People will be able to delve into Newcastle's underworld when it becomes the city's latest attraction.
The Victoria Tunnel runs for two and a half miles beneath the city and was built between 1839 and 1842 as an underground railway to carry coal from Spital Tongues colliery to boats at the mouth of the Ouseburn on the Tyne.
Now the Heritage Lottery fund has given more than £200,000 to the city council so that a stretch of the tunnel in the Lower Ouseburn Valley can be opened regularly as a visitor attraction.
As part of Ouseburn heritage tours, a small number of people have been taken into the tunnel via its entrance on Ouse Street on an occasional basis.
But the lottery money will pay for repairs and safety measures to the listed tunnel, and will train volunteer guides so that the underground feature can be opened on a regular basis from next summer.
The tunnel was used to transport coal for around 10 years and during the Second World War it was pressed into use again as an air raid shelter.
Plans include adding to the visitor experience by introducing sound effects such as trundling coal wagons and air raid sirens. A history project will explain the tunnel's past and will include recollections from older local people who recall using it as a shelter.
Mike Greatbatch, Newcastle City Council heritage interpretation development officer, said that concrete blast walls survive from the tunnel's air raid shelter days and it was still possible to see where sleeping bunks had been positioned.
He said: "Before this grant we have never had the resources to open the tunnel section regularly to meet popular demand.
"Repairing the tunnel and improving public access and interpretation has been an objective of the Ouseburn regeneration programme since the start.
"This project will bring together community groups, the council and other agencies in a programme of educational activities that will help put the tunnel back on the map and attract visitors to the area."
Mike said that the colliery owners opted for a tunnel after facing opposition to a surface waggonway from the Freemen of Newcastle and residents of Newcastle's then new and affluent Leazes area.
"A tunnel under Newcastle seems a crazy choice but the Freemen thought the waggonway would disturb their cows on the Town Moor and there was an element of Nimbyism from the new and posh Leazes area.
"The colliery owners also didn't want to pay wayleave fees to cross various owners' land in Newcastle.
"The tunnel is a tangible reminder of Newcastle's coal industry. People tend to forget that there were collieries within Newcastle's boundaries."
HLF regional manager Dr Keith Bartlett said: "From being a crucial part of Newcastle's industrial roots to providing protection during the Second World War, the tunnel has had a fascinating life."
Route for coal beneath the streets to the river
The Victoria Tunnel runs from Hunter's Moor at Spital Tongues, under Claremont Road, and beneath the Hancock Museum and Newcastle Civic Centre to Shieldfield, then on to the mouth of the Ouseburn where it meets the Tyne. The tunnel is 7ft 3ins high and 6ft 3ins wide and is lined in brick.
At its deepest it is 85ft below ground. From the Town Moor area the tunnel follows a gradual descent of 222ft and the wagons used gravity to travel to the Tyne before being hauled back to the colliery by a cable winding engine at the pit.
