Keele Railway Tunnel

This 300-meter-long train tunnel in Northern Staffordshire is built on what used to be the Stoke to Market Drayton Line of the North Staffordshire Railway. It was constructed in 1859 using red brick and follows a straight path with brick walls on each end. It has a few shelters on both sides, and the inside has six layers of brick, which were originally made for two tracks but are now single after the line was shifted to the middle in October 1934. In 1962, a new section was added at Madeley to connect to the West Coast Mainline, which was handy during the Harecastle realignment project when Harecastle Tunnel was closed! The line kept running for freight until 1966 when the Creamery at Pipe Gate shut down.

Passenger trains stopped running in 1964 because of the Beeching Axe. Freight trains kept the line open until the collieries at Apedale & Sliverdale stopped working in 1998, and that's when the line was officially closed. A lot of the track was removed in 2009, but some parts are still there. There are plans to bring back this branch line, but it's not a top priority right now.