Glenfield Railway Tunnel

September saw most of the team underground in Leicester, carrying out a photographic survey of the Glenfield Railway Tunnel prior to strengthening works.

The tunnel measures 1 mile and 36 yards long and originally formed part of the Leicester-Swannington Railway which was officially opened on July 13th 1832. It was the longest tunnel of its type in England when it was opened and formed part of the first locomotive railway in the East Midlands. The building of the railway was fuelled by the need to enable the collieries of the area to transport coal to the markets in Leicester though it was soon over taken by the Midland Railway Company and carried passengers until the 1920’s.

The archaeological work involved taking a full photographic record of the tunnels length, and recording in more detail areas that had undergone repairs or that revealed evidence of construction techniques.