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Whitehall Tunnel

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Whitehall Tunnel
Overview
LocationBaldwin, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°20′26″N 79°58′26″W / 40.34056°N 79.97389°W / 40.34056; -79.97389
Statusin use
SystemAllegheny Valley Railroad
StartOld Clairton Road
EndMacassar Drive
Operation
Work begun1899
Constructedrock bored, brick ring lining
Opened1900
OwnerAllegheny Valley Railroad
OperatorAllegheny Valley Railroad
Technical
Length1630 feet
No. of tracksSingle (formerly Double)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Operating speed15 MPH
Tunnel clearance23 feet

The Whitehall Tunnel in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania was originally built by the B&O Railroad in 1899 as a double-track tunnel.[1] The tunnel was completed in 1900.[2] It was part of the Baltimore and Ohio Short Line Railroad, and allowed the B&O to bypass its former route into Pittsburgh along the Pittsburgh Southern and Little Saw Mill Run Railroad.[3] One worker, Antonio De Bono, was killed during its construction.[4]

It is currently a single-track tunnel, owned by the Allegheny Valley Railroad. The tunnel is approached from Glenwood in the south, up a steep grade along the Streets Run valley to the northern end of the tunnel. The line continues from the southern end to Bruceton, Pennsylvania.

Dimensions: 28 ft wide (8.5 m) at base; 30 ft wide (9.1 m) at spring line; 23 ft (7.0 m) from top of rail to top of arch rise

Engineer: W. T. Manning; Bennet & Talbot, subcontractor, 1901–02

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Whitehall Tunnel". Retrieved 2009-02-28.
  2. ^ "Yards on the Fairmont". The Courier. Connelsville, Pennsylvania. 27 July 1900. p. 1.
  3. ^ "Baltimore and Ohio's Cutt Off" (PDF). New York Times. 3 July 1883. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  4. ^ "Fatal cave-in in a tunnel" (PDF). New York Times. 25 March 1900. Retrieved 3 March 2009.