The Tunnel that Collapsed. The Malton to Driffield Railway
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- In this video we visit the Malton to Driffield disused abandoned railway line. Its located in North Yorkshire in the UK. Firstly we visit the Wharram chalk works active in the 1920's A wonderful piece of industrial history. We see the Lime kilns and the old now abandoned quarry. We walk on down the disused railway line and we eventually come to the Burdale disused railway tunnel. The Burdale tunnel suffered two collapses in 1977 and 1988 we enters the tunnel and approach the collapse. We also hear stories of how the teams of Navvies, Victorian tunnel workers and engineers caused chaos in the area with the advent of illegal drinking dens. This is a historical documentary and an urbex adventure. Looking at some wonderful victorian railway architecture and engineering. This is a collaboration with @ALWResearchTeam
The British Pathe footage of the Chalk works www.britishpathe.com/video/the-chalk-getters-a-wharram-study
Good explore ;)
@@ExploringwithCarl thanks EWC
How you get in Martin, looks like a solid wall
Nice to see the chalk chutes you found still working being used in production in that Pathe film :)
Another good one that old footage was great to see.
I have actually walked all the way through from South to North (and back). I went with a friend of mine who had been through before. It must have been around 1988 and just after the second collapse, as we had to climb over two tunnel fall debris piles. The water was quite deep between the debris piles as it is 'dammed' by them. Climbing up the piles into the voids it was very interesting to see the layers of brickwork. From memory it was about 4-6 layers. We made it through into the North end but there was no way to exit so we had to walk all the way back. An interesting feature was the ice stalagmites on the tunnel floor for the first 50 metres or so from the South entrance. It must have been after Easter but the tunnel was well insulated from the Spring warmth and quite cold inside. At that time, there were big double doors on the South entrance which must have been left open in the Winter.
We used to do some stupidly dangerous things back then! We were rock climbers and dabbled in a bit of caving but this was a bit over the limit.
Yes 30 mins of greatness
Thanks Rob
The tunnel collapse looks like a hydraulic break through, where the lined the tunnel in the chalk when it was dry and failed to allow for enough drainage behind the wall during heavy rain periods!
I have seen it before in some places, generally caused by poor hydrology investigation by the engineers. Water bleeds through the chalk and builds up in large amounts behind the Brickwork, it then finds a weakness or a crack and pushes through. It also happens in mines in shale areas and also in underground fortifications.
Wow! That’s fascinating, Sam - thank you for posting 😍
similar fall happened in a coal mine i worked at in australia... water built up around and above the tunnel ( adit ) lining and it weakened the strata and fell down.... the main conveyor out of the mine was cut for quite a long time... the adit used for men and machines was found to be effected also... above the fall on the surface was a natural depression where the water gathered, this is where the water came from during wet weather..... another mine i worked at had water entering the strata a time after rain... i reported it and was told i didnt know what i was talking about...........
Martin, watching your video brought back many memories of this area. In the late 1950’s I was a teenager living in Hull. We would cycle out to Burdale on a weekend and push our bikes through the tunnel. Heading north was tricky as there was a bend near the northern portal so we were always heading into darkness. No powerful torches in those days, just feeble Ever Ready bike lights. I seem to recall that there was always a lot of water running from the air shafts, some of which are 300 ft deep. So I am not surprised there has been a collapse; that’s a lot of bricks to support.
From the northern portal we would go and explore the abandoned church at Wharram Percy. Heading back south through the tunnel was a lot easier as once past the bend we had a speck of daylight to aim for. Quite an adventure at the time.
Great content. I live in Bakersfield California USA. The Tehachapi Loop a very old still used realign with many tunnels that go through the Tehachapi Mountains from Bakersfield and then over to Mojave is still in working order today the loop for such a steep grade is so big and the trains are so long that they actually loop around and meet each other front to back each time they use the loop when I was a young girl passengers still were allowed to ride the Tehachapi Loop and I got to ride it one day look it up it's a famous historic train track and destination.
Wow sounds fantastic Katherine 👌
Impressed that you managed to walk through the wall at the end of that tunnel...
