Am I correct in my calculation that there is a total of 4.405 miles of railway tunnel between King's Cross and Doncaster? The longest tunnel being the Potters Bar tunnel some way south of Potters Bar station (1,214 yards) and the shortest being Askham Tunnel between Newark Northgate and Retford (57 yards) with the next one north of it, Balby Bridge, the last one before Doncaster the second shortest at 95 yards.
The most bizarre accident involving an ECML tunnel occurred in 1945 in Gasworks Tunnel, partly on an upward gradient, when a locomotive driver struggling with a heavy train (17 coaches) without the routine assist of a locomotive at the rear was unaware it had begun slipping backwards in the tunnel. The train ran back into King's Cross demolishing a signal gantry and colliding with The Aberdonian still boarding.
There was no assist on this occasion because the 17 coaches had been propelled into the platform rather than hauled.
The most bizarre accident involving an ECML tunnel occurred in 1945 in Gasworks Tunnel, partly on an upward gradient, when a locomotive driver struggling with a heavy train (17 coaches) without the routine assist of a locomotive at the rear was unaware it had begun slipping backwards in the tunnel. The train ran back into King's Cross demolishing a signal gantry and colliding with The Aberdonian still boarding.
There was no assist on this occasion because the 17 coaches had been propelled into the platform rather than hauled.
