Buried underneath the River Thames is the world’s first tunnel to be dug under a major (navigable) river. This was also the first tunnel ever to be designed for trains to pass along.
The Thames Tunnel was built between 1825 and 1843 by Marc Brunel, and his son, Isambard. Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (25 April 1769 – 12 December 1849) was a French-British engineer.
Said, and rightly confirmed, to be an impressive feat of engineering, the tunnel was built using an innovative tunnelling shield. The shield functions as a way to protect labourers undertaking the digging. The shield is progressively moved forwards, replaced with pre-built sections of tunnel wall.
Today the Thames Tunnel connects the train stations for Rotherhithe and Wapping. For the last weekend during November, the tunnel was opened for small groups of visitors to walk along and cast their eyes upon this feat of Victorian engineering.
The walk through the tunnel was made possible due to planned engineering works across London Overground and special permission being gained from London Transport. Digital Journal’s UK based reported was in attendance.
London Overground is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs.
Heading down the tunnel, one has to be careful of trip hazards. In addition, there are sensitive items of electrical equipment, such as signalling controls, that must not be trodden on otherwise they will disrupt future trains passing through.
The tunnel measures 35 ft (11 m) wide by 20 ft (6.1 m) high and is 1,300 ft (400 m) long.
Work began on the tunnel in February 1825, by sinking a 50 feet (15 m) diameter vertical shaft on the Rotherhithe bank. The project was funded by private investors who hoped to receive dividends once the tunnel was opened and users started to pay the passage toll for the convenience of using it.
The tunnel is a triumph of civil engineering, and a fascinating construct.
The tunnel was purchased in September 1865 at a cost of £800,000 (or £124 million in today’s money) by the East London Railway Company.
The building of the tunnel was fraught with danger and there were many fatalities. Hazards included floods (in particular on 23 August and 3 November 1837, 20 March 1838, 3 April 1840), together with fires and leaks of methane and hydrogen sulphide gas. Brunel himself almost succumbed during one incident of flooding. His unconscious and battered body was plucked from the water inside the caisson space.
Another obstacle was hundreds of thousands of oyster shells, discarded by the Romans.
The first train ran through the tunnel on 7 December 1869. Today, the tunnel is part of the London Overground network. You can still see walls caked with Victorian steam-train smoke.
Due to the architectural importance, the tunnel was granted Grade II listed status by the UK government on 24 March 1995. A listed building in the UK is a structure of particular architectural and/or historic interest deserving of special protection.
The experience of walking through the tunnel, this marvellous feat of Victorian engineering, will probably not be repeated for a generation. Hopefully the images that illustrate this article convey a sense of this engineering triumph and indicate just wat is like to walk through a railways tunnel underneath one of the most iconic rivers in the world. Damp, dark, and all the more fascinating for it.