Rentaghost 👻😀
Exactly ! ahhahahahah
@@MartinZero LOL That's a blast from the past. :D
Ummmm I was thinking the exact same thing 🤔
@@MartinZero Do I detect a new nick name ? Mr Claypole 😆
Amazing the brickwork at the chalk works seems to be in good condition. Those drops in the woods are deadly I’m surprised they haven’t been back filled or fenced off
I imagine in summer when the weeds are high they are very dangerous to spot
Or full of dead animals that have wandered and fallen in
Great video as usual - well done Martin, James and Andrew. When construction of the tunnel started it was going to be for double track, but the company had financial problems and to save costs the tunnel design was changed for single track, that is the reason for the change in size after the first few hundred yards. As a matter of interest the Resident Engineer for the railway under construction was Alfred Dickens, who was the younger brother of Charles Dickens.
I saw james walking up Rochdale road, Royton a couple weeks back. I had 1 of them “I know him but I can’t think where from” moments...5 mins later it twigged who it was!
I sent him your comment Ryan. He said say hello next time 👍
I thought he looked familiar.
James is a great addition.
At last - a video from the right side of the hills - brilliant 👍
Done a few now David
.... but it's not in Lancashire
Brilliant...! That chalk works is huge - anything like that down our way is long gone and flats built...
Yeah lovely that its still say there in the woods
Wow another stunning production..
With the bonus is amazeing.
Probably Lime kilns, where limestone and chalk were burned, to create lime for cement manufacture.
Sunday evenings sitting at work are always made better by a Martin Zero video. The very best way to travel without moving. Thank you yet again. Nice one.
Part of my job is to hand out a right of way token to rail workers who need access to a seldom used rail spur and set of sidings that run through the dock area where I work. The spur is used to park heavy maintenance gear until it is needed. The token is a solid brass rod, about 12" in length, very battered and heavy, with the spur name stamped into it. I hand it out about once a fortnight.
That actually sounds great Brian
Fascinating, I really appreciate how you take the time to show buildings in context, too many UA-camrs wave the camera about and don’t stop to take in the details such as pointing up chimneys and around the outsides of structures.
Also really helps that you show a map and explain where a new location is in relation to the previous one.
I am intrigued as to how you got into the tunnel since there didn’t appear to be a door on the second end you visited, only on the first...?
Because I watched this I now know that a steam shovel typically had a 3 man crew.
Watched this video...then watched "the chalk getters"..then wondered about the steam shovel in that video and researched about that topic too.
Martin Zero...leading to learning 👍😁
Hi from the USA and Thanks for sharing. Loving all you do, I enjoy thr history of everything you show wish I could visit your beautiful country one day.
Wow are used to live in Kingston upon Hull when I was younger didn’t know any of that was there well done Martin thank you
Cheers Ron, glad you enjoyed
hi , york has a fabulous train locomotives, its a great museum, worth a look , being an ex railway nurse , you need to see to appreciate these amazing engines . my gosh Martin how interesting, always love your videos for bringing history back , being a girlie i know i never was able to know about these places , those shafts were very deep , you would think they would have been filled in by now , its breaking the law to disturb bats now as merseyway river which the stockport shopping centre is built above certain times of the year personnel are forbidden to disturb them . in fact they have a lady who cares for them , and a very stern lady who you just don’t mess with !!! i only know because my hubby had his retirement job in security , following his retirement from the police force . now safely retired from both ! thank goodness with covid -19 , and the new variant, he,s no longer at risk .i hate to say Martin even the open air just speaking to another person without a mask puts you at risk, as i am a registered nurse, so just take care , i am concerned for you . my regards liz x
Hi Martin,
Nice to see you've been to my part of the world! - Even if you were up on the Wolds I'm in the vale! That 'thing' at 6:00 is nothing more than the front of a pig pen, the trough at the bottom is where the pigs ate, and the tubular bars were just that, bars to keep little porkers in, and to pour their little piggy dinners through, just like the ones on the farm where I worked in the late '70s. From the camera's perspective, you're inside the pen, with the pigs!
Yeah I was thinking engineering equipment then I realised probably pig stuff 😀
I thought challenge anneka was back at the beginning! Great work as always Martin keep up the excellent videos. Stay safe my friend.
