Starting 2025 with a long overdue revisit on Old Warden Railway Tunnel which I visited a few years back, only this time the access was slightly easier and less wet.
There’s honestly not much to say about this location, it’s a tunnel of some length that is very misleading to walk through. You can see one end but takes an odd amount of time to get there.
Given the darkness in the tunnel and the lack of variation in features, the pictures are a mix of DSLR and phone shots on pro raw mode.
Needless to say, as per the previous report on this location back in 2019. The history is below, pinched from Wikipedia as always.
The tunnel was built as part of the Midland Railway connecting Bedford and Hitchin, and from there to London between 1853 and 1857. Goods services between Shefford and Bedford succumbed to the Beeching Axe on 28 December 1964. Built of blue engineering bricks, the tunnel is ovoid in shape and runs at a very slight gradient to allow drainage; however, it is perfectly straight.
The tunnel has no blast relief ducts, due to its lack of curves and relatively short length, allowing good air passage. Regular niches were cut into the wall to allow maintenance on the permanent way during running hours. Finally, both portals were capped with stone and it covers a total length of 882 yards.
