ivortheengine
13 years ago
If I may be forgiven: Not a mine, but built to serve a mining region: The Rhondda Tunnel. Shut late 1960s and since infilled at both ends. Around 2, 1/4 miles long single bore railway tunnel. Near Treherbert at the top of the Rhondda Valley.

Access is via a (combination locked) access chamber with steps set into precast concrete rings, but since nobody seems to know the combinations the alternative is a long (maybe 1/4 mile) crawl up the 22inch diameter concrete drainage pipe that drains water from the tunnel.

It runs in a coal mining region and since it is infilled both ends, has no airflow. Hence an air quality meter seems a good plan (and no, I do not have one, nor do I know how to use one!)

Is anyone interested in making a trip of it?

Phil
rhychydwr
13 years ago
No way.

Disgusted, Cwm Park.
Cutting coal in my spare time.
sinker
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13 years ago
"ivortheengine" wrote:

If I may be forgiven: Not a mine, but built to serve a mining region: The Rhondda Tunnel. Shut late 1960s and since infilled at both ends. Around 2, 1/4 miles long single bore railway tunnel. Near Treherbert at the top of the Rhondda Valley.

Access is via a (combination locked) access chamber with steps set into precast concrete rings, but since nobody seems to know the combinations the alternative is a long (maybe 1/4 mile) crawl up the 22inch diameter concrete drainage pipe that drains water from the tunnel.

It runs in a coal mining region and since it is infilled both ends, has no airflow. Hence an air quality meter seems a good plan (and no, I do not have one, nor do I know how to use one!)

Is anyone interested in making a trip of it?

Phil




😮 ......
Yma O Hyd....
lab rat
13 years ago
"ivortheengine" wrote:

If I may be forgiven: Not a mine, but built to serve a mining region: The Rhondda Tunnel. Shut late 1960s and since infilled at both ends. Around 2, 1/4 miles long single bore railway tunnel. Near Treherbert at the top of the Rhondda Valley.

Access is via a (combination locked) access chamber with steps set into precast concrete rings, but since nobody seems to know the combinations the alternative is a long (maybe 1/4 mile) crawl up the 22inch diameter concrete drainage pipe that drains water from the tunnel.

It runs in a coal mining region and since it is infilled both ends, has no airflow. Hence an air quality meter seems a good plan (and no, I do not have one, nor do I know how to use one!)

Is anyone interested in making a trip of it?

Phil



:thumbsup: :thumbsup: but not free till november!
Love it . . . 🙂
ivortheengine
13 years ago
"rhychydwr" wrote:

No way.

Disgusted, Cwm Park.



Obviously you know a lot more about this than myself... maybe you could share your knowledge?

If there are strong reasons why it is indeed disgusting to discuss the possibility of looking at an old railway tunnel (dare I say, on a forum dedicated to the underground) then it's best that we all know about it. I'm not aware that this tunnel is somehow sacred in any way: people's final resting place.... well, no more than any of the other railway tunnels out there which I drive through every day :devil:
JR
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13 years ago
Err I think he meant disgusted as in 'disgusted of Tunbridge Wells' (if that means nothing to you don't worry about it. It just means you have youth on your side).
😉
sleep is a caffeine deficiency.
ivortheengine
13 years ago
Ah.... Thank you JR... somehow the humour was lost on me... as far as some of the AN mooches go I thought this might be considered pretty tame and boring... 🙂
JR
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13 years ago
Not at all. I wish I could make it but a knee that doesn't like me keeps 'real' exploring a rare thing I'm afraid. I do most of my 'mining' online and in archives these days. It can be frustrating but the laundry bill is lower. I still have to make an entry on the database for a canal that fed a gasworks. Now that's two degrees of separation and if that counts as mine related a railway tunnel in a coal mining area is certainly legit.
Welcome to AN by the way. 🙂
sleep is a caffeine deficiency.
markc
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13 years ago
If the tunnel is 2, 1/4 miles long I would have thought there would be at least a couple of air shafts?
Morlock
13 years ago
"markc" wrote:

If the tunnel is 2, 1/4 miles long I would have thought there would be at least a couple of air shafts?



IIRC the length is a shade under 2 miles at 3443 yards, only one airshaft very near the Blaengwynfi portal.

http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/tunnels/gallery/rhondda.html 
lab rat
13 years ago
Hey Morlock 🙂 How are you?

Do you fancy doing it as well? :flowers:
Love it . . . 🙂
Morlock
13 years ago
"lab rat" wrote:

Hey Morlock 🙂 How are you?

Do you fancy doing it as well? :flowers:



Hi lab rat, I'm OK. First five pics at 'Forgotten Relics' are ours from 2007 trip, shaft has new steel lid and combo locks (2) at the moment.

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