The Lapal Tunnel (old spelling Lappal Tunnel) is a disused 3,470-metre (11,385 ft) canal tunnel on the five mile dry section of the Dudley No. 2 Canal in the West Midlands, England.
The narrow brick-lined tunnel, built in 1798 by William Underhill, had no towpath. It had a very small bore - at 7 feet 9 inches, barely wider than the boats which used it, with a headroom of only 6 feet. Boats originally took about three hours to complete the passage by legging or poling, so in 1841 a steam engine was built at the Halesowen end which drove a scoop wheel to load the tunnel with water. Stop gates could be opened at either end to assist boats along the tunnel in either direction.
The tunnel suffered many collapses, and after a collapse in 1917 due to mining subsidence it was abandoned. It runs under Lapal, the M5 motorway near junction 3 and Woodgate Valley Country Park. The canal either side of the tunnel is also disused and some sections have been filled in as the tunnel was considered uneconomic to repair.
Read more about Lapal Tunnel: Restoration, Points of Interest
Famous quotes containing the word tunnel:
“You may raise enough money to tunnel a mountain, but you cannot raise money enough to hire a man who is minding his own business.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)