As fireballs tore through the sky they fled for their lives
manchestereveningnews.co.ukIt's been 40 years since one of the most devastating underground infernos ever took place. The near tragedy saw firemen fleeing for their lives as fireballs were sent into the sky from Rochdale's hills, with hundreds of people living nearby evacuated.
Built by the Manchester and Leeds Railway, the Summit Tunnel connects Littleborough and Walsden in West Yorkshire and was once the longest tunnel in the world at 2,869 yards long.
Despite being over 180 years old, the tunnel is still going strong today. It is celebrated as both a marvel of Victorian engineering and a key part of the region’s industrial heritage.
On Thursday, December 20, 1984, train driver Stanley Marshall's routine journey through the tunnel turned into a catastrophe that would mark his life.
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