Totley Tunnel was constructed by the Midland Railway on its line between Sheffield and Manchester via the Hope Valley.

[1] The engineers were Parry and Storey of Nottingham and the contractor for 10.5 miles (16.9 km) of the railway, including the tunnel, was Thomas Oliver of Horsham, West Sussex.

Work began in 1888 with the construction of three brick surveying towers along the tunnel's proposed line, followed by a vertical shafts to the level of the rails.

The Duke of Rutland had decreed that no more than one ventilation shaft should be sunk through his land and that work should cease from August to October, during the grouse shooting season.

The tunnel was the proving ground of a number of boring machines for the shot holes, using gelignite to blast the rock.

During construction a natural cavern, several hundred square feet in area, was discovered, which was incorporated into the tunnel and a large air shaft was installed to the surface.

[6] Totley Tunnel is frequently used by both passenger trains between Sheffield and Manchester[7] and freight lines operating from Hope.