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Sea Lion |
a novel by Steve Barrett | ||
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"The Train now Standing..." |
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In chapter 16, I relate an anecdote (quite possibly an "urban myth"
of its time) which involves a train hiding from an aircraft attack in a tunnel.
Whether or not this ever happened I do not know - but I would love to hear from
anyone who could confirm it! (mail@stevebarrettbooks.com)
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Clayton tunnel, which features in the story, is about a mile and a quarter - about two kilometres - long, so it would be entirely feasible for a six-coach train and locomotive to "hide" in it as described. Of course it might depend on how fast the train was travelling when the driver applied the brakes and how hard he applied them - but wartime train journeys were infamous for the slow speeds achieved. The tunnel itself has an elaborate castellated north portal, with a dwelling situated between the towers. Local legend says that a "white lady" haunts the place. I would have thought that any apparitions there would more likely be the shades of the dreadful August 1861 collision in the tunnel. It claimed 23 lives and 176 people were seriously injured. Click here to return to the "Inside Stories" main page. |
