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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
World
David McLean

The eerie abandoned tunnel near Edinburgh that's been sealed for 60 years

Few souls have been able to venture down the historic Broomieknowe Tunnel near Edinburgh in recent years.

That's because for the past six decades, the abandoned railway tunnel, which runs for 393 metres beneath Broomieknowe between Bonnyrigg and Lasswade, has been sealed off from the outside world.

Built back in 1867 by Sir Thomas Bouch, the esteemed railway engineer and designer of the ill-fated Tay Bridge, the subterranean link was a part of the Esk Valley Railway and integral to the success of the local paper mills to the south of Edinburgh.

READ MORE: Edinburgh local gobsmacked after discovering 'ghost street' hidden under tarmac

Initially, the Esk Valley Railway was heavily used by passengers and freight, but soon declined with the rise of motorised transport services in the years after the First World War.

The passenger station at the Lasswade end of the line closed in 1951, with goods services axed a few years later. The Broomieknowe Tunnel was closed for good in 1964 and both its western and eastern portals bricked up.

Housing would eventually be built around the site of the former Lasswade Station and the railway would end up largely forgotten.

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Now, with the passenger railway service and the heyday of Midlothian's paper manufacturing industry barely recalled, the Broomieknowe Tunnel exists as one of the sole remnants of a bygone age.

But while entry to the Victorian rail tunnel is difficult and strictly forbidden, some have managed to make their way in and out undetected.

In 2014, Flickr user K-Burn uploaded a series of photographs they managed to take from inside the brick-lined tunnel. Describing the condition of the tunnel, K-Burn said that there was considerable water ingress, which, while producing lots of pretty, colourful patterns throughout, was causing bricks to crumble.

"There are other spots bulges can be noticed in the lining," they wrote, "meaning that it's only a matter of time before more of the brickwork detaches itself from the lining."

K-Burn is not the only urban explorer to have successfully gained entry into the S-shaped underground passage.

In 2013, YouTuber @TeEnZiE filmed footage of their exploration through the pitch black darkness and creepy bends of the Broomieknowe Tunnel, which you can watch in full here.

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