Location Ledbury, Herefordshire Opened 1861 Length 1,210 m | Status Operational No. of tracks Single Start Ledbury railway station | |
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Operator Worcester and Hereford Railway Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
Ledbury Tunnel is a single-track railway tunnel immediately to the east of Ledbury railway station on the Cotswold Line, in Herefordshire, England. The tunnel through the limestone Dog Hill was opened in 1861 by the Worcester and Hereford Railway, and remains in use today.
The tunnel was notorious among steam locomotive crews for its bad atmosphere, the result of its unusually narrow bore combined with a steep gradient (1:80) and a bend at the north end. Special rules for evacuation of passengers are in place due to the tight clearance in the tunnel.
The excavation of the tunnel provided a valuable opportunity to study the geology, dating to the Devonian age. There were significant finds of fossilised fish, acanthodians and ostracoderms, some complete with the body and tail.