subStormFlow

Harm's Way

2012-01-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

I found myself with a few hours to kill before going up to Bradford to visit Bypass, so thought Rochdale would make a good stop off en route.

This culvert takes a brook just over 300m and varies between brick horseshoe, CMP, stone arch and eventually splits to a stoop before the infall.

A couple of transition chambers were essentially big degrading concrete slabs over each extension to the original upstream stone culvert, dated at 1903.

The CMP had broken up at points creating a fast flowing stretch with chunks of jagged debris underfoot. Despite being well aware of the hazards I still managed to catch the boot of my wader on a piece, which sliced straight through writing off the waders but more importantly missing my foot.

Cold and wet I left, the outfall was quite unique having a set of overflow stairs leading down from another watercourse over the mouth. I left rather more hastily than I might have done otherwise and headed home for a spare waders. Although I was annoyed about wasting money it was good to have a reminder to always be alert to dangers, even in a small culvert.

Bunker revisit

2012-01-03T14:20:00.001-08:00

I went back to Bunker to walk to the plughole. Read on

The Griddle

2011-12-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

Found in Bolton this drain is about 400m long and sports a grill at both ends, the watercourse eventually joins the Croal.

After meeting with Nckt in the dubious Northern weather we dropped into the access chamber and made our way into the culvert. The flow wasn't very high but was surging through the 5ft brick pipe with some force.

We went upstream and the construction changed to stone and debris raised the floor to an uncomfortable stoop. I would have liked to get to the infall but time was against us.

Back downstream the culvert has a couple of sharp turns before travelling straight down to the outfall. Instead of slogging down we decided to have a look at the more recent CSO connection which is reached via a crawl up some RCP.

The CSO was housed in a large circular structure which functioned as both detention tank and screening chamber. There was water in the tank so unfortunately not possible to see how big it actually was or how the sewers connected beneath. One for another time without the rain.

Croal Culverts

2011-10-23T17:00:00.000-07:00

The River Croal flows through and under Bolton town centre in a series of culverts. They are constructed mainly from stone and concrete and are quite large further upstream. They made a leisurely afternoon's explore, now I've done the tourist route I'm looking forward to seeing what else the town has to offer.

Double Drop

2011-10-22T17:10:00.001-07:00

This small drain outfalls onto the River Croal in Bolton town centre, it's just over 300m long and constructed mostly of stoopy RCP around 4ft. A penstock and 2 brick drop pipe chambers are the only features before the final chamber where 3 small surface water drains join.

Route Ginger

2011-09-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

There are some drains that are known of but remained out of reach, only snippets of information provide suggestions of what maybe found. I had been pondering over one such drain with along with Nckt and TheVicar for a while now. We knew this drain had an unusual setup so were eager to finally explore it.

The drain starts as a stoopy 4ft brick pipe before turning into RCP and opening out into a circular chamber. The RCP continues through and changes to what must have been the original culvert. This alternates between 4ft brick and stone before shrinking into a bare rock tunnel, I didn't venture too far.(1 2 3 4)

Up in the chamber are a short series of steps that curve upto the overflow pipe. The railings had been flattened by the force of previous overflows and now lie as a twisted jumble of metal tubes across the pipe. A bricked off section has a small sewer flowing at the bottom which comes from a concrete box that shares the overflow pipe and carries the normal level flow.

The overflow pipe continues up for around 50m before meeting a spiral staircase, the sewer travels down one side in a cast iron drop pipe.

The stairs go up some way before emerging into a large circular chamber.

From the height of the jamrags it looks like the staircase cannot handle the overflow from the main sewer in full flood. A storage area of sorts around the side of the chamber provides extra capacity and appears to drain via a pit.

A connecting pipe leads up to the CSO chamber itself. On the other side of the processor the sewer exits via a small slot and enters the top of the drop shaft.

Big shouts to TheVicar and Nckt, great to finally see this drain.

Got Wood

2011-08-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

This CSO system is Heywood's largest overflow into the River Roch, I met with Nckt for a look. It consists of 3 separate sewer overflow connections which meet before dropping into a culvert to the river. The system has been modernised with most sections replaced or given a concrete lining.

The first connection drops down in a large circular chamber before a dropshaft into the overflow culvert. The shaft goes down around 10ft giving a glimpse of a much older looking flooded section below.

The brickwork shows through on a couple of arches and in a tall chamber, the next connection meets just after the first arch.

This connection is from a sewer that runs overhead in a channel through a small screened CSO chamber. Any overflow drops down both sides of the channel into a chamber with a small weir and onto the connecting tunnel. The sewer continues through a concrete box that bridges the chamber below.

The connecting tunnel ends at the final standard looking CSO chamber.

The combination of large chambers and use of vertical space all made this an interesting explore, although I would love to see what the system was like in it's original brick incarnation.

Littlewoods

2011-08-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

This CSO into a small brook provides a screened overflow for the upper part of Heywood's sewers.

The chamber itself was a standard modern affair, there was a further chamber downstream where the sewer entered two small pipes but the air was pretty poor down in the sewer channel.

The brook itself is carried in a stoopy RCP which shrinks after the overflow connection. Not the most interesting of setups but good to see what was down there.

Dirty Nigel’s Electron Reload

2011-07-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

I had heard of a rather large brick overflow, having seen nothing else in the area that fitted the description I went to check it out. The outfall into the Irwell was a non starter as it was mostly underwater with only the top of a brick arch showing.

A rather nicely concealed upstream lid granted access to a chamber I remembered seeing on subexposure some time ago. The upper section looked down past large iron beams that made up the roof of an older looking overflow chamber below.

The chamber serves an 8ft sewer, overflow weir and the brick overflow pipe I had been looking for. Unfortunately it was thigh deep in river level water which slowly rose and fell with it's load of rubbish from previous overflow events.

The pipe was smaller than I thought it would be so didn't bother with the nasty wade down to the river. Although a small explore it was still nice to figure the place out.

A2B

2011-06-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

For a while I've being trying to get back to photograph this feature after a quick reccie with Nckt. One rainy day finally gave the right conditions to slip in unnoticed.

The manhole shaft leads down inbetween the A & B trunk sewers. At the bottom is a 6ft pipe that connects both trunks to allow the flow from one to enter the other when flow levels are high. This ensures neither trunk is overly loaded compared to the other and the system is as balanced as possible. A penstock can be lowered from an alcove above to block off the connector.

