Disley Tunnel was built by theMidland Railway in 1902 on its line between New Mills South Junction andManchester Central, which was more direct than the congested and difficult lines throughStockport Tiviot Dale.
It was the most expensive work on the line and at 2 miles, 346 yards (3,535 m), the second-longest tunnel on the Midland system.
By means of a connection on to the oldLNWR line fromBuxton atHazel Grove that was opened in 1986, it is now part of theHope Valley Line into the present-dayStockport railway station.
There is also a short (174 yard) Disley Tunnel nearby on theBuxton Line.
TheMidland Railway found that with the boom in railway traffic during the last decade of the 19th century the pressure on railway routes was intense with the volume of passenger and goods traffic increasing. This problem was present in all parts of the UK – though the Midlands, especially the Main Line to Manchester and Liverpool, was particularly crowded. TheLondon and North Western Railway and theGreat Northern Railway owned the Main Line to Manchester, which meant that the Midland's trains had the lowest priority.
The Midland joined with theManchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway company to form theSheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee with the intention of building a "new line" that would bypass the main line, and give priority to their own trains, thus speeding up the service. Various routes were tried, including the "Manchester South District Railway Company" fromHeaton Mersey to Chorlton-cum-Hardy. However, congestion continued.
To relieve the congestion throughStockport Tiviot Dale a new line, to be called the "New Mills and HeatonMersey Railway", was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1898. The plan was to create a railway line that would take four tracks, and most bridges and cuttings were constructed with this width in mind.
The tunnel runs under the villages ofHigh Lane andDisley. The New Mills and Heaton Mersey Railway line goes underground where theMiddlewood Way (the oldMacclesfield, Bollington and Marple Railway), crosses the line, about 1/4 mile north of theA6 in High Lane. The tunnel passes under a housing estate, theMacclesfield Canal, Disley golf course and finally thePeak Forest Canal, just before emerging at Disley, meeting the Hope Valley Line.
The tunnel climbs at a continuous 1:132 gradient from the Hazel Grove end to theChinley end.[1]
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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. TheMidland 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.[2]
A surface standard gauge contractors line was set up, using steam locomotives and a "steam navvy", following the subterranean path of the tunnel.
The construction of the tunnel brought a small army ofnavvies 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.
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.[2]
The line was fast, with trains reaching 100 mph along the track. In 1959 a train recorder timed aBritannia Class locomotive, theIron Duke (No 70014), doing 89 mph between Cheadle Heath and Didsbury.[3]
In 1973, a freight train was derailed inside the tunnel due to a broken rail. Recovery of the wagons took about a week.[4]
53°22′18″N2°05′09″W / 53.37167°N 2.08583°W /53.37167; -2.08583