Considering its age. The tunnel is in great condition. Hopefully it can be fully opened up as a through route for walkers and cyclists. Another informative vlog, thanks once again.
Thank you for watching. They won't be able to open it up as the other portal is completely buried and they built houses on it unfortunately. It would have been a lovely walk to add to the path that used to be the track but nevermind.
It's great to see that this very old tunnel can be used for guided tours. I once read that Coalville steam loco depot had two ex-Midland Railway class 2 goods locomotives allocated to work trains through this tunnel because of the gauging restrictions. Fantastic presentation, thank you.
Ooh wow dad's definitely interested in walking this now he's getting back on his feet with his new hip he's down to using just the walking stick again he's made great progress this past month he can even do stairs again now great facts you've got about it too so glad they still allow tours what a gem of architecture and history! 👏🙌🎉
Thanks for watching and your support. Great to hear that your dad is getting better! I recommend this tour it's a really easy walk and the guides are fantastic. Glad you enjoyed the video 👍
To put it in Leicester terminology "it's a real belter of a video"! Nice to see inside the tunnel without a noisy crowd there as in one video I saw. "Comet" was, according to a history I read many years ago, the first locomotive to be fitted with a whistle or as it was called at the time a "steam trumpet" to announce its approach. Until then locos were often fitted with a bell as a warning instrument, which is why to this day locos in the USA still have bells fitted by law. I remember Glenfield Station still standing in the early 1960s. We sometimes raced the afternoon goods train from West Bridge to Glenfield on our bikes as it made its way through the allotments and the tunnel. One of my schoolfriends lived on Tudor Road with the sidings at the back of the house 58148 was a regular loco until they cut down the cabs and boiler fittings on two standard class 2 2-6-0 locos (78028/29 I think). They only served for a couple of years before the line closed but a special train of brake vans was run as an excursion from Belgrave Road Station which ran over a new connection to the Midland line at Forest Road, then over the Burton line and back into Leicester West Bridge via Glenfield Tunnel shortly before closure. One of my friends had a smoke vent in their back garden and the smoke from the train was a daily occurance. I believe that in the very early 60s two children, a boy about 8 years old and his younger sister were killed in the tunnel by a train. I can't remember the date but it was a headline in the Leicester Mercury at the time. I still have an Argo recording of the Glenfield Goods which I listen to now and again to remind me of the line. I now live with a view of another Stephenson rail tunnel from the rear of my house in Grosmont in North Yorkshire. The Whitby and Pickering line was built just a little after the Leicester and Swannington and the tunnel is in local stone and forms the access to the loco depot on the NYMR. You'll have to come over and film that one sometime. It would make a good sequel to the Glenfield one!
Thank you for watching a d your kind comments. It is always interesting to hear the stories of when these lines were open as it is sometimes hard to imagine what the area was like. As the channel grows I will be going further afield so I agree that would be an excellent sequel to this video. Thanks again.
Hi good afternoon the Glenfield tunnel was built by George and Robert Stevenson. back in 1964, when I was at school we went on a school trip through the tunnel with torches we came out Glenfield I have video footage of it going from King Richard Road on a train over Foss Road going into the tunnel. I’m coming out the other end Glenfield. where are you was West Street? I’m sure that’s the street where I work for a knitting company HWB knitwear, and when we had our lunch break, I used to walk on the embankment from the railway pub along to ratby good memories so thank you, Colin.
Great video Middy. First became aware of Glenfield Tunnel in the mid 1970s. The tunnel being so narrow meant that only small locos could haul trains through it. B.R. used ancient Johnson 2F 0-6-0 locos of Midland Railway vintage until they were replaced by more modern steam locomotives in 1964. These more up to date engines had to be modified though by having the height of their cabs reduced to fit the narrow confines of the tunnel. Passenger services finished as long ago as 1928. Congrats on reaching 1000 subscribers!
Thank you and thanks for watching. I must admit when I was in the tunnel it is even smaller than comes over on the video. I was wondering if they had to modify the locos to fit as there is so little clearance. Thank you for the information.
My Grandad lived in the last house before the bridge in West Street. I remember going there every weekend in the 70s and 80s. The trains and line was gone by then, but my sisters still remember them. Since I moved away I hadn't realised that the tunnel was now open for tours, I remember it as being blocked up and a great area for adventure as a kid. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, I enjoy all your GCR videos too!