When I first went down the flow was a mere trickle. This time it had been (and was) raining, the balancer was clearly doing it's job as a torrent was flowing through the connecting tunnel.

Additional: 1, 2

Bunker

2011-05-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

With yet another football match ruling out more interesting discoveries I headed over to Warrington to have a look at Bunker. Concrete, eels, RCP, Rael chamber, job done.

I later returned with Nckt to walk the whole 3 1/2 odd miles to the plughole. This drain has some nice features including cast iron pipework, multiple stair chambers, junctions and the plughole.

Many more hours could have been spent as theres so much to see, only bad thing is the miles of monotonous RCP that makes up much of the length. Still, it's a great drain and sets a standard for concrete draining.

Terminal Velocity

2011-05-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

Walking down slippery 6ft RCP sometimes pays off, especially when upon ending the pipe turns to brick and dumps it's load straight into one of Manchester's 13ft trunk sewers.

Big shouts to those who had been so close to busting this up before and Nckt for always being up for anything on top!

Shit Tip

2011-05-21T16:45:00.000-07:00

I had a look at this small concrete overflow with Nckt. The first manhole led to a small chamber with a 3ft pipe and a grill. The second dropped us down into the main pipe on the other side. Immediately downstream was a sump which took the pipe under a brook to eventually outfall into the Mersey.

A short trek upstream through RCP lead to a small CSO chamber with an overflow weir. It wasn't a very interesting explore but still good to get underground.

Ventor

2011-03-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

Located near Rochdale is an outfall onto the River Roch, capped in stone and giving way to brick it looks allot like the Works. I made my way across the river with Nckt and we headed in. The brick pipe lasts a short distance before turning into concrete and meeting a chamber.

The second level was at ground level, and looking down a large sewer flowed through a channel in the centre. Two of the walls were made of concrete slats at an angle, quite a breeze was coming in from outside. The chamber seemed to serve to ventilate this section of the system.

Overflow pipes on either side of the chamber gave access to a CSO chamber upstream.

It's a bit more interesting than the usual modern CSO setup and nice to see some brick thrown in for good measure!

Buried Discharge

2011-02-20T08:55:00.000-08:00

Located near Bury this CSO provides an overflow for one of the town's main sewers, before it travels under the Irwell on its way to the treatment works. A lid upstream of the overflow chamber gave access to the sewer, one of the rails had dropped into the flow creating a fast deep section. Even though the chamber was only 40m downstream I didn't fancy walking the heavy flow.

After working my way down the overgrown riverbank I found the overflow's outfall and headed in. A short stretch of RCP lead to the overflow side of the chamber. Over the weir a penstock could be seen that connected to the rod from the roof.

Despite scouring the area I couldn't find the lid to the feature I was actually looking for. Maybe a return trip in mid winter when the vivacious vegetation has died back will yield better results.

Deadening

2011-01-30T14:55:00.000-08:00

This little culvert, found near Droylsden, is around 350m long and built of stone and brick. I went in from the outfall, after a stoopy 4f beginning it opened up slightly and allowed a more comfortable walk. The shape changed from circular to pill to arch, the height varied from 4-5ft. The central section shrank to 3-4ft egg for a thankfully short distance.

After was more arch which eventually turned to box shape at a small waterslide, probably the more interesting part of the entire drain.

I was close to turning back after this point as the stooping was doing me in, but a few more minutes gave a glimmer of light in the distance. The infall eventually greeted me where I sat and chilled for a bit before going back in for the return trip.

Not the most interesting or comfortable to explore of drains, but full of shape changes and stone is always a bonus, especially when compared to modern RCP.

The Egg

2011-01-09T12:43:00.000-08:00

While we were in the area TheVicar and I went to have a look down The Egg. Starting at the junction with the Westbourne we headed downstream untill reaching a hydraulic gate. Not wanting to go beyond an automatic gate for too long we took a few photos and headed back.

IDM 2011

2011-01-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

Drainers from all over the world converged in London for this year's International Drain Meet, it was a quality evening packing more people in a drain than I've ever seen before. It was a pleasure to both see old faces and meet the rest of the community, big shouts to everyone who went!

Labyrinth

2010-12-02T13:32:00.000-08:00

We drove through Notting Hill around 5am on a Sunday morning, car filled to the brim with drainers and equipment. I remember thinking this must be the height of luxury.

Baring in mind along with my travelling companions Nckt and Eotech, we had been on the go, walking around, since we arrived in London the Friday evening. The lift from Winchester was just what was needed for knackered legs and seeing the Labyrinth junction was a great way to round off the trip.

Crypt

2010-11-22T08:28:00.000-08:00

When first stepping foot in Crypt one could be forgiven to thinking it is an anomaly in the system. Seemingly the purpose of this chamber is to act merely as confluence between two egg shaped sewers, the largest being the Putney Extension. These travel either side of a lower central channel in an elaborate arched chamber, one of the best I have seen.

The flows meet at the end of the chamber where they drop into a lower pipe. Thanks to some excellent research from sub-urban, it looks like the chamber used to serve as an overflow. The two sewers would have continued through the chamber and onto another feature. The chamber ends have been bricked up so the flow now continues down the old overflow.

Big shouts to Nckt, Eotech, Winchester & Ali.

Barely Walking

2010-11-11T16:15:00.000-08:00

This culvert is found on the upper reaches of the River Irk. Unlike the massive downstream culverts like Optimus Prime, the river here demands only a small conduit.

The outfall is stone and around 7ft high, the pipe continues like this for a short distance before shrinking down to 5ft RBP.

This RBP makes up the majority of the length, seepage has created flowstone in places and a black tar like coating in others.

The shape changes twice more before finally shrinking to around 3ft, I called it a day at that point.

Although small and stoopy this drain has great character and it's interesting to see the Irk in it's younger stages.

Sneak peek

2010-11-07T12:22:00.000-08:00

While out with the TheVicar one day we found a small brick culvert under a railway line. Only the one photo for now.

Packin' Heat

2010-10-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

Packin' Heat was found by LittleMike and userscott back in 2008. It is similar in function to it's bredrin 'Packin More Heat' found much further downstream.

A metal walkway forms an L shape around a chamber, a large 20ft trunk sewer flows beneath. Two sets of well maintained machinery allow massive penstocks to be closed to send the flow down another route.

Shouts to Nckt.