Yep gotta keep the excitement up 😀
@@MartinZero ha ha too right cheers me up your videos while this bloody COVID going on! 👍
Naahhhh, bums not the same 😁😁😁
Nice Video as always Martin :)
Great day Andrew
WOW!!! BEAUTIFUL ARCHATECTURE!!! Got to try to stand in the EXACT location the original photographer stood. Very interesting video and channel! Make sure you ALWAYS hear an echo in those tunnels! 😆👍👏 A +
Fantastic day out. Thank you chaps. Can you imagine the sound that collapse would have made through the tunnel! Hope you enjoyed your egg buttie James.
Yeah it would have been mega scary to see
Thanks Martin that was fantastic and beggars belief that our great engineers would've built a tunnel in such an unstable place that was mostly supported by courses of bricks. Take care and all the best. Stevie
Cheers, yes its interesting to see something Victorian that didnt work
Not a zero, but a hero! I love your channel.
Thank you very much Christina
Fantastic video very interesting
Thanks Daniel
@@MartinZero your welcome mate
Hey Martin, standard bottom fired lime kiln, the funny shaped bricks are fire bricks and designed to be hot at one end but remain stable at the other end. I have seen equally old ones here, very much the same design but used for reducing oyster and other seashells to lime. Also very similar are charcoal kilns which have a cap with adjustable ventilation to semi smother the fire burning in the layered timbers placed in the kiln.
The work you do,all of you,is so important yes for the joy of seeing the infrastructure, but to me this is also about respect for those who built the railroad,those amazing crews of Victorian Times.
Thanks Robert
We were round that area this year walked past the chalk works and to the closed off entrance to that amazing tunnel so much work left unseen under those hills . Thanks showing me what i never got to see.
That is one amazing video. I don’t live too far from there so I’m going to take a look next summer
Fantastic, that piece of detached lining looked like a piece of art. Fantastic video.
Hey Martin! Yet another great video thanks
Thanks very much Sharon
This was captivating to the highest caliber. The chaulkworks at first resembled a shell, but as you explored more it revealed a fascinating story including the chute that filled trains. And the tunnel just made me have even more respect for the men who built it,Navies
Thanks Andrew, glad you enjoyed
You weren't wrong about the dust having just watched the archive footage 👍 Great vid again Martin ☺
Damn it Martin, you got me again. It was always the abandoned houses that got me down but this time it was the railway hut. I can imagine someone being in there in Winter with the fire blazing to keep warm, going out to give a train driver a token or whatever it was called and coming back into the warmth. Now the hut stands deserted and deteriorating, in a few years it might be just a pile of bricks. It's the personal aspect of these finds that makes me a little sad, wondering what life and work must have been like for whoever was in there.
Kudos for going into that tunnel, wherever the access opening is, it must be pretty friggin' big to have allowed your gigantic nads to fit through ; )
Excellent m8, nice walk! Its amazing and shocking, what ice an water can do. Homework in 1967 [primary school] was filling a milk bottle with water, and leaving it outside, overnight in the middle of winter. The glass bottle cracked but didn't break. I can see what happened to the roof and wall. Keep up the good walks an you and yours stay safe and well eh!
One of your best . You covered an important resource of the early 20th century . Building materials were in huge demand and a very important part of the economy . It employed a lot of folks . They were very competitive and very thin margin businesses . Very tough to manage . What's shown is an excellent look at the impressive structures necessary to harvest , refine ,store and load the massive amount material necessary .
Thanks for having Andrew in the video . Maybe a retired engineer could cover the collapse in detail in a separate video .
That would be a good idea if we could do that, thank you
Amazing brickwork work of art
Nice one Martin, it’s a fantastic place to explore. Medieval village, 18th Century roofless Church, Chalk Crusher & Quarries, disused Railway with Tunnel ............... heaven !
Thanks I wouldnt mind going back to the village
@@MartinZero .......check our Channel for other locations over here Martin 😉 The old Butlins Station Platform is still here 🤔 If in doubt give us a shout 👍
Brilliant, Burdale Tunnel has mystified me for years having read about the difficulty building it, I always thought it was a no go area but you have proved me wrong! That collapse looks immense, I would never dare 😬🤐
That first part was ok as you saw but no way i would walk past the collapse David
Great video and the movie was amazing. Thank you Martin and friends cheers from Oz.
