Abandoned Tunnel: (It was between the two bridges. They can't use it for the trail because it is plugged so the tunnel doesn't drain the reservoir.)
Original Route: (
Satellite, just the piers are left)
Dave Kuntz
posted five photos with the comment: "The tops of the stone arches barely peek out above the Conemaugh Reservoir in rural Western PA. The tunnel at the end of the bridge is above water now but won't be come the spring rains. This ex-PRR line was abandoned in the early 50's and relocated higher with the opening of the
dam downriver. It is also a primitive rail trail when not flooded - note the debris around and on the bridge. Coming tomorrow: the other end of the tunnel and the stone arch bridge at the dam itself."
Bear Marshall: This particular grade is the second iteration of the line. Originally it followed the river in some spots. I don't remember all of the details but I did a bit of research on the area a while back.
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[As a comment observed, this photo shows the plug that keeps the tunnel from draining the reservoir.] |
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Dave Kuntz
posted four photos with the comment: "Different fates for 3 RR bridges by the Conemaugh Dam in Western PA: The impressive stone arch bridge at the bottom is now a walking/biking trail; the modern steel bridge above it is still in service although one track has been removed, and the piers nearest the
dam date to the earliest bridge that is long gone. Both the unused bridges went to now abandoned tunnels covered by trees in the right of the top photo, one of which still has rails in front of it. The tunnels traversed the hillside to the arched bridge on the other side, which I posted yesterday. The creation of the dam in the background necessitated raising the entire line, hence the newest bridge also being the tallest."
Jim Kelling: What is the nearest town or city?
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Rob Oches commented on Dave's post
I’m a union Ironworker and collect memorabilia, I’ve owned this page ad out of time magazine for years but never saw the completed bridge. |
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Andy Hoyle commented on Dave's post, cropped
One of the last trains going through the tunnel to Livermore before the town was razed for flood land. |
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Gayle Donelson commented on Dave's post
So much to see here. |
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| Joe Stobert commented on Dave's post |
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| Joe Stobert commented on Dave's post |
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| Joe Stobert commented on Dave's post |
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AltoonaWorks posted
4/2026 - Eastbound 32A at Tunnelton on the Conemaugh Line. The stone arch is from the 1907 alignment of the PRR line here. The high bridge is from the 1950s realignment from when the Conemaugh Dam upstream was built. AltoonaWorks.info Interestingly, the 1907 alignment was itself a realignment from the 1864 route nearby. Dave Smithmyer: We used to load coal trains here. It was a loop going under the tipple, then back out on the main, and when we got to the last cars to load, the engine was over this bridge,and the engineer got to load looking down from there . We finished loading one very hot summer day, I rode the last car out ,to pull on the main. Threw the switch back , walking to the head end- had a run in with a copperhead. Steven Schorr: There are four alignments toward the east just before everything comes back together, one of them (I believe the second historically) is very short. There’s also a fifth ROW to the north if you include the canal bed. Rick Henry: and below these 2 bridges, are the bridge abutments from the 1864 conemaugh line (it might have been called the main line then) |
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Matthew Culp commented on the above post Here the view of I believe the 1907 realignment where with two tracks available. What’s unique is the other side of this tunnel is underwater as there is blocked by concrete about 100-200 feet beyond the gates you see in the photo. Below I’ve included a different picture of the 1907 alignment and then a photo of the (I think) 1864 alignment a few hundred feet down West Penn Trail. |
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Matthew Culp commented on his comment
Here is the 1864 (believed but there’s no date to confirm) alignment with one track. This tunnel is visible on the other side of the hill if the river is not running high. This tunnel is completely blocked about 25-50 feet after the fence. |
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Matthew Culp commented on his comment
Here is the view from atop the dirt pile on the right side of the portal. |
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Matthew Culp commented on his comment
While I couldn’t get to the portal due to it being February and there was a lot of snow melt at the time, this is the view from the other side of the hill. |
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Matthew Culp commented on his comment
View of the 1907 alignment from the fence. What’s bizarre is how cold it gets colder to the tunnel, it feels at least 10-15 degrees colder as you approach the fence.
Anthony Boerio: Matthew Culp Probably a constant 52° in there. |
The original route.
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| 1903/46 Latrobe Quad @ 62,500 |
I was shocked to learn that there is no high-res topo map between 1903 and 1964, so I had to use a low-res map to show the first bypass route, today's trail.
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| 1954/54 Pittsburgh Quad @ 250,000 |
The current route.
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| 1964/66 Blairsville Quad @ 24,000 |
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