Beck Valley

2010-10-04T05:45:00.000-07:00

The Beck Valley culvert flows east of Nottingham city center down into the River trent. I meet up with TheVicar, mortaldecay and a friend who I've done a couple of drains with.

After a hand getting down to the outfall from an inquisitive local, we found ourselves waist deep in the Trent's waters. The culvert started off brick arch with a sloping floor, a series of iron rods reinforced the ceiling. This continued for what felt like some time until the water level finally dropped.

The pipe turned to RBP around 10ft, along this were a series of side pipes. One of which housed a small chamber with stairs to bring the flow down from a higher pipe.

There were parts of along the culvert which had that fresh smell that suggested a CSO is feeding in somewhere. I stuck my head up a chute behind a flap and found an overflow for a 1ft sewer. The sidepipe was clean however, so the smell must be coming from an as yet undiscovered source.

The main pipe has a set of stairs that raises the floor enough to fit a sewer underneath. A stoopy stretch later and we came to a shaft that lead up to the best feature of this culvert.

At the top was a hatch that allowed access to the Curious Tower. This is a small brick tower that has a locked gate and gave a glimpse of the park the tower is situated in.

After seeing the tower we headed back the way we came. Shouts to those who went for a quality afternoon's draining.

Optimus Prime

2010-10-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

Optimus Prime is a large culvert that takes the River Irk underground for it's final stretch before the outfall into the Irwell. I met up with Nckt and Jim Gillette to have a look.

The water level is quite shallow for most of it's length, as a weir holds the deeper water back at the infall. Although shallow the flow is quick and presents a challenge when crossing across the slippery stone floor.

There are a few nice features, the best being an old wooden cattle bridge that despite being in a damp environment was in excellent condition.

Past the bridge the depth increased, so we clung to the sides making it to within a few meters of the outfall.

Fire Works

2010-09-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

I revisited the works for some fire inspired photos, check it!

Slop Pail (aka Smurfs Hollow)

2010-09-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

When I saw RCP through the grated infall I thought this would be another of Bury's boring prefab systems. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when after a short length the concrete turned to stone and joined another culvert.

Going downstream was 5ft stone arch that went for around a hundred meters before turning back to RCP. At the junction a manhole shaft went up a good 15ft, a rope was tied off a stepiron and suspended from it was a pail full of crystal clear water. It looked like it hadn't been moved in a while and I wonder what it's purpose was.

After this were a myriad of shape and material changes, with a few chambers thrown in for good measure.

A concrete arch section allowed me to stand up properly for a short while, before shrinking into brick arch. This wasn't particularly deep and had about 2ft above the water. I went a short way down this before deciding it wasn't likely to open up anytime soon and headed back. Upstream of the first junction shrank down to heavy stoop height too, so I called it a day.

Return trip

2010-08-21T16:05:00.000-07:00

I finally got down into In My Sights tank, check it!

Redbarn

2010-08-08T13:09:00.000-07:00

Redbarn is found up near Oldham and is the upstream parent of Foxdenton. I met up with Nckt to have a look.

The drain starts off in brick around 7ft tall. This then alternates between short stretches of RCP where repairs have been made, before opening up into a large egg shaped section.

The best bit is after this where the stone blocks making up the pipe have allowed minerals to seep through creating a cave like feel.

The height then drops as the pipe turns back to brick and a stoopy 3ft. There was an interesting chamber where guide rails on each wall indicated there was once a penstock. We did not explore beyond this as a long potentially featureless stoop did not appeal.

Just before the main pipe shrank was an 3ft brick egg, knowing there was something to see we headed down it. The egg was lovely to look at but tiny and difficult to stoop down, after a manhole chamber and a stretch of RCP was the CSO chamber. Ladders gave access to the processor, an upper chamber and the sewer.

The culvert was not a particularly long one, but packed with shape changes and interesting features. The sewer connection adds a nice extension to what can be explored too. Thanks to Nckt for being a top exploring partner.

Series 5a

2010-07-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

s5a is the neighbour of s3c, its bigger fresher cousin. Hidden on the riverbank of the Irwell the outfall looks like a portal into a time gone by. The initial pipe is a brick egg around 4ft high, a tree has grown out from the brickwork at the outfall, further lending to the suggestion of it's age.

The egg must of been the original overflow pipe for the CSO that lies within, unfortunately a 10m stretch is all that remains of the older system.

A manhole chamber marks the transition to 3/4ft RCP, after a short distance another chamber houses a curved weir. On the other side a channel joins a pipe coming from the CSO chamber, to one that enters a dropshaft not far from the weir.

The CSO chamber had a processor and being in here was slightly unnerving, as a penstock hung over the way back into the overflow.

From what I understand the setup serves to divert any overflow from the CSO down the dropshaft into a detention tank. When this gets full the CSO chamber penstock could be closed, maybe if there was storage capacity further down the system. If left open the flow will fill up the dropshaft, over the weir and down into the river.

Series 3c

2010-07-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

This drain is in one of Manchester's surrounding northern towns and was a bit of a stooper, 3ft RCP being king here.

The outfall was quite nice with a series of steps down to the river, into the drain a short distance was a small manhole chamber. After this was a dropshaft where the level of the drain was raised up about 8ft, looking similar to Lowdown Drain. The pipe at the top was accessible via step irons but transversing a 3ft hole in the floor of a 3ft pipe didn't seem appealing.

'crotch'

Drop Dead

2010-07-10T10:54:00.000-07:00

I had done a reccy of a rather fresh smelling outfall, so returned one evening with Ojay to have a further look.

The from the outfall was a short section of RCP which lead to a manhole chamber, here the pipe turned to brick.

After around 200m was a brick chamber with 2 RCP dropshafts.

A ladder lead up through the ceiling into a stack of concrete chambers that went up around 100ft.

The topmost ladder went to a a narrow shaft that terminated in a manhole, but had a couple of slits. Through these the top of the dropshafts could be seen and a hole into a chamber above which remains unexplored for now. Shouts to Ojay for an interesting night!

A quick look

2010-07-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

I went to reccy a few sites recently, some hopefully interesting stuff coming soon. In the meantime here's one from Chemical Valley.

Lock Stock

2010-06-24T05:44:00.000-07:00

Lock Stock is a Victorian brick overflow system that has two overflow chambers, divided by a sump and cast iron pipe which cuts across the main pipe. This means each section must be accessed separately. The downstream section was found by JonDoe some years ago has seen little exposure since.

