| |
 |
|
Internal
east portals of No2 tunnel. The concrete partition wall has been partly demolished but can still be made out in the
centre of the photo. The room behind the partition housed the diesels (105 on the plan) and the
blocked-up portal (arrowed) led the exhausts to the
outside. The
room in the foreground contained the environmental
coolers (106 on the plan)
and the blocked-up portal on the centre left
channelled the waste heat to the outside. Photo:
Jan West |
|
| |
| |
| |
|
|
Tunnel
portal No3 (EE3 on the plan). The
area around it is now heavily overgrown. The gate and entrance have both been replaced during
the 1990s. The door frame is reinforced with 2 steel buttresses, and the gate
is covered with 1 inch steel mesh. The adit survives because of the continued need for
underground ventilation and emergency escape. This was used as an entrance to
the NATO communication centre which made use of the
underground complex during the Cold War. During the early morning the
confidential waste was brought out here and burnt. |
|
| |
| |
| |
|
|
View
through the gate of portal No 3 (EE3
on the plan). The lining closest to
the portal has been sprayed with shotcrete, further
back the steel colliery style ribbing is exposed. The adit turns sharply
to the right leading to a blast trap, and the first set of blast doors.
There
is a strong outflow of cold damp air all year round. |
|
| |
| |
| |
 |
|
Further
along the No3 tunnel is a fine example of a blast trap. The tunnel on the
left leads off to the underground complex whilst the one on the right
leads to a brick wall intended to reflect back any bomb blast. The hinges
on the wall indicate that heavy blast doors were once fitted. |
|
| |
| |
| |
 |
|
No3
tunnel showing a doorway on the centre left as it leads into UGHQ proper.
Its height has been increased postwar by removing the upper 1 foot of
reinforced concrete. The doorway is a 'pinch point' for a blast and gas
proof sliding door. This door was 6 inches thick and its racer track can
be seen on the floor. The circular patch lower centre left may have been
for a pressure vessel for pneumatically opening the door? |
|
| |
| |
| |
 |
|
No3
tunnel again looking out from the UGHQ (106 on the plan)
- opposite to the previous photo. The doorway and the alterations to it
show up well.
During the mid 1990s the complex was broken into, hence the graffiti on
the wall.
Photo:
Nick Catford - Subterranea
Britannica |
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|