AbandonedOnline, B&T and SteamPhotos have photos of the 1871 tunnel. AbandonedOnline also has a good history of both tunnels. B&T has the same history.
(Update: B&O opened their first tunnel in 1854. 1912 is when B&O widened the 1871 tunnel to accommodate a second track. [american-rails])
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| HAER PA,56-SAPA.V,2--1 VIEW FROM AFAR OF WESTERN PORTAL OF TUNNEL, LOOKING NORTHEAST - Sand Patch Tunnel, Northeast of State Route 2006, Sand Patch, Somerset County, PA |
The Sand Patch Tunnel now used by CSX is the second railroad tunnel constructed through the Eastern Continental Divide at Sand Patch. The first tunnel, began in 1854 and completed in 1871, marked the original route of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad through the Allegheny Mountains. This 4,475'-long single-track tunnel was one of the largest tunneling projects in the nation at the time of its construction, but it was abandoned in 1912 after b & O engineers decided that a double-track tunnel was necessary. With a work crew of about 1,000 men, the second Sand Patch Tunnel, measuring nearly 4,000' in length, was erected in 1911-1912. [BridgeHunter quote of "significance" in HAER-data]
"I have to correct the "Description" posted here on Sand Patch Tunnel. I grew up not far from the Eastern Portal, in Hyndman, PA, and true fact is, the first bore was done in soft ground, therefore kept collapsing shut.... The 1871 Tunnel was closed due to this, and moved to the Northeast location where the NEW "current" tunnel is, with a Tunnel portal front on the West portal 475 feet in-set from the old Tunnels location. The old Tunnel was NOT closed due to a choice in "Double Tracking" the tunnel at all. The old Tunnel was closed as it was seriously Dangerous for anyone to be inside of it..... Due to unstable ground, and train traffic and size.... Portions of that old original Tunnel still exist to this day! You can see some of it, if you know what your looking for and where!" [Hemi comment on BridgeHunter]
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| Mike McKenzie posted Mike Klink shared The building of the current Sand Patch Tunnel. Richard Hickman: The Marion Shovel was built by Marion Power Shovel, Marion, Ohio. A storied company that built shovels and draglines for mining coal and re, also digging the Panama Canal, building the NASA super Crawler - transport that was used for the Saturn 5 rocket for Apollo missions, Space shuttle and current Artemis rocket. Built 60 years ago and still working. Sad thing, they’re no longer in business. My father, and his brothers worked many years for Marion Power Shovel. |
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| Jun 29178 Photo by Geoff Hubbs via BridgeHunter, License: Released into public domain |
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| 1948 Cumberland Quad @ 250,000 |
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| Robby Beck posted Sand Patch |
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| Charles Edwards posted B&O 7400 on a westbound hopper train at the summit Sand Patch PA. 6-85. |
This is the only photo I've found that shows the "ear" notches that were added in 2010-11 according to BridgeHunter.
Federal taxpayers helped pay $5.5m to notch the tunnel liner. [wv, p13]
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| Photo via wikimapia "High Point on the B&O main line and crossing point of the Allegheny divide." |
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| Trains, this is the east portal This 500-mile route between Greenwich, OH, and Baltimore, MD, was on a "review for sale" list in 2018. Greenwich is were this route joins CSX's mainline between Chicago and New Jersey. An executive insisted that this route be removed soon after he joined CSX. CSX had put 8,000 of their 21,000 miles on that review list. |
TrainOrders has the only other photo I have seen of the east portal.
This 3:34 railfan video includes some history.
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| Railfan Depot on Facebook |
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