Talk:Standedge Tunnels

Single Article
I think its more appropriate to have a single page on the Standedge Tunnel as the canal and railway tunnels are so closely releated so I've brought all the info together as the 'Standedge Tunnel'. Adambro 11:10, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

Categories
The category "Canals in England" has been removed from this article on the grounds of redundancy. The counter argument is that an article needs to be advertised in as many relevant categories as possible so that the maximum number of interested parties can find it. Instead of continuing to revert other editor's changes over and again I have opened this issue for discussion here. Martin Cordon 15:58, 15 March 2007 (UTC)


 * This issue is already being discussed on my talk page. Andy Mabbett 16:49, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Images
The final image of the canal tunnel portal is appalling, it's over processed to the point of silliness, can we find a non-HDR version? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.195.193.43 (talk) 17:52, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

History of the Canal tunnel
Since most of this section is un-referenced, I thought I would try to sort it. My main source is Hadfield, but it is difficult to believe he is describing the same tunnel, and since there are no sources for the existing text, I am unsure whether to replace it with something I can verify or not. Hadfield makes no mention of Outram leaving in 1801, my Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers makes no mention of Telford in this connection, since he was working on the Caledonian Canal from 1804, (and the article on Telford suggests he was engineering most of the Highlands between 1801 and 1820), the costs are quite different, and there is nothing about the water engines, the air supply, or the misalignment. Does anyone know what the existing text is based upon? Bob1960evens (talk) 17:21, 3 January 2011 (UTC)

I have removed the following text for the time being, because I cannot find any references for it, nor can I fit it into the overall picture of the tunnel construction. Are there shafts in which the water engines could work, in view of the lack of ventilation in the modern tunnel, and the need for electric tugs? It also saves me adding lots of fact templates to flowery phrases like "extremely ambitious", "unworkable economies of design", etc. If you can source it, please add it back in.
 * However, Outram had so many commitments that construction took place under the supervision of a young and inexperienced surveyor, Nicholas Brown.


 * It was an extremely ambitious undertaking for the time and Outram was not yet an established engineer, though he had gained experience with the Butterley Tunnel on the Cromford Canal.


 * The adits allowed so-called 'water engines' to be used. These were simply two buckets on a rope which ran over a pulley at the top of the shaft. One bucket would be filled with spoil from the workings and the other would be filled with water which counterbalance the spoil causing it to rise to the top. Once unloaded, the water would be drained allowing the spoil bucket to fall for another load. Although steam engine pumps were tried, they proved inefficient and expensive to run. A further problem was maintaining an adequate air supply for the workers. This was achieved by injecting water in a fine spray at the top of the shaft, which would carry sufficient fresh air down with it.


 * Work on the tunnel was fraught with difficulty and progress was slow. Gunpowder was used to blast through the solid rock and the work took place by candlelight. Before completion, a severe misalignment was found in the tunnel due to inaccuracy on the part of the surveyor who originally laid it out.


 * By 1804, work was well behind schedule and financially overstretched. Digging was progressing at each end of the tunnel, but the central section was untouched.  Moreover there were problems along the canal from unworkable economies of design and bad workmanship, but also the disorganising effect of interference by the canal committee who, to be fair, were not experts in engineering matters, but were periodically starved of funds.

Assessment comment
Substituted at 06:53, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Last commercial boat to pass through the tunnel
The Canal & River Trust says it was 13 October 1916. Other sources agree with the 1921 date currently stated in the article. Which is more reliable? BridgeSpotter (talk) 10:48, 18 November 2016 (UTC)

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 07:54, 1 December 2017 (UTC)

map
A map like this one https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Karte_Standedge-Tunnel.svg would suite the article well.--2A02:810A:1E40:A14:1826:696D:92DD:D906 (talk) 11:42, 30 July 2022 (UTC)