After several weeks of planning, TheVicar and myself met to have a look at the downstream stretch. After descending the aging access shaft we found ourselves in a 9ft RBP. There was a foot or so of water that slowly gained in depth going downstream.

Going upstream the water became shallower and laden with turd, until the pipe grew in diameter and we came to a junction.

The overflow setup is unique in what I have seen before. The 15ft trunk sewer enters a chamber in which a large bolted cast iron section is raised above the normal flow level. The sewer continues under this and into the other cast iron pipe which crosses the main RBP. When the levels are higher the flow enters the raised section and through into the main pipe.

It's an interesting setup which shows the Victorians flair for engineering and a place I could happy spend hours in.

In My Sights

2010-06-21T05:28:00.000-07:00

Located near one of Manchester's fringe towns are two large CSO tanks. I managed to have a quick look at one of them on a bright sunny day. The tank is built from concrete and is one of the largest underground spaces I have seen. Apologies for the poor photos but this was daytime access and I was anxious to get out quickly.

Climbing down the access ladder I found myself in a circular landing space.

The cut out slots allowed the tank to be seen, the photo does not show scale well at all. The distance to the walls and concentration of mist ate lumens, so even a minute's expose failed to properly illuminate the space.

This place is dangerous, an unprotected ledge gives way to a drop of around 60ft. Strangely the lower landings had railings, upon further inspection it looks like the upper railings were unbolted and stolen.

The column has 3 landings, the bottom most one has pen stocks which control the flow out of the tank through the column. The penstocks are controlled from the top landing space via metal rods that connect straight down. A RCP also joins here but I'm not sure of it's purpose.

I returned to take a proper look with Nckt and Jim Gillette. We stood at the manhole about to go in, after lifting the cover we saw the access ladder had disappeared. Looks like whoever had stolen the railings had come back and taken the ladder. We tried a few more manholes and found the way in.

Seeing the tank from above didn't prepare me for how big the tank actually was. After navigating the long ladder down we made found ourselves in a Behemoth of underground construction.

Bridgemouth

2010-06-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

This culvert is found in Radcliffe near Bury, it's about 260metres long and outfalls into the Irwell.

The outfall is stone clad and had me hoping of an old stone tunnel. Like another drain I found in this area, once inside it's straight to concrete. The box section did however have what looked like the brook's original stone bed, which made up for the low ceiling. The entire culvert doesn't get any higher than around 5ft.

After some pipes intersected the concrete box became stone walled and concrete covered. This looked better but was even more stoopy.

A bit later on a brick side tunnel joined and the culvert shrank to a brick arch. Looking up into the next section light was coming in and I assumed this was the infall so didn't go any further up.

The brick side tunnel continued for around 20m, the air was clear and fresh. The shape changed into a low concrete arch for another 10m before the grill of another infall could be seen. At this point I called it a day and headed back whilst trying to ignore how much the water sounded like voices. However many times I hear it I still can't get used to that particular draining quirk.

Kermit's Lair

2010-05-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

This drain looks to have been built in the last few years. The whole system is concrete and there has been some major landscaping above ground. The dig a hole, fill it with prefab bits and scrape the earth back over method seems to have prevailed here.

Upon entering, the RCP has flow for the first 50m, a sidepipe is responsible and after this the pipe is dry.

After couple of hundred metres you come into a simple looking overflow chamber. On the other side of the overflow wall a sewer flows down a small pipe and under the overflow channel.

The sewer comes from a much larger pipe, in normal flow conditions it enters the chamber and goes straight into the smaller pipe. When the flow is much higher the smaller pipe cannot take the volume away so it fills up the chamber to about half way. At this point the level is sufficiently high to go over the wall into the overflow channel.

Although the high water line indicated the system does indeed overflow, there was a curiously large group of frogs by a ladder in the main chamber. Some were reasonably big, and didn't look weak. Had they been washed down the sewer and unable to escape, found a quiet little existence for themselves?

I went up the sewer until the first corner, after this the air looked misty and a massive sewer rag hanging from the ceiling can't have done much for airflow. Being alone I called it a day, but there is potentially more to see.

Revolver

2010-05-09T05:46:00.000-07:00

I wasn't expecting much from this little culvert, both infall and outfall had large grills, with about 340m of double concrete box section stretching between. Not far from the outfall a large low concrete bridge crossed and deep sinking mud prevented easy access beneath. To one side of the bridge was a window, I climbed up to it and found myself in an access corridor.

At one end daylight poured in through a padlocked gate, the other direction had a ladder. This went up to a small chamber, and another lead downwards into a CSO chamber.

The sewer is carried in a large concrete topped channel with a slot in the side for the overflow. It travels from the RBP (Round brick pipe) pictured, through the overflow chamber and into a smaller RBP. This must curve round and travel across the bridge, under the access passage mentioned earlier. Any overflow leaves the chamber through a series of slots which stepped down into the culvert. The bridge can be made out in the background:

The rest of the shortish journey to the infall was through concrete box. What looked like an equipment access chamber was the last thing of interest before the grilles of the infall.

Stoppage

2010-05-05T13:28:00.000-07:00

The River Medlock is carried through many culverts on it's course to the Irwell. Downstream near the city the underground passage of the river has been documented pretty well, but I could find nothing from further upstream. Up near Oldham and it's source the Medlock is a small river and as such requires small culverts, so I was surprised to find quite a reasonably sized one.

I walked in from the infall and found a large brick arch, the sides were scattered with stone debris with the river flowing sedately inbetween. The culvert has an industrial feel with pipes protruding and metal bars holding bits of it together. A business still exists above to which the river may owe it's original reason for being covered over. At a few points light enters through grilles above and you can get a suggestion of what is above.

The culvert is about 160m long, towards the infall things started to get interesting. A small step allowed the stone and metalwork that comprised the floor to be seen. A series of metal sheets hid a number of small side passages, the largest could easily be stooped. Looking down this a low brick chamber could be seen with a trickle of water coming from a further small tunnel.

I started taking photos and no sooner had I got the first of a lovely water slide, I saw some people poking round the infall. Not knowing their intent and being by myself I slid off back to the outfall grabbing the few pics along the way.

Processor

2010-05-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

Processor carries the fetid waters of the Moston Brook. By the time the brook reaches the outfall a CSO and various sidepipes could have dropped their combined load depending on what the weather has been doing. The day I went was dry yet the air had a sewerfresh tint to it before even stepping foot inside. Contributing could be the other small sewer related structures that adorn the small valley in which the outfall resides.

