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The
Tyne Cable Tunnel was built in 1908, commissioned by the Newcastle
upon Tyne Electric Light Company to carry power from the north bank
to South Tyneside.
A cheaper option would have been to lay the cables
along the river bed, but there was concern that dredging ships would
damage them.
The tunnel's existence came to light after a chance
comment made during an interview on the Paul and Ian Show on BBC
Radio Newcastle.
Most people believe the Tyne Pedestrian Tunnel to
be the earliest underground crossing of the river, but that was
built in 1951. Keen to see the daddy of all Tyne Tunnels for themselves,
Paul Wappat and Ian Robinson persuaded the current owners, NEDL,
to let them in.
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Paul
Wappat prepares for his journey to centre of the Earth.
Ian Robinson just laughs.
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The tunnel was built by Sir Robert McAlpine & Sons in
1908. Two vertical shafts were dug to a depth of 36m on each bank
and they were connected by a horizontal shaft which goes almost 300m
under the river bed.
Contractors who recently installed lighting throughout
the tunnel have reported strange phenomena. An unexplained cloud
of vapour floated up the south shaft, directly against the flow
of air from the powerful extractor fans.
The men also said a cap lamp was seen bobbing about
in the tunnel even though they knew noone was there.
Ian Robinson turned up to the tunnel wearing a kilt
and because nobody wanted to climb down a ladder beneath him, Paul
Wappat volunteered himself as the human mole.
After half an hour in the dank, oily and downright
spooky subterranean surroundings Mr Wappat resurfaced, declaring
he would never let the BBC send him down a hole again.
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