I'm stopping the blog while my body deals with a holiday exchange virus.

B&O Hogback Tunnel near Ferndale, PA

(Satellite, see below for a diagram)

Rust Belt Railroading posted four photos with the comment: "L-100 strolling through Hogback  Tunnel heading north into Johnstown. The track speed through there is 10 mph. It is located in Ferndale across from the greenhouse on Eisenhower Boulevard."

Matt Thomas: I remember we would have to fold the mirrors in or we would hit the sides of the tunnel. It’s a tight squeeze.

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Satellite plus Paint

1972 Johnstown @ 24,000

1927 Wallenpaupack Dam and 44mw Powerhouse on Lackawaxwn River near Hawley, PA

Dam: (Satellite)

Powerhouse: (Satellite)

The pipe we see here is 14' (4.3m) in diameter and is 3.5 miles (5.6km) between the dam and the powerhouse. The powerhouse has two 22mw units. [SafeWaters]

Street View, Oct 2015

HappeningsMagazinePA
"Brookfield Renewable’s hydroelectric power plant plays an integral role in the Lake Wallenpaupack community; in fact, the lake was created because of the plant itself. In the early 1900s, engineers recognized the value of constructing a hydroelectric station and a dam to power it in the Poconos. The 1,280-foot dam built across Wallenpaupack Creek, was completed in 1927, creating Lake Wallenpaupack. The lake encompassing 5,700 acres is still one of the largest man-made lakes in Pennsylvania."

KileyAssoc

Bobby Weinhardt added 31 photos with the comment: "Built in 1926. Capable of 44 MW."

Ron Franko shared

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8:11 video  The flow line was originally made with Douglas Fir and the bundle of logs was floated through the Panama Canal to get to Pennsylvania.

Submersible Bridges across the Corinth Canal

Isthmus: (Satellite)

Poseidonia: (Satellite)

There is a submersible bridge at each end of the Corinth Canal. 

Isthmia (east):

Cinnamon Tree 0:15 video, Jul 2019

Poseidonia (west):

0:46 video @ 0:03  I don't know how to get a link to the video. It is from a comment by Nikos Drekis on a Facebook post

The middle part between the "blue boxes" is what goes down.

Street View, Sep 2014

I wondered why I could not see a bridge in this photo. Then I learned that it was because it is down in the water since boats are using the canal.

Greeker than the Greeks posted via Dennis DeBruler

In the middle of the canal, the cut is deep enough that they can build fixed bridges over the canal.

Street View via Dennis DeBruler

Katy (I-10 in Houston) vs. Dan Ryan (I-94 in Chicago) Expressways

Katy: (Satellite)

Dan Ryan: (Satellite)

Nicky.com posted
The Katy Freeway, is the widest highway in the world. See More:
https://nickeyscircle.com/widest-road-in-the-world/
Joseph Geegan: Where, exactly is I-10 a full 26 lanes wide, excluding frontage roads which by their very name are NOT part of the Interstate, and for what distance does the 26 lane wide portion actually cover? By what measure, that would be an actual measurable metric, makes this highway the "wildest highway in the world"?

Whenever you claim the "est" of something, you have to pay attention to how it is measured. I think I have already discussed the largest steam locomotive. In this case, we are talking "widest."  My first encounter with "oh my, how many lanes are there?" was the Dan Ryan. It has five traffic lanes and light-rail down the middle.

Satellite

Here is a cross section of the Katy. The eastbound (inbound) direction seems to have 8 free lanes and 2 tow lanes, whereas the other direction seems to have "just" 5 free lanes and 2 tow lanes. Is this because the evening rush hour is longer than the morning rush hour? My brother, who lives near Katy, TX, mentioned that their rush hour was long. If I remember correctly, he said from 4-7 pm. 

Satellite

The above measure was traffic lanes. Another measure would be land consumed or total width. In this case one would have to add six lanes of shoulders and sometimes some ramp lanes. I don't think one should count the frontage roads because you have to consume land anyhow for a major local road if the expressway did not exist. 

The Katy is a good argument for using federal money to buy equipment for Metra, the commuter service in Chicagoland. Putting money in passenger rail cars instead of concrete is probably less money per commuter, and it is definitely better for the environment.

Fortunately, the ramps for both Katy and Dan Ryan are always on the right side. This gives an out-of-towner the option of creeping along in the slow lane until they find their exit. I remember my first surprise on a Detroit expressway when the ramp I needed was all the way over on the left side. Crossing multiple lanes into faster traffic in the short distance between the signs and the ramp is an excitement I can do without. If I want excitement, I'll ride a roller coaster in an amusement park.

And when they got out in the country, the Katy consumes a lot of land. I counted 24 lanes on just the right side!

NickeysCircle

This also is another example of Texas does a better job of getting Federal money than does Illinois or Indiana. Most of I-65 between Chicagoland and Indianapolis is still just two lanes even though the traffic is almost always heavy in both lanes. And it carries plenty of 18-wheelers. When one semi decides to go around another but it is going just 1mph faster than the semi it is passing, there is a lot of pent up road rage in the "fast" (left) lane. Years ago, I started taking I-57 down to US-52 instead of using I-65 to avoid the slow "fast" lane. 

Satellite