The culvert starts as a brick pipe about 10ft tall, various seepage has created a cave like feel in one section.

The brick unfortunately gives way to concrete, which continues for some while.

The culvert's namesake is a CSO chamber for the sewer that runs parallel. The sewer makes itself known at several points along the route.

I understand further upstream there are a myriad of shape changes. I walked for another 10 minutes past the CSO chamber, looked at a couple of small but interesting sewer access chambers, then headed back to take photos.

Old Worsley

2010-04-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

The Worsley Brook used to flow from the north through this interesting little culvert which took it under the Bridgewater canal. Nowdays the majority of the brook's flow is diverted by a dam into a small culvert. This leaves only a small flow continuing along the original course.

I got into the culvert from the outfall, walking to it allot of fish could be seen swimming in the ochre colored water. In it's escape from me one manged to jump out the water and onto the bank, unfortunately my camera was packed up at this point so I set him back on his way.

A wooden penstock big enough to block the whole culvert sat in brick groves. A stucture on the surface could just be made out through gaps in the roof to lower it.

A brick arch takes the brook under the canal, water continously drips in at this point.

A feature unique in my experience to a culvert was the covering of crystals in many points along the brook.

I'd managed to spend so long looking at features upstream that I'd ran out of time by this point. Another return trip to add to the list.

Rock Blast Crack

2010-03-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

I came across this quaint little tunnel whilst scouring the banks of the Irwell. It looks to have been blasted into the local sandstone and finished in pick. It's straight and the height varies from around 4ft, with some parts more stoopy.

The water has cut into the stone at points to produce a crack which gives a little more room to stand. A brick shaft at the tunnel's far end extends up into daylight and houses a small pipe which is the source of the water.

Megatron

2010-03-20T14:35:00.001-07:00

Sheffield was the final destination on my draining roadtrip with TheVicar, it was certainly saving the biggest till last. We went in via Porter's brook, the watercourse flows through nice old but stoopy culverts and open sections before converging with the River Sheaf.

Standing in the junction trains can be heard thundering overhead from the train station. Upstream the river continues up some nice but boring brick arched tunnels which merge into concrete box before the infall. Downstream the river splits into three stone arch tunnels which immediately drop via a short slide.

The tunnels run for sometime before emerging into the open then back into the next section. This starts off similar to the last only with a lot more debris to ankle break on.

The parallel tunnels merge into one as a stone arch takes over, which rapidly swells into a huge brick lined beast.

The brick unfortunately gives way to a newer, lower concrete section and the water depth increases significantly.

What a culvert to finish on, many thanks to the TheVicar for a great couple of days draining.

Transporter

2010-03-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

Night had set in when TheVicar & I arrived in Dewsbury at the entrance to Transporter, everything felt quieter and there was a chill in the air. Getting in was not without it's peril, previous heavy flow had scattered debris across the sloped outfall. It looked like an ideal way to climb in but the slightest touch sent the whole lot crashing down.

The culvert had the same basic mushroom shape as Monument and afterwards I find it difficult to remember where one ends and the other begins.

A CSO lurked up a sidepipe, but after a days exploring neither of us could muster the will to explore it.

The culvert emerged back into the open after what seemed like a long walk, before disappearing one last time into a debris strewn section that finally gave way to concrete box section and the infall.

I rarely get to go draining for a whole day, it was knackering but well worth it. Back home to sleep before heading to Sheffield!

Monument

2010-03-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

After visiting Leeds TheVicar and I headed for the town of Batley. The bank down to the outfall was strewn with glasses and bottles, obviously a local hotspot for post pub disposal of finished drinks.

Not long after entering the culvert you come to the most interesting section of the drain. What looks like a small overflow tunnel outfall rests in the sodium glow of the streetlights above and a grille overhead prevents yet more glassware entering the culvert. The ladder leads up to a door to the street above, where people can be seen milling about through the gap underneath.

Later the brook breaks into the open once more where two brooks join. One hosts a small waterfall while the other continues back underground.

The last interesting feature was a junction where a silted up brick tunnel joined the culvert. A space in the roof above was open to the sky and a couple of pigeons guarded the stairs, despite the ventilation the junction smelt like turd. Up the stairs the stoopy tunnel continued on but we went onwards.

Round the corner and the shape changed to concrete box, complete with car batteries and shopping trolleys. It went on oppressively for an age, before eventually meeting the outfall.

We worked our way back to the car and headed downstream to Dewsbury.

Masticator

2010-03-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

I meet up with TheVicar and we headed to Leeds for the first drain of the weekend. Masticator ducks in and out of culverts, threading its way through the city. We got into the culvert and straight away side pipes beckoned further inspection, one home to a CSO chamber with the processing gear annoyingly up near the ceiling. The styles of construction varied from CMP, stone and brick arches and box sections.

Some sections were no more than bridges, one carrying several cast iron sewers over the brook with a flap presumably for the overflow underneath.

We found another flap that wasn't submerged and lifting the bottom a crack saw a nice looking stepped brick pipe. Whilst TheVicar hauled open the cast iron cover I slipped underneath trying not to dip myself in the fresh looking flow. Inside was a small chamber with stepirons to a manhole, and the pipe continuing on. I followed it until the first bend and decided the combination of dodgy petrol smelling air and heavy stooping wasn't the best and headed out.

This junction lead to a dead culvert, with mud like sinking sand now filling it. The construction and style seemingly thrown together from whatever was to hand at the time.

The longest stretch underground is the downstream section, this changes from brick arch to box, both with a channel in the centre for normal flow levels.

Three small plastic pipes lead off at one point, a short crawl later and you enter a CSO chamber. This was unique in my experience, an Archimedes' screw lay horizontally with its bottom half open to the sewer beneath. When levels in the sewer increased the screw would activate scooping the surface and removing solids.

The largest part of the culvert is a 12-14ft brick pipe, unfortunately not very long but certainly impressive.

Finally the culvert splits into two parallel concrete boxes and flows into the river.

Next up, Batley.

Foxdenton

2010-02-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

I drove to northern Manchester one sunny morning with drains in mind. Redbarn still sports a large metal grille that resists casual entry, so headed to nearby Foxdenton. The infall stands proud and makes little effort to conceal itself, it's grille reduced to lying in the water creating a mini dam. Shortly after you leave the sun behind you it returns through an open manhole.

