Monday, October 22, 2018

CSX/B&O/O&M 1857 "Big Tunnel" near Tunnelton, IN

Big Tunnel: (Bridge Hunter, indianarrtunnels

O&M = Ohio & Mississippi

Big Tunnel: Satellite plus Paint
Originally built in 1857 for the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad and since controlled by the B & O, it is now a part of CSX. It was shortened and brick lined in 1898. A 1700 foot companion tunnel known as "Little Tunnel" was 'daylighted' (turned into a cut) in 1899. [Bridge Hunter] It was dug for a 6-foot gauge railroad. [IndianaRRtunnels]

Two of the several photos posted by Carlton Crasher.
Jacob Leukhardt Should be one train a day Mon-Fri. The J783 local. I believe it runs between Mitchel and somewhere east of North Vernon. I believe it only runs one direction a day so for example, if it goes westbound to Mitchel on Monday, it should go east on Tuesday, then back west Wednesday and so on.
Dennis DeBruler Thanks for contributing photos to Bridge Hunter and for taking photos of B&O's CPL signals. One advantage of CSX not liking this B&O route is that they don't have to replace the B&O signals with PTC equipment. (They cut the rail for this route in Illinois.)
Carlton Crasher Dennis DeBruler I thought it odd no one had any more photos of this on bridgehunter. I assume you mean cut by west of Flora? I live in Vincennes and had read that was why we didn't have activity over that bridge much anymore.
Dennis DeBruler I thought it was the segment east of Flora to Olney that they took out of service in 2015. It may technically be back in service now, but that doesn't mean CSX uses it. https://towns-and-nature.blogspot.com/.../flora-il-csxb...
Brian K Archer wow, I didn’t know that. Have u seen the Willow Valley tunnel by the entrance to Martin State forest?
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J.B. Rail Photog added
11/05/2021 - On the ex-B&O mainline between Washington, IN, and Cincinnati, OH, the local CSX J780-05 pops of Big Tunnel around Bedford, IN, on the CSX Indiana Subdivision running eastbound with an ex-CR GP38-2 leading with some gondolas with ties, an empty center beam, and last hoppers from Lehigh Concrete all originating in Mitchell, IN.  My first time shooting something here.  Wednesdays and Fridays you can catch them in the morning coming this way while Tuesdays and Thursdays they originate in North Vernon, IN, where they go to Butlerville to work, then they come back east and work Seymour before going to Mitchell and tying down after staging cars for the next day.  Lehigh Concrete is currently expanding which warranted CSX to do some upgrades with additional ballast and replacement of some ties.

J.B. Rail Photog updated

Dale Smith posted
The big tunnel before brick lining. Tunnelton indiana.

James Sullivan posted three photos with the comment: "The old railroad tunnel in Tunnelton Indiana."

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Richard Koenig posted
Big Tunnel
This is a westbound train exiting Big Tunnel, just east of Tunnelton, in southern Indiana. This is the B&O that runs between Cincinnati and St. Louis. There is really very little action on this CSX line today.
One image by 
Richard Koenig
; taken in October of 1975.

Zane Amick posted three photos with the comment: "Playing around with some long exposure photography at Tunnelton last night. No ghosts (minus one strange noise we heard in the tunnel) and not a soul around."
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A talk about all of the tunnels in Indiana.
Screenshot
More photos of the tunnel and CPL signals

I skipped the "ghosts in the tunnel" video, but there is some interesting photos and history in this blog post.

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