Disused Railway Tunnel Under Dawley To Wellington Road

The disused railway tunnel under Dawley to Wellington Road was built around 1856 for the Wellington and Severn Junction Railway. It is constructed from blue engineering bricks with stone dressings. The tunnel features a brick parabolic arch, with portals at both ends that include rusticated stone voussoirs and a keyblock to the arch. It also has a stone bull-nose cornice and parapet, along with splayed and ramped abutment wings that have stone coping and small terminal piers. The tunnel is situated beneath the embankment of the road above. The Wellington and Severn Junction Railway was authorized in 1853, with a short single track line from the main line to Horsehay opening in 1857 and extending to Lightmoor in 1859. Although the company was leased by the Great Western Railway, most of the goods traffic was initially operated by the Coalbrookdale Company.