Hoosac Tunnel - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Hoosac Tunnel is a 4.75-mile-long (7.64 km) railroad tunnel

Tunnel

A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...

in western Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

which passes through the Hoosac Range

Hoosac Range

The Hoosac Range is part of both the Berkshires of western Massachusetts and the southern Green Mountains of Vermont; it is part of the greater Appalachian Mountain chain...

, an extension of Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

's Green Mountains

Green Mountains

The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont. The range extends approximately .-Peaks:The most notable mountains in the range include:*Mount Mansfield, , the highest point in Vermont*Killington Peak, *Mount Ellen,...

. Work began in 1848 and was finally completed in 1875. At the time of completion, it was the second longest tunnel in the world (after the 8.5-mile-long (13.7 km) Mont Cenis Tunnel through the French Alps

French Alps

The French Alps are those portions of the Alps mountain range which stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions....

). It was the longest tunnel in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

until the completion of the Connaught Tunnel

Connaught Tunnel

Connaught Tunnel, in the Selkirk Mountains under Rogers Pass on the Canadian Pacific Railway main line between Calgary, Alberta, and Revelstoke, British Columbia, at long was, at the time it was built, the longest railway tunnel in North America. Dug under Mount Macdonald to ease growing traffic...

under Rogers Pass

Rogers Pass

Rogers Pass is a high mountain pass through the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia used by the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Trans-Canada Highway. The pass is a shortcut across the "Big Bend" of the Columbia River from Revelstoke on the west to Donald, near Golden, on the east...

in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

in 1916, and remains the longest active transportation tunnel east of the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...

Location

The tunnel's east portal is along the Deerfield River

Deerfield River

Deerfield River is a river that runs for from southern Vermont through northwestern Massachusetts to the Connecticut River. The Deerfield was historically influential in the settlement of western Franklin County, Massachusetts, and its namesake town...

in Florida, Massachusetts

Florida, Massachusetts

Florida is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 676 at the 2000 census. It is home to the east portal of the Hoosac Tunnel, as well as Whitcomb Summit , the highest point of the Mohawk...

(42.675163°N 72.997938°W). The tunnel runs in a straight line to its west portal in North Adams, Massachusetts

North Adams, Massachusetts

North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,708 as of the 2010 census, making it the least populous city in the state...

(42.675447°N 73.091376°W.

Tunnel history

The tunnel project was originally proposed in 1819 as a canal

Canal

Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

to connect Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

to Upstate New York

Upstate New York

Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...

via the Deerfield River on the east of the Hoosac Range

Hoosac Range

The Hoosac Range is part of both the Berkshires of western Massachusetts and the southern Green Mountains of Vermont; it is part of the greater Appalachian Mountain chain...

and the Hoosic River

Hoosic River

The Hoosic River, also known as the Hoosac, the Hoosick and the Hoosuck , is a tributary of the Hudson River in the northeastern United States. The different spellings are the result of varying transliterations of the river's original Algonquian name...

on the west. That project was shelved, and later reborn as part of the new Troy and Greenfield Railroad

Troy and Greenfield Railroad

The Troy and Greenfield Railroad, chartered in 1848, ran from Greenfield, Massachusetts, United States, to the Vermont state line. It was leased to the Troy and Boston Railroad in 1856, then consolidated into Fitchburg Railroad 1887 which in turn was acquired by Boston and Maine Railroad by lease...

. The tunnel took over 20 years to complete, and cost $21,000,000 by the time of completion. The project was nicknamed 'The Great Bore' by critics of the day, including future Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932...

, who said he'd like to "wall up a dozen lawyers at one end of the tunnel and put a good fee at the other."

The most important proponent of the northern route and the Hoosac Tunnel was Alvah Crocker

Alvah Crocker

Alvah Crocker was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.Born in Leominster, Massachusetts, Crocker attended the public schools and Groton Academy. He was first employed in a paper mill at Franklin, New Hampshire, in 1820...

, a self-made paper mill owner from Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Fitchburg is the third largest city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,318 at the 2010 census. Fitchburg is home to Fitchburg State University as well as 17 public and private elementary and high schools.- History :...

. The Science Channel documentary Driven to Invent: Killer Tunnel called Crocker "The Father of Modern Tunneling" for his influence in advancing the use of geologists, explosives, pneumatic tools and boring technology, and said, "He laid down the rules for tunnel construction even to the present day." In 1841, Crocker formed the Fitchburg Railroad

Fitchburg Railroad

The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, USA, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900...

