tunnel climbs at a continuous 1:132 gradient from the Hazel Grove end to the Chinley end. Construction The construction method used was to drive the tunnel bore from both ends, while also sinking 11 shafts from the top of the hill along the path of the railway. Work began in 1900, and the miners worked both directions from each shaft, which allowed 24 simultaneous working faces. Ten of the shafts were later used for ventilation, and are still in use – they are visible as large blue brick towers following the line of the tunnel. The Midland Railway purchased the land above the tunnel in order to sink the shafts – boundary markers made of old rails, with the initials "M.R.", remain along the line of the tunnel. A surface standard gauge contractors line was set up, using steam locomotives and a "steam navvy", following the subterranean path of the tunnel. The navvies The construction of the tunnel brought a small army of navvies into the area. They were housed in temporary villages at New Mills and Wybersley, and in specially built houses near the Rising Sun pub in Hazel Grove, which still exist, and are known as the "Navvy Mansions". A church made of tin was erected at Wybersley, where the Midland Railway had a local administration office. Three hundred of the navvies' children attended the local schools. Operation The first section of the line opened in 1901 from Heaton Mersey to Cheadle Heath where a large station was built to serve Stockport. The second section from Cheadle Heath to New Mills South Junction opened to passenger traffic on 1 July 1902. A local passenger station at Hazel Grove (South) was constructed, but this closed in 1917 as the main purpose of the line was express trains. The line was fast, with trains reaching 100 mph along the track. In 1959 a train recorder timed a Britannia Class locomotive, the Iron Duke (No 70014), doing 89 mph between Cheadle Heath and Didsbury. In 1973, a freight train was derailed inside the tunnel due to a broken rail. Recovery of the wagons took about a week. See also Midland Railway List of tunnels in the United Kingdom Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee Manchester, Buxton, Matlock and Midland Junction Railway Hope Valley Line References Notes Bibliography Railway tunnels in England Tunnels completed in 1902