Projects like the one you are proposing in this video are going to be a lifeblood for our communities if they are realised, imagine a complete cycle network that takes in the amazing pioneering building skills that we once had in this country. People would come from all over the globe to see it. I'd like to see it it.
This is an amazing tribute to the Victorian Engineers who built this tunnel. Well documented and full of interesting anecdotes from that time. This tunnel Must Not Be Abandoned and forgotten but must be restored and put in use again.
Fantastic a great documentary, as a Keighley lass I applaud this scheme and hope it comes to fruition, have signed the petition though I now live in Berkshire and shall be following progress.👍🏻
had a nice 3 mile walk in there last night, i hope they do save this tunnel itd be an insult to all the men who worked and perished digging this masterpiece.
We used to walk through this tunnel as kids, on a dare. The Halifax end wasn't flooded anything like this back then. Great little doc though, reminds this ex-pat of where I grew up and played as a child. There were two huge shale hills behind my house, at the bottom of Ford Hill, and a shaft opening at one end. Back then they just had steel grating over the top and we would drop stones down ,and never hear them hit the ground. It's built over now, of course, as are the fields where the small stream would flow, into the ford where the area takes its name.
I'd love to see it as a greenway or cycle route. I didn't even know about this until 3 years ago and I got quite excited about it then and hastily went to have a look and took my two boys with me. Then we went looking for the north Portal and found it. I also learnt about the Queensbury Triangle and looked into that further as well I walked the line and found the Clayton tunnel. Then I heard about a plan to re-open the Queensbury tunnel. so I do hope it gets the thumbs up and done in my lifetime. I'm 47 now and still able to ride a bike. I've always been interested in steam but never had the opportunity to sample it.
Great video, they should reopen it again as a railway. Just like many many other old railway lines, instead of building the HS2. Have a few steam trains running on some of these old Calder Valley lines.
Having watched the video to it's end, I congratulate those who took part in it's making. I found it interesting in many ways and found it most pleasant to view for the sake of entertainment.
What an in depth and informative documentary, lets hope the people who make the decisions have watched it and realised the convincing argument to reopen Queensbury for the public.
All transport infrastructure is important and rail routes must be preserved maintained and adapted as needs require the cost of repair and maintenance is tiny compared to the cost of roads and bypasses and therefore these routes preservation should be mandatory. I am glad that the comments section has not been disabled so many of these type of video's are dominated by the cycling fraternity and ignorant to any one else's point of view, but I believe that it is frugal because dozens of this type of routs can be preserved and reused for the cost of building a road. And not just cycle ways but tram/train heritage bus corridors and future automated transport. My main bug with cycle routes is that their benefit is for the abled and in urban rural settings such as safe off road access to schools and shops as long cycle routs are of no benefit to the disabled, people with children and pushchairs, wheelchairs and so on. All year commuter cycling between the likes of Bradford to Halifax would only be for hardy and fit few.
Just got into this and have to wonder, have English Heritage or what ever they call themselves got involved here? To see some of the stuff that gets listed, well say no more. This tunnel is indeed a unique piece of victorian architecture nay archaeology. I agree with you totally, you make a very cogent case for the restoration of the tunnel. To see it as a living breathing thing that we, and future generations can explore and enjoy and learn from is so important
Remember the workers that dug that original trench and tunnel, it must be re-worked. Electric lighting all through it would be very nice touch indeed and a plaqu in memory of the origal builders and the date it was opened.
@@Mandalorian_Goblinslayer I walked through it in 2007 and yes I went as far as the water,I went in about a mile before the water,I could,nt see the other end.
we could have used those builders today ,they would have sorted the M62 out in no time.Lets hope it gets reopened as a cycle route with the effort that's gone into it in the past.
Let us know what we can do to help. When they had the objection to the planning [to fill it in] recently I added my objections. A lot of people mistakenly put 'FOR' instead of 'AGAINST' thinking they were 'for the tunnel 'instead of 'against the planning to fill it in' Also some of your other videos you have comments disabled. It would be better to have them turned on, and delete unhelpful ones!
If you want Dear youtubers I will tell you and as a true Witness...: I lived in Lidget Green not far from Gt Horton station at the time (flattened for Thorn consumer electronics) worked there in later years*Bairds. I used to watch the Steam Loco 90731 pulling in *I was on the old platform at Great Horton station...it used to have trucks first then a few bogie bolsters then the Guards van, what was it doing? well it was Dr Beeching and his policy of DISMANTLING the Railways. Having built up a sort of interest and inquisitiveness even on rainy days to watch and wait for the loco, sometimes in terrible weather, I got invited to look around the footplate, and when they were having their lunch in the Guards van, was invited in there too, raining see, I remember the old stove inside keeping warm oh' yes. So I can Put it on record that even though only 11year old: I WAS THE ONLY KID ALLOWED ON THE FOOTPLATE and as the days went on During school Holidays, and on saturdays, I TRAVELLED with the CREW on the footplate from Great Horton to wait for it' to Thornton station and learned how to properly shovel coal into the fire box, waving to my jealous mates from the footplate loitering on the embankment at pasture lane, learning to use the injector valve yes over Thornton viaduct and' through Quensbury Tunnel (there was two) one at the clayton end the other at the Branch line at Queensbury Station, I was told by the fireman it was Haunted the one that went to Halifax..I later learned someone got killed on its Making one of the airshafts. Yes I remember coming out of the Tunnel at Queensbury on a Snowy day and was told about the Chimney which had mosaic decor above commemorating Bradford city winning the FA CUP (1911) it had trophy cups all around the top..(Brow Lane) www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.7754613,-1.8342108,87m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en See that was a part of Bradford heritage knocked down Gone! ....Why??.. Anyway: I witnessed the ripping up of the line in the tunnel using oxy acetylene...and the sleepers being placed into the waggons....Yes, and at Great Horton Station when the line was ripped up there, the Signal Box was Left Derelict and before the window smashers finished it off...I managed to retrieve the BIG leather Bound Log Book (heavy) with details of all the trains that had gone past and their Manifest'.... So to all that write about what was etc etc.....I hope my Memories assist......T.C.
What about the Thornton tunnel on the other side of the valley that took the railway from through to Denholme and Cullingworth out over the Harden viaduct to Keighley.
At 7 mins27 secs a rock face just before entering the tunnel. Look closely. See the images of faces. Nature's reminder of the 60 workers killed in the construction of the tunnel etc.?!
The tunnel used to be one of our hang outs when I was a kid in 67 68 I migrated to Australia in 1969 .One thing that still puzzles me is ?, Why they left the section of track in there ?, If any one knows let me know !.
I guess the answer to your question could be a matter of impracticality or cost effectiveness. It's a long time ago, 1960s attended Queensbury primary school briefly hung out with you and another lad Michael Dewhurst in the old station area. The grounds of the Forster residency were popular too! If my mind serves me correctly, you lived on the estate near Brighouse and Denholme road.
The amount of money being wasted on unnecessary so-called Albanian wastes of space, that money could be put towards righting a massive balls up and get all the railway infrastructure brought back up to date. It would be a far better use of finance.