(chartered 1842, opened 1845) between Boston and Fitchburg. In 1844 Crocker incorporated the existing Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad, which ran from Fitchburg west to Greenfield

Greenfield, Massachusetts

Greenfield is a city in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,456 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Franklin County. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the Franklin County Fair...

, as well as northward (from Millers Falls

Millers Falls, Massachusetts

Millers Falls is a census-designated place in the town of Montague in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,072 at the 2000 census...

) to Brattleboro, Vermont

Brattleboro, Vermont

Brattleboro, originally Brattleborough, is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States, located in the southeast corner of the state, along the state line with New Hampshire. The population was 12,046 at the 2010 census...

. In 1848 Crocker secured from the legislature a charter for the Troy & Greenfield Railroad (T & G), with provisions for a tunnel through Hoosac Mountain.

The first chief engineer of the tunnel project was A.F. Edwards. In 1854 the state of Massachusetts

Massachusetts

provided $2,000,000 in credit to Edward Wellman Serrell and Company, which began work in 1855. In 1856 Herman Haupt

Herman Haupt

Herman Haupt was an American civil engineer and railroad construction engineer and executive. As a Union Army General in the American Civil War, he revolutionized military transportation in the United States and was one of the unsung heroes of the war.-Early life:Haupt, whose first name was...

took over as chief engineer.

The Western Railroad led by Chester Chapin, which ran a southern route through Springfield

Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...

and Pittsfield

Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Its area code is 413. Its ZIP code is 01201...

, opposed the Hoosac Tunnel and its northern route through the state. They successfully lobbied to block state funding of the tunnel in 1861, which bankrupted Haupt and temporarily stopped the project. Haupt had excavated 4250 feet (1,295.4 m), or about a fifth of the distance, at that point. He left in 1861 and became a Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

railroad engineer and general in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

In 1862 the Troy and Greenfield Railroad

Troy and Greenfield Railroad

defaulted on its loan from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which foreclosed on the mortgage and took control of the railroad, including the tunnel project. The state sent engineer Charles Storrow to Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

to study modern tunneling techniques, including the use of nitroglycerine and compressed air. In 1863 the state, with Alvah Crocker now superintendent of railroads, restarted the project and made Thomas Doane the chief engineer.

In 1868 the Massachusetts state legislature appropriated 5 million dollars for the completion of the project. Canadian engineer William Shanly (sometimes spelled Shanley) and his brother Francis took over the project from the state, and remained through the completion of tunnel boring. The final chief engineer was Bernard N. Farren, who took over on November 19, 1874 and completed the final work, including enlarging sections of the tunnel, reinforcing weak areas with arching, completing drainage systems and completing the east tunnel facade.

The first train passed through the tunnel on February 9, 1875. Regular service via the tunnel between Boston

Boston

and Troy, New York

Troy, New York

Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...

began in 1876. The tunnel and Troy and Greenfield Railroad were bought by the Fitchburg Railroad

Fitchburg Railroad

in 1877. The Boston and Maine Railroad

Boston and Maine Railroad

The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...

bought the Fitchburg Railroad in 1900.

The last regularly scheduled passenger train passed through the tunnel in 1958. Today the tunnel is part of Pan Am Railways

Pan Am Railways

Pan Am Railways, Inc. , known as Guilford Rail System before March 2006, is a holding company that owns and operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine to Rotterdam Junction, New York...

, formerly the Guilford Rail System, and is used to transport freight. It was converted to single track in 1973. Clearances were increased in 1997 and 2007, the former by lowering the track, the latter by grinding 15 inches off the roof.http://www.hoosactunnel.net/history.php http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8429159.html

Connections to the west

The Troy and Boston Railroad

Troy and Boston Railroad

The Troy and Boston Railroad was chartered April 4, 1848 and organized November 22, 1849. It completed a railroad from Troy, New York to the Vermont state line in 1852. This was also the main track of the Troy and Rutland Railroad, Rutland and Washington Railroad, and the Rutland Railway...

and its Southern Vermont Railroad and Troy and Greenfield Railroad

Troy and Greenfield Railroad

opened in 1859 from Troy, New York

Troy, New York

, on the New York Central Railroad

New York Central Railroad

The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...

and Hudson River Railroad, east to North Adams at the west portal of the tunnel.