Thank you and thanks for watching my videos it's much appreciated. I am sure the area was so different before they built on the area. The tour is very interesting and it still amazes me how tight this tunnel is. There are loads of videos coming up on the gcr I hope you enjoy them. 👍
Thanks for watching. It is hard to believe trains ever ran through it tbh. I don't know about that but like all these tunnels they have often had other uses.
Hi Middy. Have seen a few of yr vlogs came across them by accident. Also commented before. Really informative and interesting. Love the picture fade keep them coming.... have ticked the like box
Thank you and thanks for your continued support 👍 a real belter this one which I planned on filming right at the beginning! Glad it was the video to celebrate with! Thanks again 👍
Thank you and I am glad you enjoy the videos. I have had a quiet February but there is loads coming up in march! Including some tunnels!! Thanks again 👍
So interesting, very enjoyable, I used to play down the tunnel when I was a kid, and also down at Rothley bridge, we always called it the 3 bridges, congratulations on getting a thousand plus subscribers.
Thanks again for another interesting and informative video. About 10 or so years ago I went on an organised bike ride, and one of the highlights was stopping off at the tunnel entrance, which was opened after prior permission had been obtained. We weren’t allowed to venture too far into the tunnel, so I would love to go back and have a proper look one day.
Great to see it restored and lit up --- it didn't look like that when I rode my dirt track motorbike through it not long after they removed the tracks. It was spooky riding by torch light especially after running in to the decomposing body of a dead pony !
Thanks for watching. It really is a lovely tunnel now and being looked after. That sounds a bit grim! I imagine it was very spooky down there at that time.
Congratulations Middy, for 1000 subscribers. I'm sure the next 1000 subscribers will be even quicker. Loved the story about the passengers washing in the river.
Thank you and thanks for watching. Hopefully the next 1000 will arrive quickly!! Yes the story of the passengers is amazing I can't imagine that would happen now!!
Great video. I have the TSS ( the tunnel study society) visit notes from about 1976 to this tunnel. “Mysterious noises from within” quote. That of course was when both ends were open
Thanks for watching. Sounds eerie but I am sure with all those vents and if it was open at both end s then noise flooded in! Tbh when doing other tunnels some of the noises are a bit odd but the acoustics are so weird!
Unfortunately when they closed off the other end they put a housing estate on it so it will never be fully open. I am hoping to revisit in the future to walk to the infilled end.
Leicestershire County Council should send a party to Brockville, Ontario, Canada to get some idea of how a tunnel like this could be made into a valuable civic asset.
It's fantastic to know that the county that I spent a lot of my formative years in used to have the longest railway tunnel in the world, and that they had the foresight to look after it. Is there any particular reason why they stop halfway on the tour? I'd love to get into that second half to see the end. The bridge over the Rothley Brook was a cracker, the original bits at least. Great video and congratulations on making 1000 subs👍👌.
Thank you and thanks for your continued support. It really is a a cracker and so well looked after by the volunteers. The tour finishes there due to it being the end of the lights and the tour guide said it's just the same all the way down to the end! The bridges are lovely if not quite original. Thanks again and the 1000 took a while but I got there!!
Thank you for watching. I totally agree a real shame that this has been mostly lost. In another video on the line I cover another tunnel and that is practically forgotten and in a very poor state. It's such a shame that this country seems to have so little time for it's industrial past.
Thanks for watching. It was only single track and the engines in later days were altered to fit the height. The concrete buttresses were added a few years back to stop a collapse ( fitted after closure). It was definitely a railway tunnel!
Imagine a people capable of constructing that engineering marvel , a mere year after Stephenson's Rocket had been exhibited , but they forgot to measure the height of the chimney before setting off ? Something doesn't seem right with the narrative to me.
Thank you for watching and yes it does seem like a massive oversight! The trains later on had the cabs cut down to fit the tunnel as well. My microphone was broken as I set off so had to rely on the camera only, so apologies if that was the issue! More coming from that and other lines very soon, when I am well again!!
@@MiddyExplores My problem is not that such a mistake can be made , but the whole official story seems to be completely unbelievable. The funnel being too tall for the tunnel is just a gaping indication that the people credited with such a marvel were highly unlikely to be those responsible for the engineering masterpiece . How could the longest tunnel in the world , be planned , designed , excavated , and built within a few months of the Rocket being exhibited ? It would be like building the M1 within months of the first motor car , or Heathrow being planned after the Wright brothers first flight .