A small chamber housed a junction with a sidepipe and a manhole shaft, pretty much the biggest open space in the culvert. After this was a walk punctuated with only a few sidepipes and manhole shafts that looked more cave like than usual ones.

After a while the water started getting deeper and the thundering sound became louder. Several walkable sidepipes lead off before this, one out to an outdoor pool, another upto some stairs with a grilled top, probably overflows for the works.

I waded through the foam that smelt less sewer and more fresh than the average sewer aroma. Around the corner was a large channel of post-treatment sewage works output, it had real power behind it so marked the end of the explore. I had no appreciation of quite how much output a works produces, even a relatively small one like this. Modern day treatment is pretty impressive.

St Helens Draining

2010-01-30T09:32:00.000-08:00

I found myself in St Helens one morning so thought I'd check out the local drains. I haven't seen any other photos from the area so was interested to see what was about. The first location I had to check out bore fruit, that of the tangy sewerfresh variety.

Upon entering the culvert you are greeted with a lovely stone arch, presumably an old bridge which soon gave way to concrete. There's an interesting side pipe that looked like an old tunnel rather than a drain, further up daylight streams in where the culvert enters the open for a few meters.

The culvert then continues into the unknown, sadly I hadn't time to explore beyond.

I did have a look up a modern looking RCP however, the smell gave away what it lead to.

Interestingly the main culvert also smelt a bit fresh so other CSOs might be lurking upstream. A return trip is definitely needed which isn't such a rush job.

Wishbone

2009-12-31T10:39:00.000-08:00

The outfall for this drain looks a bit like STD & I was hoping for a similar set of features.

A set of stairs drops down from a small dry RCP and joins after the outfall, the whole setup looking like a 'Y' from above.

It turned out to be a straight CMP a few hundred meters long that eventually shrinks to a 2-3ft concrete pipe. A small manhole chamber houses the shrink and rises up a couple of levels. I ventured further up the pipe a short distance but was confident there was nothing further to see. The infall for the drain is a small grate a few hundred meters further up the valley.

Hulme Flume

2009-12-13T14:00:00.000-08:00

The Flume has been in the top of my 'wanted to see' places since I saw the first photos. I met up with TheVicar and we waited while darkness fell, kitting up was simple as the Flume allowed whellies rather than my usual chesties. The first thing of notice when climbing the ladder in was how far down it was, the other was the thundering noise of the water coming from upstream.

The pipe was brick arch with a sloping floor, the water as we walked upstream looked clean and suggested a relatively clean explore. Before long we came to a sidepipe leading to a CSO chamber.

This was a smaller version of what was to come, back into the main pipe and further up we came to the main overflow.

The rather large penstock could be lower sending the flow down the Flume rather than to the treatment works. All the brickwork was very detailed and is a prime example of the Victorians doing a job properly even if nobody is meant to see it.

After taking some photos we walked back down stream, after passing our entry manhole a small newer looking concrete sewer poured in. The flume flows straight into the Irwell, a sewer flowing constantly into a river is pretty grim. The water around the outfall is usually pretty scumy.

Progress became slower as fat built up and the tunnel continued for quite a distance. A sidepipe lead to another smaller CSO chamber similar to the other. The air was pretty bad in there so got out sharpish. A metal sewer pipe intersected further down.

Eventually we reached the sump, a shitrag chain spanning the pipe.

Beyond this the pipe drops down creating a deep pool. Despite the flow into it the pool's surface was perfectly still, a crust of crappy foam.

We headed back up towards the manhole taking a few photos on the way and climbed out. Thanks to TheVicar for a quality evening, good times!

The Minger

2009-12-06T09:27:00.001-08:00

Last time I stood outside the entrance to the Minger the smell was enough to make you eyes water. That was in summer when the sun had baked the overflow rancid, thankfully in cold weather it was better. A roaring could be heard even from outside, yet the flow from the overflow was minimal.

The brick egg changed shape to concrete pipe then emerged into an overflow area. Every surface here was covered in a layer of filth, you really wouldn't want to be in here when the system was maxed out and the overflow kicked in.

Up to the left was a bridge going to a ladder, from under the bridge water was pouring down into the tank. I'm guessing this came from an overburdened combined sewer, it traveled in channels in the bottom of the tank to the other end where it must go back into another large sewer line. When there's too much throughput for the system to handle the tank fills up, and eventually overflows.

I had wanted to get into the tank and see what's at the other end, but I was alone & the waterfall was washing over the ladder. It might have to wait until when there's not been so much rain, the city keeps it's secrets for now.

The Works

2009-11-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

I finally got round to visiting the works, the locals were having a random fire as I approached and gave quizzing looks at my wader'd up attire. I jumped down the riverbank and into the water which acts as good as a solid barrier to air max trainers. The large outfall greeted me and I walked in to see what all the fuss has been all about.

Main overflow chamber

Penstock controls

Double relief

Giants Staircase

Dead end

I like the Works, its got plenty to offer & there's always inhospitable if you fancy a nice walk out over the crap. The bridge in the overflow chamber seems to be slowly being eaten by rust, I can see it snapping in the future, further adding to the detritus. It might prompt another cleanup which would be nice.

I revisited with TheVicar to try out his new camera and some pyrotechnics. I haven't used anything like this before but was quite pleased with the results.

Gears of water

2009-10-11T09:54:00.000-07:00

I waited for a near constant stream of people to stroll past on their weekend walk. A break in the human traffic allowed time to lift the hatch and descend. Inside a metal grid rested over water and pipework, a hum of machinery filled the air. Gears and levers controlled the pipework above and in the water below.

STD

2009-10-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

I met up with Yaz and we headed out of town towards to countryside. After parking up we found an unusually large gated outfall for a motorway culvert. The infall presented a potentially lovely photo which I messed up the aperture settings for.

aper-fail

We continued through thick undergrowth and found the desired outfall. STD starts off with a long old stoop through Corrugated Metal Pipe, a couple of manhole shafts give room to stand and take breath. An indeterminable time later the metal pipe gives way to lovely brick, the change welcome as the sound of walking echos around.

The best feature of this drain is a chamber housing a convergence with a smaller drain. After stooping for so long neither of us were up for the smaller one, so continued up the main culvert.

The brick changed into an even lower box section, until reaching the upstream limit. Rungs lead up into a narrow manhole shaft.

Getting out was downhill & tactical running methods ensured a swift exit. Cheers to Yaz, great drain & a good laugh!

