In this week’s edition of Isle of Wight Railways, Island Echo examines the 7 railway tunnels of the Isle of Wight.
Did you know that a total of 7 railway tunnels were built on the Isle of Wight between 1862 and 1897?
5 were on the main railway lines and 2 serviced branch lines to quarries. Of the 7, 1 is still in use today as a railway tunnel and another is now a pedestrian walkway and cycle path.
The former railway tunnel under Snooks Hill in Newport is the only 1 accessible to the public. The St Lawrence (High Hat) tunnel still exists, but there is no right of way.
All the others – apart from the 1 still in use as part of a railway line – have been bricked up.
We shall look at the 5 main railway tunnels in chronological order according to when they were built.
Mill Hill tunnel, Cowes (1862)
Mill Hill tunnel – on the Cowes to Newport line – was the first to be completed.
It was just 208 yards long, and its 1st scheduled passenger train steamed through on the 14th of June of that year.
The 2 bricked up portals of the tunnel can be seen at the junctions of Newport, and Bridge Roads, and St Mary’s and Gordon Road.
The last train departed from Mill Hill tunnel on 20th February 1966.
The tunnel was subsequently used as a rifle range by a gun club.
A serious accident occurred at Mill Hill in the summer of 1883 when a large sow – being transported in the guard’s van – broke loose and prevented the guard from applying the brake. Consequently, the train ran into the station with ‘tremendous force’. The guard received cuts to his face. and a passenger suffered 3 broken ribs.
Ventnor Railway tunnel (1866)
The longest railway tunnel on the Island – 1,312 yards long – was opened on 10th September 1866.
The tunnel cost upwards of £300,000 to build – over £25million in today’s money. It took 2 years to complete the work, and the navvies doing the work from both ends were said to have celebrated breaking through St Boniface Down with a punch up.
The final train passed through on 18th April 1966. Now, Ventnor’s water supply now runs through the tunnel. In 1903 – when Wroxall was yet to be supplied with electricity – it was proposed that the Isle of Wight Electric Company run a cable along the tunnel under St Boniface Down.
Snooks Hill tunnel, Newport (1875)
This tunnel – just 83 yards long – still runs under Fairlee Road and Medina Way.
Surprisingly, however, it is not the shortest tunnel on the Isle of Wight, as it is significantly longer than the Ashey Down tunnel.
Snooks Hill tunnel was first used for a scheduled service on 17th December 1875, and the last train departed through it on 20th February 1966.
Today, it is a pedestrian and cycle underpass between the Riverside centre and Victoria Road. The end of the south portal (near the Riverside Centre) is a modern construction that does not follow the original alignment of the railway.
Ryde Railway tunnel (1880)
This 391-yard tunnel was built between 1878 and 1880.
A plaque, however, gives its completion date erroneously as 1881.
Before its construction, passengers disembarking from the ferry had to take a horse drawn tram to Ryde St Johns station, the former terminus.
The tunnel has a serious design flaw – it is under sea level – which has meant it has flooded numerous times over the years.
The 1st scheduled passenger train went through the tunnel on 5th April 1880, and it is still in operation 143 years later (sometimes).
Ryde railway tunnel was the scene of tragedy in 1915, when a 22-year-old servant girl Annie Slater from Yafford threw her illegitimate baby onto the tracks as she feared taking him home. The baby was found dead by a railway platelayer. Annie claimed she had no intention of killing the child and had hoped someone would come to pick him up. She was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.
High Hat tunnel, St Lawrence (1897)
This 619-yard tunnel was 1st opened to passenger trains on 20th July 1897.
It remained in use for a further 55 years until 15th September 1952.
The tunnel starts at Seven Sisters Road. The view between its south portal and St Lawrence station was regarded as the finest to be found on the Isle of Wight railways.
On 22nd June 1897, a great deal of anxiety was caused by a 3,000-ton cliff fall of the Undercliff. A coastguard – knowing that a gang of men had been working there – believed a terrible loss of life had occurred and telegrammed the neighbouring towns to send doctors. However, the men had been warned the cliff would fall, and no-one was working there.
In 1906, a prisoner – Herbert Beard – escaped from Police custody in the darkness of the tunnel. He was being escorted to Newport to face a charge of malicious wounding. The prisoner silently opened the door of the carriage and jumped out. His escort – Sergeant W. Cass – got the driver to stop the train and ran back into the tunnel to find Beard apparently dead in the darkness.
Beard was carried – seemingly lifeless – to Whitwell station. There, he was seen to have been feigning injury. He continued on his journey to Newport on the following train and was remanded in custody to appear before Ryde magistrates.
The Chalk Pit tunnels: Ashey Down (1875) Shide (1895)
These 2 short tunnels served local chalk pits.
Ashey Down tunnel formed part of a branch line built by George Young – Director of the Isle of Wight Central Railway – to his chalk quarry at Ashey Down. It was the shortest tunnel on the Isle of Wight network at just 43 yards.
More on the railway at Ashey may be found in the following article.
The Shide Chalk pit tunnel was built some time after 1895 at the behest of West Medina Cement Mill. 1n 1913, over 40,000 tons of chalk went through the tunnel.
