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crewe tunnels?

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stockport1

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are the freight diversion tunnels used by passenger services now..in the past and would they be useful for future use?

are the fully electrified? and extra info would be appreciated.(when built,history etc)

not found much about them on tinterweb?
 
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MidnightFlyer

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The tunnels I think you are referring to are the Independents. No passenger services are currently booked to use them, and I think this has been the case since the back platforms closed in the '80s.
 

ole man

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No passenger train has used the independants since the upgrade in the 80's as stated above.
They are both fully electrified,(liverpool indep, and manchester indep),although it looks like one tunnel the lines are separate and come out north of crewe on different lines.
The man indep come out together on the crewe-man line.
The liverpool indep come out on opposite sides on the wcml,by crewe coal yard box
 

AJP62

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In the late 70s there were motorail services booked over the Liverpool lines. The station was pretty busy overnight in those days so the very long motorails would be cause a lot of issues as they stopped to change crews.

I think some of the trains publicly advertised nonstop Euston Holyhead used the lines to the west of the station and then on to Chester.

I don't recall any services over the Manchester lines.

The passenger Services Over Unusual Lines stickied on the Tours and Special Workings thread show a lot of workings in the 1960s version.
 

185

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So much wasted land which could be used for a proper station concourse & frontage for Crewe.
 

ole man

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I have found a book i had, it says they were built to relieve the station, which in 1890's had over 1000 trains a day passing through,most of it was freight which was often slow,(nothing changed then).
They was started late 1890's.
According to the network rail sectional appendix's they are (liverpool indep) 320m, (man indep) 416 m in length
 

QJ

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I think some of the trains publicly advertised nonstop Euston Holyhead used the lines to the west of the station and then on to Chester.

They did indeed. The Friday only relief to the down Irish Mail had no advertised stops between London Euston and Holyhead. It was booked in the working timetable to change engines at Basford Hall Sorting Sidings North and then take the Chester Independent line to bypass Crewe station. On the occasions I travelled on this service in 1980 it was very pleasing to hear the unmistakeable whistle of the type 4 diesel backing on.

I also travelled on the Motorrail service from Kensington Olympia to Stirling and back from Inverness to travel over the Liverpool Independent lines which are in seperate tunnels ( as already mentioned) to emerge at Crewe Coal Yard either side of the WCML.

Whilst the resignalling of Crewe station was taking place all the Crewe Independent lines had passenger trains booked over them including the Manchester Independent used in the main by the Cardiff to Manchester loco hauled services. Even Basford Hall to Gresty Lane had trains running over it that occasionally conveyed passengers during the period albeit nominally ECS workings.
 
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