short (will come back sometime though).
this is the entrance when entering I noticed that some company might be using the first tunnel to store materials or as a dumping ground.
past the fence there was all sorts of construction materials. and there was a few cuts into the rock on the left and mysteriously there was a manhole inside one of them who knows where that might lead?
Here I have arrived at an opening at the very tip of the Baltic triangle this place is filled with rubbish that people must of thrown over the high walls of the opening. such items (in the photo) include 2 pink bike wheels, a blue kids paddling pool, dirty mattress, pink kids table, a bench, a shopping basket and a plant pot can you spot them all?
Here is another photo of the opening on the other side here you can see someone even chucked a purple wheelie bin over the walls. that weird white rectangle is one of the diffusers from a telle. The 2 tunnels on the left and right of the entrance tunnel are partially filled in so lets take a look...
Here is one of the filled in tunnels I didn't make an effort to go in because the rubble they filled it in with looked like it was designed to break your ankle. I don't see the point of filling it in because you can still go though it, if anyone knows why they do this then put it in the comments.
who wants a free fresh pair of 110s?
Now lets enter the main section of the tunnel... ...spooky
...and this was the point when i realised that the tunnel was flooded i think it would be really cool to bring an inflatable boat or something another time! (we could also bring much better torches aswell).
That light in the far back of the tunnel isn't even the exit that's a circular airshaft, this tunnels length is proper bonkers!
BONUS!
