Crown Street Tunnels

There are two Crown Street tunnels that lead from the Edge Hill Cutting which was the original Edge Hill Station which is just beyond the current Edge Hill Station, from there the tunnel went to the site of the old Crown Street Station, the oldest passenger station in the world, opened in 1830 and closed to passengers in 1836 but was used as a goods station until 1972.



The original Crown Street tunnel opened in 1829 and became disused in 1972 it is the oldest passenger railway tunnel in the world it was used originally for the passenger station but later used for goods as lime street station opened in 1836 and took over the passenger station, the original Crown Street Tunnel entrance was covered over in the 1970s but the Edge Hill Cutting entrance is still there you can go down this tunnel from there but it gets blocked off when you reach the Crown Street site, this tunnel is the smallest of the 3 tunnels on the right at the Edge Hill Cutting, This tunnel is also known as the Stephenson Tunnel there is a hole in the floor dropping down to the Wapping tunnel as this tunnel passes over it. It is in good condition since it is so old with a large quantity of long stalactites hanging from the roof which just shows how long this tunnel has gone unused and it is clear that this tunnel will never be reopened which means it will continue to decay until it Finally collapses in on itself. Before the tunnel was covered over metal railings where put up to stop people getting into the tunnel once it closed in 1972 as the whole crown street goods station closed sometime after this the site was filled up with dirt but if you enter the tunnel from the other end you can reach the railings with the dirt pilled up behind it this would of been the very end of the tunnel if it wasn’t blocked, also just above the old tunnel entrance the ground is starting to fall in so if you visit the crown street station site which is now a landscaped park you will know where the tunnel would have been, the tunnel was damaged as you will see from later photos of it as wagons where much larger as the years went on and the tunnel was very small, as this is such an historic tunnel currently there is no access to the public and it is not maintained which it should be.

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​ The 1846 tunnel started of as a small storage tunnel that only went in a few meters it was mainly built to give the Edge Hill Cutting a symmetrical feeling and was the same size as the 1829 tunnel but it was knocked through to Crown Street station site in 1846 and it was made wider to make way for 2 lines this meant the Moorish Arch had to be knocked down and the symmetrical Edge Hill Cutting was no more. This tunnel is still in use today and still has a track as it is used for a siding for freight trains it ends at the Crown Street station site, which can clearly be seen.



Stations Along Crown Street Tunnels Branch