The 1863 state buyout of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad

Troy and Greenfield Railroad

opened the way for competition through the tunnel. The Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Railway was organized in 1877 to build from near the Massachusetts

Massachusetts

/Vermont

Vermont

border, where state ownership ended, parallel to the Troy and Boston Railroad

Troy and Boston Railroad

to near Johnsonville, New York

Johnsonville, New York

Johnsonville is a hamlet located in the northern part of Pittstown, New York. It was named for its settler, William Johnson.- History :Johnsonville is considered a "railroad town" due to the importance of the railroad in the history of the area; however, it was an important industrial area even...

and then west via Schenectady to Rotterdam Junction on what became the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway in 1880. The line was being planned as a part of the Delaware and Hudson Company's system, and as part of the Erie Railway system via the Delaware and Hudson Company's Albany and Susquehanna Railroad

Albany and Susquehanna Railroad

The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad was a railroad running from Albany to Binghamton, operating 1851 to 1870-History:Construction began on April 19, 1851 from Albany to Schoharie Junction, New York, a distance of 35 miles . This phase was completed in 1863...

. East of Greenfield, the east end of state ownership, the BHT&W would have built its own line to terminal facilities at Winthrop.

Due to the competition between the two companies, various challenges were made. In late 1878 the T&B attempted to evict the BHT&W from the roadbed of the abandoned Albany Northern Railroad between Hart's Falls and Eagle Bridge

Eagle Bridge, New York

Eagle Bridge is an unincorporated community in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It was served by the Rutland and Washington Railroad.Eagle Bridge is also the name used by the United States Postal Service to identify ZIP code 12057...

. The BHT&W lost that in court, but continued to use the right-of-way

Right-of-way (railroad)

A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...

. The case lasted until late 1881, when it was overturned. In May 1879 a frog war

Frog war

In American railroading, a frog war occurs when a private railroad company attempts to cross the tracks of another, and this results in hostilities, with the courts usually getting involved, but often long after companies have taken the matter in their own hands and settled, with hordes of workers...

was feared at Hoosick Junction, where the BHT&W was to cross the T&B's Troy and Bennington Railroad. In July that year Cornelius Vanderbilt

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...

, who owned the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, acquired a controlling interest in the T&B, threatening to build a branch to Saratoga Springs unless the BHT&W/D&H alliance was ended. In November an appeals court ruled that the application to cross the Troy and Bennington was improperly made to the Troy and Boston, and the T&B claimed that the improvements including a stone bridge were forfeit.

The first train ran over the full BHT&W to Mechanicville, New York

Mechanicville, New York

Mechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population is 5,196 as of the 2010 census. It is the smallest city by area in the state. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents....

on December 6, 1879, and revenue service began December 20, with general offices at North Adams. In 1881 the BHT&W was being planned as part of a larger system west to Oswego and Buffalo

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

. That line was not built, but the BHT&W opened an extension west to Rotterdam Junction on the New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway. The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad took over the NYWS&B in 1886, and in 1887 the Fitchburg Railroad

Fitchburg Railroad

bought both the T&B and the BHT&W, as well at the Troy and Greenfield Railroad

Troy and Greenfield Railroad

including the tunnel, ending the rivalry.

Tunnel deaths

193 lives were lost during construction, leading to the nickname "The Bloody Pit." The Hoosac Tunnel was the first commercial use of nitroglycerin in the United States. Some lives were lost due to the unstable nature of nitroglycerin, but many more were lost to the even more unstable black powder, which was used before nitroglycerin was introduced. A number of others were killed by the horrendous Central Shaft accident.

The accident was one of the most fatal; it occurred while digging the tunnel's 1,028-foot (313 m) vertical exhaust shaft, called 'Central Shaft.' On October 17, 1867, a lighted candle in the hoist

Hoist (device)

A hoist is a device used for lifting or lowering a load by means of a drum or lift-wheel around which rope or chain wraps. It may be manually operated, electrically or pneumatically driven and may use chain, fiber or wire rope as its lifting medium. The load is attached to the hoist by means of a...

building ignited naphtha

Naphtha

Naphtha normally refers to a number of different flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons, i.e., a component of natural gas condensate or a distillation product from petroleum, coal tar or peat boiling in a certain range and containing certain hydrocarbons. It is a broad term covering among the...

fumes which had leaked from a 'Gasometer' lamp, triggering an explosion. The hoist caught fire and collapsed into the shaft. Four men near the top of the shaft escaped, but thirteen men working 538 feet (164 m) below were trapped, killed by falling flaming naphtha and pieces of iron. The pumps were also destroyed, and the shaft began to fill with water. A worker named Mallory was lowered into the shaft by rope the next day; he was overcome by fumes and reported no survivors.

