Trains at Walsden and the Summit Tunnel.

Finding myself with a few hours to pass on a warm Sunday afternoon, I thought I would catch the train up the Calder Valley and walk back along the Rochdale Canal from Walsden to Todmorden while taking a few photos along the way. I thought I would walk the short distance from Walsden Station to the Summit Tunnel to see if I could get any pictures of the eastern portal, and while there, I thought it might be interesting to film a train either entering or exiting the tunnel. Luckily, this being a Sunday, I didn't have to wait too long as an eastbound train passed shortly after I settled myself in for a wait. The result was this short video, also available to view on YouTube.

Sadly I was not aware of the distraction of the weeds in front of the camera at the time but I don't think they remove much of the feel of the video.

The Summit Tunnel is one of the oldest railway tunnels in England, built between 1837 and 1841. When opened, it was the longest tunnel in the world at just over 1.6 miles long. The tunnel was closed for 8 months in 1985 due to a serious fire when a petrol train derailed and burst into flames on December 20, 1984.

 

I also, before walking up, took a short time to film trains in operation at Walsden station, including a westbound train running straight through. An eastbound train was filmed from the iron bridge (the only remaining part of the original station closed in 1961 with the current station reopening in 1990), and another westbound train slowing on approach to platform 1 was filmed from platform 2 as it arrived.

The following video was filmed on November 14, 2014, using my handheld tablet. I was just beginning to take an interest in photography and filmed a short clip of a pacer train passing on its way into the mouth of the Summit Tunnel.