Deepdale (Miley) tunnels
Deepdale (Miley) tunnels
![In front of the western portal, a bridge benefits from modern support.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image1-108.jpg)
![The extant track wades through water at the north side of the bore.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image2-108.jpg)
![The track leads the eye around the tunnel's first curve.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image3-108.jpg)
![Timber braces keep the retaining walls apart in the cutting which separates Deepdale No.1 and No.2.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image4-107.jpg)
![Originally open to the elements, the cutting between No.2 and No.3 tunnels has been capped to allow construction to take place above it.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image5-107.jpg)
![The welcome taste of fresh air greets explorers at the eastern portal.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image6-106.jpg)
![A substantial stone portal with brick parapets marks the eastern extent of the tunnels.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image7-104.jpg)
![Captured in November 1964, the cutting between No.1 and No.2, before the litter and rats arrived.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image8-93.jpg)
![Now denied daylight, the eastern portal of Deepdale No.2 looks longingly at its close neighbour.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image9-79.jpg)
![The view out of No.3's eastern portal, looking towards Longridge.](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image10-63.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image1-108.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image2-108.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image3-108.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image4-107.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image5-107.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image6-106.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image7-104.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image8-93.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image9-79.jpg)
![](http://www.forgottenrelics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/image10-63.jpg)
The former branch to Longridge was connected to the main line at Preston via a series of three tunnels – collectively known as Miley – which took it under the district of Deepdale, north of the town centre.
Deepdale No.1 Tunnel, 160 yards long and furthest west, runs below a terrace of houses on the south side of St Peter’s Square. A vertically-sided cutting – the walls of which are kept apart by timber braces – separate this from No.2 tunnel which has a length of 272 yards and curves north. The short gap to No.3 tunnel – effectively a ventilation shaft – is now covered by concrete beams which provide support for a Police Station. As well as trapping its darkness with a southerly curve, this third bore is also the longest at 383 yards.
The walls of all three tunnels are stone-built whilst their roofs employ red brick. A single rusting track remains in situ at the northern side of the formation. Locals now use the cutting between No.1 and No.2 tunnels as a rubbish dump.
The line originally formed part of ambitious plans to create a link between Yorkshire and the Lancashire coast. This failed, consigning the route to life as a 6½-mile branch, largely single track. 1st May 1840 marked its opening day; the double-track extension from its western terminus at Maudlands, through the Deepdale tunnels, was added in 1850 for freight purposes. Through passenger services started in 1856 but succumbed in 1930.
The branch’s goods traffic came to an end in 1967 but the western section was retained to serve a coal yard and the Courtaulds factory at Red Scar. The latter lost its trains in February 1980 and the route was disconnected during the 1990s.