SSSI

2009-09-22T13:39:00.000-07:00

There's always something that adds an unexpected twist to the day. I Met up with Toothdoctor, LittleMike & MrA to check out SSSI. Geared up, walked to the outfall, and pretty much walked through a wasps nest, it wasn't pretty. Everyone pulled together and rallied against the little bastards, saving my bag and making a clean get away, all's well that ends well. And it did, we popped a manhole and headed in a bit further upstream.

SSSI has a big overflow chamber, with a big ass penstock and control room. The smell of crap was just the anaesthetic the stings needed, so we took a few photos and headed out.

Packin more heat

2009-09-06T15:13:00.000-07:00

I meet up with Toothdoctor to find the entrance to Lockstock. We scouted a few possibles with no success, then spotted something interesting. Lifting a lid revealed a cobweb topped darkness, a set of rungs brought us into a chamber lined with large winding gear.

A passage lead both ways out from the central section, with a massive penstock gate at each end.

Going down a shaft lead to the sewer level. Two parallel interceptors joined and continued under the penstocks. The setup is used to control the combined flow to each interceptor, "a balancer".

Photo by Toothdoctor

The place was covered in rust, heaters along the wall had gone completely brittle. Not Lockstock but close!

Lowdown drain, mancs

2009-09-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

I found this drain whilst looking for a culvert of one of Manchester's lesser brooks. The brook emerged from a tiny brick culvert around a foot high, but downstream a few meters was the outfall for what I presume to be the brook's bypass.

It starts as a RCP maybe 1.5 meters tall, then gets progressively more more back breaking. This is not a drain for spider haters, they are everywhere!

Plenty of chances to get nice and close to the water:

There was a small manhole chamber after the brick corner which allowed me to actually stand up fully, before straight back to it for maybe 50 meters.

The sound of roaring water spurred me around a long corner till I got to a small water slide.

Rungs going upto a lid allowed me to see through a window, where more RCP could be seen fading into the distance. It would be possible to get up, but it was a solo mission, and upstream looked just as stoopy as the rest, so didn't bother!

Prestwich Clough culvert

2009-08-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

Prestwich clough had a promising looking if not slightly dodgy culvert. The brick filled wire cages sagged rather in the middle and the concrete roof beams looked compromised from the weight above.

Unfortunately the start of the original culvert was too low to proceed:

Heaton Park brook

2009-08-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

Heaton Park has various small waterways snaking through it, when I first saw the sunken channel I presumed culvert. It was in a clearing in a wood, and had concrete surface structures that suggested something going on underneath. I approached the channel from the downstream end:

A small pool was fed from a pipe, this flowed through a small arch and was home to the source of the water for the rest of the brook.

A tunnel portal at the end of the channel was barred up, looking through was a newish looking set of stairs going over what looked like a metal sewer pipe. The tunnel continued beyond my torch range.

Looking back

Another source of water drained from higher up the wall, perhaps this is the outfall for the water in the metal pipe?

It was a shame the barred door was locked, must be something good up there!

St George's Drain

2009-07-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

Its a bit optimistic to give this a name, found a couple of bolted hatches under a viaduct in Castlefield.

I remembered seeing a tunnel entrance when the river was really low once, so thought I could be onto a winner. The first hatch revealed a small bricked chamber:

The air inside smelt of thick rust and was not suitable for breathing, what looked like widing gear for a penstock was inside:

I was hoping the second cover would grant access to the culvert the penstock must block, but turned out only to be for a small surface water drain. Looks like the culvert could only be explored if the river ever dropped low enough.

Macro (Downstream)

2009-07-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

After doing Bypass, toothdoctor and myself found ourselves in Rainbow Junction. The downstream culvert of Macro leads on from this, it's double barreled at the infall, but opens up to 3 someway in.

There was an interesting looking sidepipe and some vents letting daylight seep in, best of all something else lurked in the dark. A sidepipe led off to a sump chamber, absolute stillness, great depth and foreboding. Interesting place but you wouldn't want to fall in that water.

Castlefield Basin Culvert

2009-06-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

I've often seen this culvert and wondered if there is anything to been seen. The Medlock drops into a plughole and can be traced on maps heading underneath the canals and streets of castlefield to its outfall:

The right tunnel heads to a weir that drains the canal of excess water, the left the outfall for the culvert.

The full volume of the Medlock comes down this culvert, so it is deep. The side had just enough mud piled up to walk on to travel about 50m before the depth became too great.

The rest could be seen in a thick skinned boat or in a drought, until then it remains a mystery.

Bypass

2009-06-02T13:56:00.000-07:00

I've been looking forward to checking out the 'Draining capital of the North', and haven't been disappointed! I headed up to Bradford and met up with toothdoctor. After the usual walk of strange looks we dropped down and made our way to Rainbow junction:

We selected Bypass, a short water slide greeted us almost straight away and hinted this was going to be good. The box section soon opened up into a beast of a 12 ft RCP, Before long a large shaft rose above the pipe.

It took about 20mins to walk from the shaft to the base of the next feature, along the way a couple of access shafts rose a long way up to the surface.

After a while the pipe opened up into another longer water slide.

At the top was a junction, with upstream Macro to the right and Pandora's down concrete box to the left.

Taking the left route came to another junction, with Pandora's slot to the left and CSO on the right.

The slot chamber is a more recent addition over an old stone brook, at normal levels the flow goes under the slot and back into the original tunnel. This goes on to join Macro. In a storm the flow overflows the channel and goes into Bypass.

Taking the other route at the junction is the Pandora's CSO chamber. Upon entering the sewer ran overhead, ladders went up either side giving access to processor and observation levels . The chamber had everything, cameras, lights, old airhorn, nice! But the bitter twang of fresh could be tasted in every breath and visibility was not good!

Back down to the slide junction and across a deeper pit leads to the overflow point for Macro.

Getting over here was best not done in thigh waders, you can actually see the event horizon where the water flowed in!

On the other slide is the junction where storm flow is sent down Bypass, normally the flow goes under a slot, crosses unseen over the top of the Bypass waterslide and onto Macros original course.

Upstream from here the tunnels splits into box sections and a large CSO outfall joins.

We turned back shortly after this point as nothing seemed to be going on and wanted to have a look downstream of rainbow junction, it was a long walk back, I checked with gps when in the open and we were on the other side of the city center than what we started, this system is seriously big.

