Throughout its operational life, it was subject to routine inspections and several rounds of remedial work aimed at stabilising sections of the tunnel roof, principally using steel ribbing.
The tunnel acquired a level of public infamy when it suffered a partial collapse on 28 April 1953, which resulted in the deaths of five occupants of houses in Temple Drive, Swinton, located directly above one of the construction shafts that had been infilled and forgotten about.
[1] Railway industry periodical Rail Engineer noted that the tunnel was of an orthodox nature, with no inherently unique factors at play.
[3] The land around the tunnel was developed considerably during its operational years; originally being agricultural purposes, it was urbanised and incorporated in the town of Swinton.
On 13 April 1953, 15 days prior to the main incident, several elements of brickwork fell from the roof of the tunnel at the site of an undocumented construction shaft.
[4] Immediate steps taken included the enactment of a stoppage on all rail traffic through the tunnel and daily inspections of the affected area to observe any further degradation.
The surrounding soil, which was a loose mixture of sand and clay, poured into the void and formed a large cavity underneath the foundations of two houses on Temple Drive.
[10] The collapsed tunnel was determined to be in such a condition, particularly in regards to its brickwork, that extensive, and costly, remedial works would have been necessary to render it usable to rail traffic once again.
[13] To support this activity, a comprehensive 3D subsurface laser scan survey was performed by Geoterra to ascertain the specifics and condition of the tunnel, which was accessed via a series of 100mm vertical shafts which were bored from the surface.