| The Harecastle tunnel is long, well over
a mile and a half (2,926 yards)! It is cool and damp, not
lighted, and is narrow with room just enough for narrowboat traffic
to go single file in one direction at a time. The roof of the
tunnel gets quite low in spots!
Harecastle actually has two tunnels. One tunnel, built by
James Brindley, was commissioned for use in 1777. It now
stands closed due to portions of the tunnel "sinking" and
making it impassable. Within the this tunnel there were side
tunnels leading to underground coal mining areas. An artifact
from these mining areas is the seepage of particles from ironstone
rock within the mining areas. The seepage is what taints the water
with the orange color.
The current functional Harecastle tunnel was built to improve the
traffic flow by providing a two tunnels in parallel operation, each
handling traffic in one-direction. This second tunnel was
built by Thomas Telford and opened in 1827.
In the days of horse-drawn narrowboats, the horse team would be
talked over the top of the hill while the narrowboat would be talked
by foot power through the tunnel. The canal men would lay on
their backs with feet against the tunnel ceiling and use their
"leg power" to push the narrowboat.
 |
Harecastle wait queue
at the North entrance with tunnel master's office of the right
side Note the opening to the Brindley built tunnel
just to the left of the office. The Telford built tunnel
is on the left. (6/8/1999) |
 |
Entering Harecastle
from the North entrance (6/8/1999) |
 |
A dark and lonely place
- where rumor has it that sometimes a person or two or an
entire narrowboat disappears! (6/8/1999) |
 |
A light at the end of the
tunnel! (6/8/1999) |
 |
We made it! Out of the
tunnel and no one lost! (6/8/1999) |
 |
On Silver Vale's (lower right) north bound trip arrival at
the South portal came after the Tunnel Master secured
operations for the day. The crew moors for the night.
(7/4/2001) |
 |
As morning tunnel operations commence, Silver Vale sits in
the queue waiting for permission from the Tunnel Master for
entry. Note the structure built around the tunnel
opening is a service building containing powerful air fans
designed to ventilate the engine exhaust fumes in the tunnel.
(7/5/2001) |
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