Showing posts with label damp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label damp. Show all posts

Tuesday 14 June 2022

Skulferatu #73 - East Trinity Road Railway Tunnel, Trinity Path, Edinburgh

I often walk or cycle along the old railway paths that crisscross Edinburgh.  If I’m heading down to Newhaven I’ll take the Trinity Path, which goes through the damply fascinating Trinity Tunnel or East Trinity Road Railway Tunnel to give it its full name.  The tunnel and the path were once part of the Edinburgh, Leith and Granton Railway which operated from around 1840 until 1986. 

 

A photo showing the path leading down to the entrance to East Trinity Road Railway Tunnel.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
East Trinity Road Railway Tunnel

 

The tunnel is 390 feet long and passes under East Trinity Road and several houses.  It has a horseshoe opening and is constructed of sandstone, and have I mentioned it is very, very damp?  Water oozes down the walls resulting in some fascinating crumbling grooves, rust coloured mud and lots of mini stalactite type blobs.  Some of the oozing, dissolving stone looks almost soft and as if it is an organic, living thing.  A weird alien life form escaping from the hewn rocks that were used to build the structure.

 

A photo showing a rusting metal hook on the stone wall of the tunnel.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Metal hook on the tunnel wall

 

A photo looking down the tunnel showing the damp walls and the damp path leading through it.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The tunnel is very, very damp

 

A photo of some graffiti in the tunnel showing a green fairy type creature with the slogan moisture is life written underneath.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Moisture is life


A photo of the multicoloured ooze on the damp tunnel walls.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.

Multicoloured slime and ooze

 

A photo of the multicoloured ooze on the damp tunnel walls.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Multicoloured slime and ooze

 

A photo of the multicoloured ooze on the damp tunnel walls.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Multicoloured slime and ooze

 

A photo of the pitted, dissolving stone on the tunnel walls.  This looks like some sort of rock pool sea creature in its shape and structure.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Some of the dissolving stone looks almost like a living thing

 

A photo of a rusting hook on the tunnel wall which is dissolving over the hook.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Rusty hook in oozing tunnel wall

 

A photo of graffiti in the tunnel showing a big, yellow smiley face.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Smiley Face Graffiti

 

From late spring onwards the dark cavities and grooves of the oozing stone are occupied by thousands of little spiders who hang from thin threads waiting for their prey…or any inquisitive arachnophobes who get too close.

 

A photo of a cluster of grey coloured stalactite type formations on the walls of the tunnel.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Stalactites on the tunnel walls


A photo of some stalactites on the tunnel wall that are damp and almost organic looking.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Stalactites on the tunnel walls

 
A photo of lots of grey coloured stalactites dripping down the tunnel walls.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Stalactites on the tunnel walls

 

A photo of stalactite type tendrils oozing down into a lower part of the tunnel wall that is covered in moss.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Tendrils and moss

 

A photo of the remains of a wooden sign that is rotting away and also disappearing into the dissolving walls of the tunnel.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
The remains of an old sign being absorbed into the tunnel walls

 

A photo of a damp and mossy covered patch on the tunnel wall that looks slightly like a face.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Moss on the tunnel walls

 

A photo of a spray painted devil type face on the tunnel walls that is fading away into the moss and the damp.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Graffiti in the tunnel walls

 

A photo of an oozing rusty patch dissolving down the tunnel wall.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Oozing rust dissolving down the tunnel walls

 

I left the Skulferatu that accompanied me on my walk in a small cavity of rusting, dripping slime where it will hopefully be consumed into the melting walls of the tunnel.

 

A photo of a small, ceramic skull (Skulferatu 73) being held up in a hand outside the entrance to East Trinity Road Railway Tunnel in Edinburgh.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #73

 

A photo of a small, ceramic skull (Skulferatu 73) in a damp, rusty cavity in the tunnel wall of East Trinity Road Railway Tunnel.  Photograph by Kevin Nosferatu for the Skulferatu Project.
Skulferatu #73 in a rusty, dripping cavity in the tunnel wall

 

Google Map showing the location of Skulferatu #73
Map showing the location of Skulferatu #73

 

The coordinates for the location of the Skulferatu are –

 

Latitude 55.976781

Longitude -3.203583

 

I used the following sources for information on the tunnel -

 

Historic Environment Scotland

East Trinity Road Railway Tunnel, Edinburgh

 

Rail Scot

RAILSCOT | Trinity Tunnel