I do see your point it seems very unlikely as does a lot of the old railways I look at, the time lines always seem a little odd. The great central railway was allegedly built at a terrific rate according to the official times! Although things were built quicker in the past and a lot less safely. I often imagine that there is some flexibility in the dates@@IZingari
Actually, no. Longer tunnels had ventilators (vertical air shafts leading to ground level above). Most of the emissions comprised the superheated steam from the engines cylinders, now rapidly cooling and dispersing, leaving a damp feeling which was not unpleasant. Steam was clean, wet and probably good for you. The smoke from the coal fired boilers was less pleasant though quickly dispersed, but left a pleasant 'smoky' smell not unlike creosote or tarmac. You could still smell it for years afterwards on a closed down tunnel. But it was undoubtedly pollution and left black sooty stains on brick, stone and the midpoint of the underside of bridges etc. When I was a boy in the 1960s, the whole of Manchester was blackened by smoke and buildings have had to be sandblasted clean systematically. And the smog! It had to be seen to be believed. Of course this came not from the railways but from coal burning in industry and domestic hearths on a massive scale
Considering its age. The tunnel is in great condition. Hopefully it can be fully opened up as a through route for walkers and cyclists. Another informative vlog, thanks once again.
Thank you for watching. They won't be able to open it up as the other portal is completely buried and they built houses on it unfortunately. It would have been a lovely walk to add to the path that used to be the track but nevermind.
It's great to see that this very old tunnel can be used for guided tours. I once read that Coalville steam loco depot had two ex-Midland Railway class 2 goods locomotives allocated to work trains through this tunnel because of the gauging restrictions. Fantastic presentation, thank you.
Thanks for watching and for the information. It certainly is a restricted size!
Ooh wow dad's definitely interested in walking this now he's getting back on his feet with his new hip he's down to using just the walking stick again he's made great progress this past month he can even do stairs again now great facts you've got about it too so glad they still allow tours what a gem of architecture and history! 👏🙌🎉
Thanks for watching and your support. Great to hear that your dad is getting better! I recommend this tour it's a really easy walk and the guides are fantastic. Glad you enjoyed the video 👍
To put it in Leicester terminology "it's a real belter of a video"! Nice to see inside the tunnel without a noisy crowd there as in one video I saw. "Comet" was, according to a history I read many years ago, the first locomotive to be fitted with a whistle or as it was called at the time a "steam trumpet" to announce its approach. Until then locos were often fitted with a bell as a warning instrument, which is why to this day locos in the USA still have bells fitted by law.
I remember Glenfield Station still standing in the early 1960s. We sometimes raced the afternoon goods train from West Bridge to Glenfield on our bikes as it made its way through the allotments and the tunnel. One of my schoolfriends lived on Tudor Road with the sidings at the back of the house 58148 was a regular loco until they cut down the cabs and boiler fittings on two standard class 2 2-6-0 locos (78028/29 I think). They only served for a couple of years before the line closed but a special train of brake vans was run as an excursion from Belgrave Road Station which ran over a new connection to the Midland line at Forest Road, then over the Burton line and back into Leicester West Bridge via Glenfield Tunnel shortly before closure. One of my friends had a smoke vent in their back garden and the smoke from the train was a daily occurance. I believe that in the very early 60s two children, a boy about 8 years old and his younger sister were killed in the tunnel by a train. I can't remember the date but it was a headline in the Leicester Mercury at the time. I still have an Argo recording of the Glenfield Goods which I listen to now and again to remind me of the line.
I now live with a view of another Stephenson rail tunnel from the rear of my house in Grosmont in North Yorkshire. The Whitby and Pickering line was built just a little after the Leicester and Swannington and the tunnel is in local stone and forms the access to the loco depot on the NYMR. You'll have to come over and film that one sometime. It would make a good sequel to the Glenfield one!
Thank you for watching a d your kind comments. It is always interesting to hear the stories of when these lines were open as it is sometimes hard to imagine what the area was like. As the channel grows I will be going further afield so I agree that would be an excellent sequel to this video. Thanks again.
Hi good afternoon the Glenfield tunnel was built by George and Robert Stevenson. back in 1964, when I was at school we went on a school trip through the tunnel with torches we came out Glenfield I have video footage of it going from King Richard Road on a train over Foss Road going into the tunnel. I’m coming out the other end Glenfield. where are you was West Street? I’m sure that’s the street where I work for a knitting company HWB knitwear, and when we had our lunch break, I used to walk on the embankment from the railway pub along to ratby good memories so thank you, Colin.
Thanks for watching and I am glad it bought back good memories. A somewhat forgotten gem.
