Belsize Tunnel
The eastern portals of Belsize Tunnel. On the left, the original tunnel of 1865-67. On the right, the newer tunnel of 1883-84.
Overview
LineMidland Main Line
LocationCamden, London
Coordinates51°33′08.70″N 0°09′26.3″W / 51.5524167°N 0.157306°W / 51.5524167; -0.157306
Operation
Work begun1865
Opened1867
OwnerNetwork Rail
Technical
Length1,867 yards (1,707 m)[1]

Belsize tunnel is a railway tunnel at Belsize Park on the Midland Main Line between Kentish Town and West Hampstead Thameslink.

It was built between 1865 and 1867 for the Midland Railway extension from Bedford to London St Pancras. The ceremony of laying the first brick was performed on 27 January 1865[2] by Mr. Price, the chairman of the company, at Barham Road, Haverstock Hill. The contract price for the tunnel was £250,000 (equivalent to £25,430,000 in 2021).[3]

The last brick was laid on 20 June 1867 by the chairman when the directors of the railway travelled along the line between Bedford and London.[4]

The construction of the line out of St Pancras consisted of four tracks for the first 6 miles (9.7 km), with the exception of the Belsize Tunnel which only had two tracks.[5] This was remedied in 1884[6] by the completion of another tunnel running parallel, to allow the full route of 6 miles to expand to four running lines. It was built under the Midland Railway (Additional Powers) Act, 1881.[7] The additional tunnel was designed by W.H. Barlow, with James Campbell as reference engineer.[8]

It comprises two tunnels 1 mile (1.6 km) long plus strainer arches and buttressed cuttings in the east arch.[9]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Belsize Tunnel.
  1. ↑ Palmer, John (1976). The Midland Line to London. Grayson Publications. p. 50. ISBN 0900709073.
  2. ↑ "The Midland Railway". North London News. England. 11 February 1865. Retrieved 3 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ↑ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  4. ↑ "Midland Railway Extension". Leicester Journal. England. 28 June 1867. Retrieved 3 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ↑ "Midland Railway Extension to London". Illustrated Times. England. 2 March 1867. Retrieved 3 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ "Midland Railway". Morning Post. England. 16 February 1884. Retrieved 3 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ "Letters to the Editor". Glasgow Herald. England. 26 February 1883. Retrieved 3 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ↑ "The late Mr. James Campbell". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. England. 3 May 1884. Retrieved 3 November 2017 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ↑ Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1998). The Buildings of England. London: North. Yale University Press. p. 214. ISBN 9780300096538.


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