A further trip with TheVicar gave the chance to retake some old shots and further explore upstream Macro. Despite reaching the Cathedral chamber we were both knackered so I didn't take any shots. I'm sure I'll return in another year or so to complete Macro, Bradford has much to offer.

Sale Short Tunnel

2009-06-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

There's allot to be said for walking about during your lunch hour. Found this whilst doing so near Sale, what looked like a canal overflow drew my attention and found the tunnel access. Had a quick reccie down there but was in a suit, so returned later in better attire.

I dropped down inbetween two tunnel arches:

The tunnel has a pipe along it's length, which discharged into a small sump:

There was a lot of debris under the entrance, and a junction where a small pipe joined the main one:

The tunnel continued under the tramline for about 15m (looking back):

After a manhole shaft the tunnel was bricked up, with a smaller semi filled in tunnel in the center:

I can't figure out the original purpose of the tunnel, being so close to the canal overflow I first thought it was the overflow culvert. The sump could lead down to a culvert which actually is the overflow channel. Maybe the tunnel once lead somewhere else but it was blocked off and used for the drainage pipe.

Hulme Flume's Little Brother

2009-05-25T14:42:00.000-07:00

I met up with toothdoctor, we headed into the water and after a bit of a wade arrived at the entrance. Steps lead up into the overflow pipe, the sewerfresh smell building with each one.

The overflow chamber itself held a walkway up and over the sewer, with a penstock suspended over where the flow continues down some steps.

Photo by toothdoctor

We went upstream where sidepipes gushed, a rat ran and fat reduced walking to an attempt at a controlled slide. After a time the going got slower and we called it a day, the return to Manchester's city air has never been so welcome.

One Shot

2009-05-10T14:47:00.000-07:00

An unassuming tunnel breathes fresh flavored smoke over the water, leading into the unknown. It is of brick construction with a wonderfully smooth surface.

After a distance a wall blocks the path, behind which a sewer continues on. The wall diverts the flow round the corner and through a hole in the wall.

Sidedraft Induction

2009-05-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Sidedraft is one of the culverts of the Gore Brook, its mostly brick with some concrete thrown in for good measure.

From going under the grill the water level was quite low, but managed to dam up at the end where the tunnel split in two. Rotting leaf mulch released stinking gas under foot, so I moved on taking the tunnel on the right.

Water poured from the roof at regular intervals making passage damp

Split level side chamber upto a manhole

The two tunnels joined back up into a nice big brick arched one.

A large sidepipe lead to the CSO chamber

Which was pretty big

Upto the right is a large concrete penstock that allows the turdy flow to be diverted into the culvert.

Up on the second level with penstock controls at the end

Other side of the diverting penstock. There were two, the other one stops flow into the sewer channel that goes under the chamber. There's a huge pipe the channel goes into, not sure why this is needed as the feed pipe is allot smaller. Didn't get a photo but would be interesting to get down there and see what's to be found.

Back down the culvert I saw a water rat, which I tried to chase while getting me camera back out and failed miserably. The floor was full of pot holes and the water then gets deeper leading to the outfall.

Turned back at this point and went back down taking the other tunnel on the way back, nothing else of note to be found.

Supercharger B

2009-04-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

Had a look at Supercharger, only did the longer downstream section and stayed away from the CSOs due to company. Going in from the outfall was a leisurely walk in, a low arch changes quickly to the brick tunnel that makes up the majority of the culvert.

The sewer passes overhead, with a CSO leading to a processing room.

There's a few good looking CSOs and sidepipes I haven't seen yet, a return is in order!

Big Humpty

2009-03-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

The brickwork and shape make this one of the better looking culverts around. Although short in length it still makes for good viewing if in the area.

Medlock Culvert

2009-03-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

I had a look around this culvert on a weekend afternoon walk, only wellies are needed really as the water flows in a channel through its center. At points it breaches the channel and gives a slippery passage over wet stone.

A set of stairs brings water into the culvert from above, with an interesting setup where the water sprays into the channel from behind an obstruction.

3 Phase

2009-02-25T10:46:00.000-08:00

This is one of the culverts of the Chorlton Brook, I started at the outfall which gave a choice of two parallel tunnels, I chose the right one and headed up. The bed was like sinking sand and for some reason I had wellies on, so was overcautious walking until my foot sank deep and cold wetness invaded.

A stoopy sidepipe lead off to a rather unsavory looking trail

A small chamber and another stoop stretch later was a CSO chamber

The main culvert continued on for a distance until joining up with its twin, after this it became much larger and lead to the infall.

The infall was a grilled affair, after which a couple of sidepipes lead off, neither of which went very far.

Arachnophobia

2009-02-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

Found this little number looking for another drain, only had an hour to poke about so didn't reach the outfall unfortunately. Not too many features but a nice surprise later on.

A surface water drain joined some way into the culvert

I've heard this pipe is a shrinker, getting closer to street level and eventually becoming too small to continue.

Pomona Docks Tunnels

2009-02-04T09:48:00.000-08:00

Pomona docks used to be one of the busiest dockyards in the UK, now many of the docks have been infilled and the buildings demolished. A tram system once served the area, only a couple of rails sticking out through the ground remain. Below the old tram lines a tunnel still exists, brackets on the wall suggest it was a cable tunnel. Here are the photos, taken on the return trip.

Only surviving cable

Cable bracket type changes here

Way too bright I know but the tunnel had few variations in shape and this was one.

Rust stalactite:

Gorton Falls

2009-02-01T14:04:00.000-08:00

Gorton Falls takes the Gore Brook around a reservoir in a culvert that is both above and below ground. Side pipes join along its length and features are plentiful. Regular vent holes allow a glimmer of sunlight and keep the air fresh.

Sidepipe

Gorton Falls is called such after the waterfalls it hosts.

Downstream is a bigger waterfall, the pipe continues for a way after this before coming to an end at a slide of death.Here the flow drops down into a sump then is pushed above ground in a Siphon.

Cornbrook

2008-10-10T13:27:00.000-07:00

This is the drain that got me into draining. I found a dark filled entrance, heard the water and smelt the culvert smell. After heading back a bit more equipped I went in and got my first taste of an underground river.

The outfall for the main section was found and we ventured into the beast. The tunnel turns through different drain architecture, concrete box, formed concrete and beautiful brick. After a few hours we popped a lid and were greeted by tower block and gangsters. Its a great drain that I need to return to, take some more photos and try to beat the endurance challenge which is the Cornbrook.