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LMS Route: Evesham to Birmingham

Cofton Tunnel: mrcof1666

The demolition and widening of Cofton Tunnel can be seen to be in progressing well in April 1928

The demolition and widening of Cofton Tunnel can be seen to be in progressing well in April 1928. The remains of the walls, including a refuge, can be seen. In the distance a section of the remaining roof is still visible. The new concrete wall of the cutting, which had to be built prior to the demolition work on the tunnel, can be seen on the right. On the left are the steam cranes of the contractor, Logan & Hemingway of Doncaster, standing on temporary track. The rubble in the 'ditch' is in fact lying on the former tunnel's trackbed with on the right, half way along, a platelayers’ refuge can be seen in the remains of the tunnel wall. When the work was still its the early stages, on 11th May 1928, preparations were being made for demolition of the first part of the tunnel roof. It collapsed without warning, killing four workmen (see the accident report here). The last section of tunnel was removed in January 1929. By then the cutting was wide enough to take the four tracks, bur it was still too shallow in part. A shelf of exceptionally hard rock some 25 feet wide, 12 feet thick and half a mile long had to be removed before the new tracks could be placed alongside the old taking a further fifteen months.

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