CSX/B&O 1885 Brooks and 1903 Benford Tunnels near Confluence, PA

See below for satellite information

Confluence, Pennsylvania 101 posted two photos with the comment:

BROOKS TUNNEL DISASTER OF 1883: In 1868, the B&O Railroad was charting its course west up the eastern slope of the Allegheny Mountains ⛰ in a northwestern direction with the maximum 2% grade as it wound up the mountain to its summit at Sandpatch. The tunnels constructed were the Falls Cut, Sandpatch, Shoo Fly, Pinkerton, Benford, and Brooks—(just a few miles east of Confluence.)

  On Sunday morning, October 30, 1883, near the Brooks Tunnel, the B&O was strengthening and widening the tunnel. Nearby the worksite, a magazine housing 1200 pounds of dynamite for blasting purposes was placed. A freight train 🚂 had passed through the tunnel and was side-tracked to allow an overdue passenger train 🚂 to pass.

  At approximately 9:00 a.m. an explosion 💥 rocked houses for a 15-mile radius with foundations rattled and windows shattered. Trees 🌲 were uprooted, rocks torn apart, and telegraph poles “prostrated.” There was NO trace of the magazine—the source of the explosion.

  The carnage rendered was human body parts scattered askew for miles. Arms, legs, hands, and heads were gathered up 1/2 mile away—badly disfigured. Blood and human flesh lay in the tracks. A big toe was discovered 1/2 mile up the mountain. The remnants of Charles Tissue were found with his face and scalp blown off, but his trunk and limbs intact. Apparently, four of the workers entered the powder house at the time of the explosion. George Reynolds, an engineer, and Charles Tice, a flagman, hailed from Confluence. Fragments of flesh from this tragic accident were interred in Confluence.

   In 2011, CSX continued work on the Brooks Tunnel for the double-stacked trains 🚊—keeping B&O Railroad history alive. 

(Photos: www.wikimapia.org.)

1
[This would be the east portal.]

2

I included two locomotives running light near the upper-right corner because I assume they are helpers returning to the bottom of a "hill."

Satellite plus Paint

The Benford Tunnel has been daylighted.

Satellite

I found these tunnels while studying Confluence, PA.

Dennis DeBruler

As the above post indicated, the Brooks Tunnel was enlarged in 2011; and as a satellite image shows, the Benford tunnel was daylighted. This was part of a Phase I project to support double stack container trains.

wv, p9

Federal taxpayers paid $98m for the Phase I project, which was over half of the estimated cost. [wv, p10] CSX did build the proposed North Baltimore Yard. But then Hunter shut down its "container switching" function. I've also read that CSX forces container interchange in Chicago with rubber wheels instead of steel wheels, which aggravates Chicago's congested traffic with big trucks. Benford's daylighting cost $1m, and Brooks' tunnel liner removal cost $10m. [wv, p12-13]

wv, p90