Workers assumed that nobody at the bottom survived, so no further rescue attempts were made. However, when the first workers got to the bottom several months later, they found that workers had, indeed, survived and had built a makeshift raft, but had died, suffocated by the fire.

Construction technology

The tunnel construction project required excavation

Earthworks (engineering)

Earthworks are engineering works created through the moving or processing of quantities of soil or unformed rock.- Civil engineering use :Typical earthworks include roads, railway beds, causeways, dams, levees, canals, and berms...

of 2 million tons (1,800,000 metric tons) of rock. On March 16, 1853, "Wilson's Patented Stone-Cutting Machine" (a tunnel boring machine

Tunnel boring machine

A tunnel boring machine also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They can bore through anything from hard rock to sand. Tunnel diameters can range from a metre to almost 16 metres to date...

) was used; it failed after excavating 10 feet (3 m) of rock. Tunnel builders resorted to hand digging, and later used the Burleigh Rock Drill, one of the first pneumatic drills

Jackhammer

A jackhammer is a pneumatic tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel that was invented by Charles Brady King. Hand-held jackhammers are typically powered by compressed air, but some use electric motors. Larger jackhammers, such as rig mounted hammers used on construction machinery, are...

. Construction also featured the first large-scale commercial use of nitroglycerine and electric blasting cap

Blasting cap

A blasting cap is a small sensitive primary explosive device generally used to detonate a larger, more powerful and less sensitive secondary explosive such as TNT, dynamite, or plastic explosive....

s.

Digging the Central Shaft also allowed workers to open 2 additional faces to excavate: once the shaft was complete in 1870 workers dug outwards from the center to meet the tunnels being dug from the east and west portals. Engineers built a 1,000-foot (305 m) elevator

Elevator

An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...

to hoist the excavated rock from the Central Shaft.

One of the many engineering challenges posed by the project was getting the proper alignment between the four tunnel segments that were being dug: the east and west portal tunnels, and the two tunnels dug outward from the central shaft. Engineers cleared a path through the forest over the mountain, and strung a straight line from the east to west portals, through "sighting posts" on the east and west peaks of Hoosac Mountain. Repeated surveys

Surveying

See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

verified the line ran true between the posts, and steel bolts were installed at fixed intervals along the line.

On December 12, 1872 workers opened the east portal tunnel to the Central Shaft-dug tunnel, which were aligned within nine sixteenths of an inch (1.4 cm), a tremendous engineering achievement at that time. On November 27, 1873 the remainder of the tunnel was opened to the west portal tunnel.

Lewis Cuyler of the Hoosac Tunnel Museum Society described the project as the 'fountain-head of modern tunnel technology.'

The American Society of Civil Engineers

American Society of Civil Engineers

The American Society of Civil Engineers is a professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. It is the oldest national engineering society in the United States. ASCE's vision is to have engineers positioned as global leaders who strive toward...

made the tunnel a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1975.

External links

Literary references

The Story of the Hoosac Tunnel. (March 1882). The Atlantic monthly,. Volume 49, Issue 293
The Hoosac Tunnel Tragedy (November 16, 1867). The Defiance Democrat (Ohio), p. 1.
Hampson, Rick (August 24, 1980). Tunnel a Wonder of the 19th Century. Chicago Daily Herald. p. 42.
Fighting for Eastern Traffic, New York Times January 2, 1879 page 5
Railroad Rioting Feared, New York Times May 25, 1879 page 1
The Hoosac Tunnel Route, New York Times July 5, 1879 page 1
Railroad Methods, New York Times November 26, 1879 page 1
Railroad Management, New York Times December 7, 1879 page 1
First Train Over the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western, New York Times December 21, 1879 page 2
A Great Railroad Project, New York Times April 11, 1881 page 1
Boston, Hoosac Tunnel and Western Victory, New York Times October 5, 1881 page 2
A Pinprick of Light, The Troy and Greenfield Railroad and its Hoosac Tunnel, by Carl R. Byron. The New England Press, Shelburne, Vt. 1975. ISBN 1-881535-17-7

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