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World’s oldest railway tunnel unearthed in England
“The railroad owners said no so the man purchased 700 yards of track and then filled it.”
That’s a pretty big “rock garden”.
…and the locomotive was still in steam, mate!
Viewing this town on Google Earth, limestone still seems important to the economy. There’s an open pit quarry just north of town, but no way to tell if it’s the original one mentioned in the article. I couldn’t find the tunnel location, though. Interestingly, there’s a tram museum just north of town with a fine collection of rolling stock, judging from the photos. The north end of its 0.8 mile demonstration line runs right alongside the present-day quarry.
The Fritchley Tunnel is described here:
http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/tunnels/gallery/fritchley.html
A map and a picture to two would be an informative addition to the piece.