Great video Middy. First became aware of Glenfield Tunnel in the mid 1970s. The tunnel being so narrow meant that only small locos could haul trains through it. B.R. used ancient Johnson 2F 0-6-0 locos of Midland Railway vintage until they were replaced by more modern steam locomotives in 1964. These more up to date engines had to be modified though by having the height of their cabs reduced to fit the narrow confines of the tunnel. Passenger services finished as long ago as 1928. Congrats on reaching 1000 subscribers!
Thank you and thanks for watching. I must admit when I was in the tunnel it is even smaller than comes over on the video. I was wondering if they had to modify the locos to fit as there is so little clearance. Thank you for the information.
My Grandad lived in the last house before the bridge in West Street. I remember going there every weekend in the 70s and 80s. The trains and line was gone by then, but my sisters still remember them. Since I moved away I hadn't realised that the tunnel was now open for tours, I remember it as being blocked up and a great area for adventure as a kid. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, I enjoy all your GCR videos too!
Thank you and thanks for watching my videos it's much appreciated. I am sure the area was so different before they built on the area. The tour is very interesting and it still amazes me how tight this tunnel is. There are loads of videos coming up on the gcr I hope you enjoy them. 👍
What an amazing tunnel. 190 years old! The school boy curiosity in me, asks, What's it like after the half way barriers? Great video.
Thanks for watching. There is more to see and watch this space as a follow up video may be on the way....
It's SO narrow ! Imagine being a workman when a train is coming !!
I vaguely remember that Glenfield Tunnel used to be a mushroom farm ?
Thanks for watching. It is hard to believe trains ever ran through it tbh. I don't know about that but like all these tunnels they have often had other uses.
Hi Middy. Have seen a few of yr vlogs came across them by accident. Also commented before. Really informative and interesting. Love the picture fade keep them coming.... have ticked the like box
Thank you and thanks for watching. This one was a real pleasure to make as I have wanted to visit this tunnel for so long. More videos every week!
Congratulations middy what a super video as always
Thank you and thanks for watching. And your support
Nice looking tunnel and must be fascinating to walk through
Thanks for watching. It's an absolute beauty and in such good condition, considering its age. The volunteers do a fantastic job of looking after it.
Nice one middy congratulations on a 1000 subscribers great to see the tunnel and another great video carnt wait to see the next once again thanks👍
Thank you and thanks for watching. Plenty more on the way! 👍
Congratulations on your 1000 Subscribers 😃
Brilliant Vlog as usual too!!!
Thank you Neil and thanks for your support. Glad you enjoyed it!
You did it Middy!!! 1000! Great video showing yet another amazing structure. Such an amazing piece of architecture.
Thank you and thanks for your continued support 👍 a real belter this one which I planned on filming right at the beginning! Glad it was the video to celebrate with! Thanks again 👍
I always enjoy your videos - particularly those with tunnels in them! More, please!
Thank you and I am glad you enjoy the videos. I have had a quiet February but there is loads coming up in march! Including some tunnels!! Thanks again 👍
So interesting, very enjoyable, I used to play down the tunnel when I was a kid, and also down at Rothley bridge, we always called it the 3 bridges, congratulations on getting a thousand plus subscribers.
Thank you and thanks for watching. Incredible place to visit
Congrats on 1000 subscribers. Great video as always!
Thank you and thanks for watching
Fab...once again...cheers
Thank you and thanks for watching
Thanks again for another interesting and informative video. About 10 or so years ago I went on an organised bike ride, and one of the highlights was stopping off at the tunnel entrance, which was opened after prior permission had been obtained. We weren’t allowed to venture too far into the tunnel, so I would love to go back and have a proper look one day.
Thanks as always David. A wonderful old tunnel well worth a visit.
Glenfield Tunnel is impressive, great video
It really is considering how old it is and how small it is compared to other railway tunnels. Well worth a visit.
Great to see it restored and lit up --- it didn't look like that when I rode my dirt track motorbike through it not long after they removed the tracks. It was spooky riding by torch light especially after running in to the decomposing body of a dead pony !
Thanks for watching. It really is a lovely tunnel now and being looked after. That sounds a bit grim! I imagine it was very spooky down there at that time.
Congratulations Middy, for 1000 subscribers. I'm sure the next 1000 subscribers will be even quicker. Loved the story about the passengers washing in the river.
Thank you and thanks for watching. Hopefully the next 1000 will arrive quickly!! Yes the story of the passengers is amazing I can't imagine that would happen now!!
Hi middy we’re you in Mansfield today (7th) by any chance? I swear it was you in my local shell garage!