Up to 3 % of the total cost of a tunnel is spend on surveying the ground. So they know what they are going to hit, and decide on the place, and the method on how to make the tunnel.
This is exactly why it is done!
Good example and video!
Greetings,
Jeff
incredible. Dangerous. Frightening. Many thanks
Great adventure Martin, James and Andrew
Thank you, we had a great day
Nice to see you in my neck of the woods I only live in Bridlington I visited there many times great video mate 👍
Cheers Andy
Totally fascinating. I love industrial heritage.
Thanks very much Islam
Wonderful as always
Cheers Gafrers
Beautiful brick work
Love VIDEOS Always Great Time Love the History thank you for taking us along
Thank you Mary
Brilliant as always. 🙂
Exploring With Your Dad is my favourite show!!!
Wharram Percy is a deserted mediaeval village-I seem to remember from my historical geography many years ago.
Yeah I believe so John
@J M It's and English Heritage property now, very interesting place.
Hull history nerd recommended your channel with a link and iam so glad he did! This was great thank you :)) John
Thank you 👍
Despite the surviving tunnel and industrial buildings I find it very pleasing when a humble little railway hut still stands.
A cracking video again thanks.
Thank you, yes that railway hut was a gem 👌
Fascinating, I didn't know anything about the chalk works and drive past that route to Beverly quite often. The Pathe video really brings it to life. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks very much David, yeah the Pathe clip is gold
My third watch today, fantastic video. Really enjoying my evening tonight, thank you Martin.
Cheers Dave and thanks for watching
Martin. Thanks for these videos. I can't get out and about at the moment but these are very much the next best thing. Cheers.
Thanks for this great video, it is great to see how the tunnells were built and lined. It is a lost art. Fascinating. Another masterpiece Martin and team.
Fantastic video mate. 👍🏽😊🎞
Keep up the Great Videos love the content.
Thanks Andy
You find the most amazing places Martin
Its brilliant that these places are still there to see. Amazing history. Awesome Martin. Fantastic
Yeah great place Matthew
Another great video, thank you. Lovely to see James again, I’ve missed him and Connor as well.
Thanks, hopefully we will get Connor back soon
Nice 😉 another adventure! Good night Martin 😉
Thank you and goodnight
Epic explore ... definitely something 99.9999% of us would never have seen without you're video.... please keep up the good work
Thanks for the fascinating vid. The tunnel looks incredible. I'm thrilled to see how 'un-chavved' a lot of the victorian post-industrial stuff is in north yorks. Anywhere closer to the cities, those original tunnel-building brick frames would have long gone.
Why do you think this is?
Very well presented Never seen brick work come away like that before you were wise to get out sharply. Thanks mate keep up the good work. 👍
Yes Its very strange to look at, and thanks
Hi Martin thank you for an interesting video 😎
All the best 😃🍻👍🏻
This is brilliant. I've a deep interest in Industrial and Transport history and these videos bring a lot of things to life each week. I'd love to have been able to see some of the items featured in use.
Thank you, yes I think the Pathe clip helps though
Hi Martin,James And ALW Exploration. Here is from Brazil. Great vídeo!
Thanks Taisa glad you enjoyed it. Regards to Brazil
The Pathe film was the perfect ending to this adventure. Thanks Martin
Thanks so much for that Martin it was quite exciting. Those bricks are beautiful. I love the way tunnels are used for bats what a fantastic way to use use them. I’m so pleased you didnt go any further, we don’t want you being hurt. Thanks so much for taking me along and p,ease stay safe and take care
Hi Martin thanks for your video and thank you for the link to the original video , great to see what you were taking about in action all those years ago . Keep the vids coming mate 👍🏻
Yeah the Pathe clip brings it to life doesnt it
Great video as always 👍
Thanks Jay
So many fantastic places, each with a history and memories lost in time .
Absolutely stunning! Visually and historically. Man oh man, thanks. That is awesome.!
Thanks very much John
Great video Martin.
Thanks very much
Wonderful history Martin, superbly filmed. Surprised the bat's didn't pay you a visit.
