Two cheerful British Transport Commission Police Officers relax after guarding the western portal of Woodhead New Tunnel on Thursday 3rd June 1954. The photo was taken immediately after the opening ceremony conducted by the then Minister of Transport, The Rt. Hon. Alan Lennox-Boyd M.P. The tunnel is little over 3 miles in length and was controversially closed just 27 years later, electrification of the route having failed to secure its long term future. A superbly narrated and illustrated book 'The Woodhead Line - Electric Pioneer' (2022) is very highly recommended as probably the definitive story of the Woodhead Route's fascinating saga.

© Raymond McCarthy-Eddie Johnson Archive