Henry's Tunnel (RWS)

The Railway Series

The Ballahoo Tunnels, more commonly known as "Henry's Tunnel", are a pair of two-bore tunnels situated to the east of Ballahoo, on the Main Line.

History[]

The Sodor and Mainland Railway originally attempted to cut a tunnel through the Ballahoo Ridge. However, it collapsed during construction, resulting in the railway only running trains between Ballahoo and Kirk Ronan.

After its foundation in 1915, the North Western Railway constructed its own tunnel in order to reach Vicarstown. The NWR was built as a strategic railway in a time of emergency. Speed and cheapness of construction were paramount, so a single line bore only was cut, with the Up and Down lines being gauntletted. While work was in progress, a section in the centre collapsed, leaving two tunnels (the Western - 1 mile, and the Eastern, or Henry's - 450 yards).^[1]

The tunnel gained its nickname in 1923 after Henry refused to come out, claiming that the rain would spoil his "lovely green paint with red stripes", and was subsequently bricked up after three failed attempts to get him out. A second bore was cut alongside to provide a double line and Henry was eventually let out to help with the express.^[2] In 2011, the tunnel collapsed but was repaired in time for the unveiling of the Thin Clergyman's bust at Tidmouth.

Appearances[]

Railway Series

Gallery[]

The Railway Series[]

Main Series[]

Pop-Up Books[]

Behind the Scenes[]

References[]

↑ RWS "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways" p. 10
↑ RWS "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways" p. 10

North Western Railway

~~---~~ Dropped

Locomotives	Steam	Thomas \| Edward \| Henry \| Gordon \| James \| Percy \| Toby \| Duck \| Donald and Douglas \| Oliver \| Bloomer \| W&SR Engines \| ~~Barry~~ \| ~~The Austerity Engine~~
	Diesel	Daisy \| BoCo \| Bear \| The Works Diesel \| Pip and Emma
	Other	Sodor Chain Load Undercut \| Peel Godred Engines
	Former	Coffee Pots
Rolling Stock	Passenger	Annie and Clarabel \| Henrietta \| Thomas' Special Coach \| Alice and Mirabel \| Isabel and Dulcie \| Victoria \| The Quarryman's Coach \| Observation Saloon Coaches \| Orange-Brown Corridor Coaches \| Orange-Brown Non-Corridor Coaches \| Red Express Coaches
	Goods	Troublesome Trucks \| Troublesome Vans \| Troublesome Tankers \| Elsie \| Toad \| Ventilated Bogie Vans \| SR Insulated Vans
	Other	The Breakdown Train
	Former	The Spiteful Brake Van
People		Sir Topham Hatt I †\| Sir Charles Topham Hatt II †\| Sir Stephen Topham Hatt III \| Albert Regaby †\| Kevin Volley †
Lines		The Main Line \| Ffarquhar Branch Line \| Brendam Branch Line \| The Little Western \| Peel Godred Branch Line \| Kirk Ronan Branch Line \| Norramby Branch Line

The Main Line

Locomotives	Steam	Henry \| Gordon \| James \| Donald and Douglas
	Diesel	BoCo \| Bear \| The Works Diesel \| Pip and Emma
	Former	Edward
Rolling Stock	Passenger	Orange-Brown Corridor Coaches \| Orange-Brown Non-Corridor Coaches \| Red Express Coaches
Rolling Stock	Former	The Spiteful Brake Van
Trains	Passenger	The Wild Nor' Wester \| The Sudrian \| The Limited \| The Barrow-Tidmouth Semi-Fast \| The Main Line Push-Pull
Trains	Goods	The Flying Kipper \| The Morning Milk \| The Midnight Goods
Infrastructure	Stations	Tidmouth \| Knapford \| Crosby \| Wellsworth \| Maron \| Cronk \| Killdane \| Kellsthorpe Road \| Crovan's Gate \| Vicarstown \| Barrow-in-Furness
	Sheds	Tidmouth Sheds \| Vicarstown Sheds
	Tunnels and Bridges	Tidmouth Tunnel \| Knapford Harbour Bridges \| Crosby Tunnel \| The Viaduct \| Balladrine Bridge \| Ballahoo Bridge \| Henry's Tunnel \| Vicarstown Bridge

[1] RWS "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways" p. 10

[2] RWS "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways" p. 10

[1]

[2]