Here are two photographs relevant to the story of the rail tunnel bisecting Williamson's 'triple deck' tunnel.

This photograph shows work to open the tunnel to Lime Street out into a cutting nearing completion in 1881. The photo is taken from Mason Street, with Ramsbottom's massive chimney for venting the rail tunnel redundant from this point on. The chimney, which stood until the 1960s, was a masterpiece of engineering, with the engine for its fan mechanism apparently housed in part of a Williamson tunnel directly underneath. Reproduced courtesy of National Railway Museum	This photograph from 1998 shows the view looking down into the cutting from the back of Williamson's house. If you imagine 2 vertical lines joining the red arrows, these mark the point where Williamson's triple deck tunnel was bisected. It's easier to make out in real life, but you may be able to see that outside the 2 lines the cutting face is raw bedrock, whilst between them it is sandstone blocks. This is where the bisected tunnel was walled up. This is mirrored on the opposite side of the cutting (beneath the photographer).
	Click anywhere in this window to close it