I think they mainly hang out at the Northern portal Tim
Martins marvellous Sunday matinees...spot on as usual 👌
Cheers Pal 😀👍
Fantastic. Music brilliant.thoroughly enjoyed that. Thank you.
Thanks Shirley
The pathe news film is brilliant , rare to see an old abandoned works then see on film It working
So many hidden gems in the English country side! There are some lime kilns and buildings just south of Buxton, you can see them as you drive pass on the A6! Great vid as always fella!
Cheers Nick, I need to go see them
How could you possibly give a thumbs down, I would consider it an amazing gift of being able to travel with Martin for real as it is I’m honoured that I can view this from my armchair thank you Martin for your commitment in bringing the past to life
Thank you Karina
The addition of the operational movie was brilliant. After your comprehensive explore of the site it was amazing to see how it was in operation. Another excellent presentation, luv ya work, thanks.
Great video thank for sharing 👍
Loved that some tunnels do give ya the creeps and ya feel uneasy or unsettled .. but thanks for sharing this one martin stay safe mate ...keep up the great work Frank & Lee...
Thanks you Frank and Lee
Hello Martin and ALW Exploration ;)
Hello 👋
Hi Carl
If my memory serves me reet the lines tunnel that is between the railway stations Wharrem le Street and Burdale. The tunnel is right next to the village Wharrem Percy, here is a deserted medieval village that the tunnel is right next to! Fantastic place for History!
Great video as always Martin :)
Oo, this is my neck of the woods, I'm actually doing a video on that line myself next year! Won't be going in the tunnel though, that was genuinely terrifying. The way the bricks facings had just sheared off like that.... wow.
Awesome to see it all again though, it's been a while since I've been up that way. Also, me and Kate had sandwiches next to those lime kilns.
If you're up for trekking all this way again, I've a few things you might find interesting in Hull!
Sounds good, keep me posted when your back out
@@MartinZero Already out and about! My house move is done and I'm finally back and making videos again. How do I get in touch with you to tempt you back to the right side of the pennines with some old industrial heritage?
@@hullhistorynerd Message me on the Facebook page or Twitter or Instagram 👍
Have an Awesome Sunday, as always Great Video
Thank you Michael
I love all this history you keep finding for us and the way you always seem to find the ' people' story to go along with it. ( the navvies and their 'moonshine') Sad sometimes but nevertheless very interesting.
Thanks Helen, yeah interesting about the navies causing riots
Another fascinating video Martin. That area must have been an industrial powerhouse back in the day, must have employed thousands of people over the years to build and work the railway, chalk works, quarry and lime kilns. Always makes me wonder where they all lived, it seems quite a remote place. Wonderful to see nature reclaiming it and gradually healing the man made scars in the landscape.
This was a brilliant watch.
Thanks very much Kevin
Another winner, used to live in the area “100 years ago” .👍👍😎
You know this place David
Awesome vid Mart, The photos were excellent inside the tunnel. The drone footage showing where the chalk works were - fab! You were right, if a piece came down a hard hat would unfortunately not help! Stay safe mate!
Fascinating once again Martin, especially the link to the old film archive.
Great photo comparison of the line just before the tunnel. Great job Martin.
Yes that pic was a lovely find
Love this. I live nearby and walk to Wharram Percy medieval village regularly but didn't realise what was underneath.
Funny to see the way that this goes right past/under what is a really unique archaeological site but "We're not looking at that!" Glad they did though as it answers my idle walk thought of "I wonder what's behind that wall..."
Thanks guys i live a few miles away toward Norton/Malton,been To the old village,tunnel was brilliant
Cheers Simon
Nice work Martin (et al) ... Great action footage, corresponding background research, and that 'original documentary film (link)' sealed the package.
The whole ethos of the channel (how it has panned out over the videos that I've seen), is to pleasurably provide an understanding of OUR history.
... Not necessarily the rulers & administrators, but the life of people ... what they built, and what was actually happening in the past.
It is abundantly clear, that your work is of value.
Annoyingly, it will likely remain without administrative honours.
However, you do have the honour of approval, from those people who have found your work.
My guess is, that it can only get better :)