‘It was frightening to say the least’
Inside the disused Central and Werneth Tunnels in Oldham(Image: Jon Harris | Derelict Manchester)
Who doesn’t love a shortcut? Yet, some shortcuts aren’t worth the time saved, especially if you take your own life into your hands using them.
Oldhammers have been reminiscing about a disused and potentially deadly shortcut they remember taking back when they were young. The Werneth and Central railway tunnels opened in 1847 as part of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.
Known as the Oldham Loop, the line from Manchester to Rochdale via Milnrow ran south of the town through two tunnels. The Central Tunnel, at 449 yards, is the shorter tunnel, which then leads to a small cutting and into the slightly longer Werneth Tunnel, at 471 yards.
While the tunnels were still in use up until just over a decade ago as part of Metrolink, they are now overgrown with much of the tracks removed.
After photographs of the now disused tunnels were posted the I Grew Up In Werneth Facebook group, many took to the comments to share their memories.
The tunnels have been abandoned since 2014(Image: Jon Harris | Derelict Manchester)
One person posted: “Used to go through when the trains were running but on Sunday when it was quieter. It used to run under our house, you could hear it, we lived on Union Street West.”
Another wrote: “Yeh, went through these several times to Central Station and down Wellington Street to the park. When a train came you would tuck into one of the alcoves to get out of the way! Pretty scary and mad really!”
While a third person posted: “Did the Werneth Tunnel, twice – very lucky second time. Got in [an] alcove just in time, about five years old,” adding, “Game of chicken, never did again”.
Class 142 train emerges from tunnel at Oldham Werneth in 2009(Image: John Parkin (cc-by-sa/2.0))
When similar photos of the tunnels were posted on the Disused Railway Tunnels UK Facebook page, more people shared their memories.
One person said: “This is the tunnel I went in, many, many years ago, when the trains were still running to Manchester. Didn’t go all the way through though. The second train [that] passed us was a little too close for comfort.”
Oldhammers remember using the tunnels as a shortcut during their younger days(Image: Jon Harris | Derelict Manchester)
Another answered: “We did too… hiding in the alcoves when a train came through. [It] was frightening to say the least”.
Jon Harris, who has photographed the tunnels since they were abandoned, runs the fascinating Derelict Manchester website and Facebook page.
Alcove used to avoid passing trains inside the tunnels(Image: Jon Harris | Derelict Manchester)
Jon’s photographs show the dark and atmospheric stone and brick tunnels, and the alcoves people used to use to dart out of the way of passing trains.
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