Victoria Tunnel (Liverpool)

The western portal opens into a short (69 yards or 63 metres) cutting, between Byrom Street and Fontenoy Street, the shorter Waterloo Tunnel exits the cutting terminating at Waterloo Dock.

Locomotive watering tank facilities were installed in the cutting along with gas lighting, allowing 24-hour operation.

Rail wagons were pulled up the steep gradient from the Byrom Street cutting by a wire rope.

A brick building housed a large static steam engine that wound the rope pulling the rail wagons up the tunnel.

The Victoria tunnel’s east portal at Edge Hill features a rusticated red sandstone arch.

It was decided to abandon the old rope system as locomotives were now much more powerful and able to climb the whole tunnel incline without assistance.

[2] In May 2007 it was reported that Merseytravel Chief Executive Neil Scales had prepared a report outlining the possibilities for reuse of the Wapping tunnel and Victoria tunnel with the latter to aid in redeveloping the north shore area of Liverpool.

The western portal emerges near to the site of the proposed Liverpool Waters docklands redevelopment scheme.

[4] Another use was suggested in September 2015 by the Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, this was to provide access to a new station on the former site of Archbishop Blanch School[5]