Are there any pictures of where the line went into the other portal? (I know it has been infilled)
I am not sure but I am doing a follow up video this year so will be exploring that. Apparently it's in someone's back garden!!
And I as a child lived above it at some part on 5 Tredington Road Glenfield in a new build by Jelsons the builders circa mid 1950’s
Thanks for watching it's amazing it's still there! Thank you for sharing
Great video. I have the TSS ( the tunnel study society) visit notes from about 1976 to this tunnel. “Mysterious noises from within” quote. That of course was when both ends were open
Thanks for watching. Sounds eerie but I am sure with all those vents and if it was open at both end s then noise flooded in! Tbh when doing other tunnels some of the noises are a bit odd but the acoustics are so weird!
Wow that is an amazing tunnel, will it eventually be fully open?
Unfortunately when they closed off the other end they put a housing estate on it so it will never be fully open. I am hoping to revisit in the future to walk to the infilled end.
Leicestershire County Council should send a party to Brockville, Ontario, Canada to get some idea of how a tunnel like this could be made into a valuable civic asset.
Although most of it is in the county, the tunnel is actually owned by Leicester City Council, who bought it for £5 back in the late 60s!
Thanks for watching. What do they do that's different? Is there a website? I think it could be so much more!
It's fantastic to know that the county that I spent a lot of my formative years in used to have the longest railway tunnel in the world, and that they had the foresight to look after it. Is there any particular reason why they stop halfway on the tour? I'd love to get into that second half to see the end. The bridge over the Rothley Brook was a cracker, the original bits at least. Great video and congratulations on making 1000 subs👍👌.
Thank you and thanks for your continued support. It really is a a cracker and so well looked after by the volunteers. The tour finishes there due to it being the end of the lights and the tour guide said it's just the same all the way down to the end! The bridges are lovely if not quite original. Thanks again and the 1000 took a while but I got there!!
It's such a shame that so much of this railway has been lost to time & development. One of the first railways in the World. Most of it gone.
Thank you for watching. I totally agree a real shame that this has been mostly lost. In another video on the line I cover another tunnel and that is practically forgotten and in a very poor state. It's such a shame that this country seems to have so little time for it's industrial past.
2:58 That doesn't look like a railway tunnel to me..
Thanks for watching. It was only single track and the engines in later days were altered to fit the height. The concrete buttresses were added a few years back to stop a collapse ( fitted after closure). It was definitely a railway tunnel!
Imagine a people capable of constructing that engineering marvel , a mere year after Stephenson's Rocket had been exhibited , but they forgot to measure the height of the chimney before setting off ? Something doesn't seem right with the narrative to me.
Thank you for watching and yes it does seem like a massive oversight! The trains later on had the cabs cut down to fit the tunnel as well. My microphone was broken as I set off so had to rely on the camera only, so apologies if that was the issue! More coming from that and other lines very soon, when I am well again!!
@@MiddyExplores My problem is not that such a mistake can be made , but the whole official story seems to be completely unbelievable. The funnel being too tall for the tunnel is just a gaping indication that the people credited with such a marvel were highly unlikely to be those responsible for the engineering masterpiece . How could the longest tunnel in the world , be planned , designed , excavated , and built within a few months of the Rocket being exhibited ? It would be like building the M1 within months of the first motor car , or Heathrow being planned after the Wright brothers first flight .
I do see your point it seems very unlikely as does a lot of the old railways I look at, the time lines always seem a little odd. The great central railway was allegedly built at a terrific rate according to the official times! Although things were built quicker in the past and a lot less safely. I often imagine that there is some flexibility in the dates@@IZingari
The air must have been really bad after a steam engine came through
Thanks for watching. I can only imagine it was horrendous!
Actually, no. Longer tunnels had ventilators (vertical air shafts leading to ground level above). Most of the emissions comprised the superheated steam from the engines cylinders, now rapidly cooling and dispersing, leaving a damp feeling which was not unpleasant. Steam was clean, wet and probably good for you. The smoke from the coal fired boilers was less pleasant though quickly dispersed, but left a pleasant 'smoky' smell not unlike creosote or tarmac. You could still smell it for years afterwards on a closed down tunnel. But it was undoubtedly pollution and left black sooty stains on brick, stone and the midpoint of the underside of bridges etc. When I was a boy in the 1960s, the whole of Manchester was blackened by smoke and buildings have had to be sandblasted clean systematically. And the smog! It had to be seen to be believed. Of course this came not from the railways but from coal burning in industry and domestic hearths on a massive scale